NewsUpper SchoolStudent LifeFaculty/StaffAlumniPre-K to 8AdvancementService
Hopi Indian visits Darlington
Apr 15, 2003 8:00 AM
By Stefan Eady - Faculty
John Poleahla, a Hopi American Indian, will be speaking to students on Wednesday, April 30. He will speak to Middle School students, 10-10:30 a.m., and Upper School students, 10:40-11:05 a.m., in Morris Chapel on the main campus, and to Lower School students, 1 p.m., on their campus.
A retired lawyer and the clan chief of Walpi, Poleahla lives in Walpi-Polacca, Ariz., the village of his birth, and often visits schools in Arizona to talk about the Hopi. Along with information concerning Hopi ceremonial customs, art, and culture, Poleahla will bring items such as Kachina dolls (hand-carved wooden dolls that represent a spirit in life) made by his family.
Diana Smithson met John during a trip to his village. Smithson, a collector of Kachina dolls, is planning on traveling to Arizona to teach Hopi children about art. Poleahla offered to come to Georgia for three days to educate Smithson about Hopi customs prior to her visit. “I had a great idea and thought, while he was here these three days, wouldn’t it be great to invite him to speak at one of our schools, and I first thought of Darlington. My daughter went to Darlington and I have a special place in my heart for this school,” Smithson said.
Founded in 1680, Poleahla’s town of Walpi-Polacca is located on a mesa northeast of Flagstaff, and is a major tourist attraction of the Southwest. The word “Hopi” means “The Peaceful People” or the “Peaceful Little Ones.”
A retired lawyer and the clan chief of Walpi, Poleahla lives in Walpi-Polacca, Ariz., the village of his birth, and often visits schools in Arizona to talk about the Hopi. Along with information concerning Hopi ceremonial customs, art, and culture, Poleahla will bring items such as Kachina dolls (hand-carved wooden dolls that represent a spirit in life) made by his family.
Diana Smithson met John during a trip to his village. Smithson, a collector of Kachina dolls, is planning on traveling to Arizona to teach Hopi children about art. Poleahla offered to come to Georgia for three days to educate Smithson about Hopi customs prior to her visit. “I had a great idea and thought, while he was here these three days, wouldn’t it be great to invite him to speak at one of our schools, and I first thought of Darlington. My daughter went to Darlington and I have a special place in my heart for this school,” Smithson said.
Founded in 1680, Poleahla’s town of Walpi-Polacca is located on a mesa northeast of Flagstaff, and is a major tourist attraction of the Southwest. The word “Hopi” means “The Peaceful People” or the “Peaceful Little Ones.”
