The Hopi people are a spiritual and indigenous American group who emphasize the history of their ancestors, rather than archaeological history. The Hopi believe that their cultural landscape, or landforms related to religious and historical affairs, bodies of water, and places of worship, includes all places where the Hopi have traveled or resided. Each cultural landscape has importance to the Hopi people and they consider them the footprints, or “itaakuku” of their tribe. Archaeologists, however, have a much less spiritual view of Hopi land, rather than considering cultural landscapes, they prefer to look at archaeological sites for real. An archaeological site is a space that contains physical evidence that a tribe once lived there, whether it be architecture, artifacts, or other various physical evidence. For some, this may just be a conflict between religion and science, however, for the Hopi people, their beliefs go much deeper than their history. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Hopi people rely on oral history and the words of their ancestors, these passed down stories are believed to be facts. They are a spiritual group of people who rely heavily on their history and ancestors. The Hopi believe that ancestral sites are still occupied by the spirits of their ancestors, and they care for these lands and venerate them as if they were shrines. A conflict of ideas arises when Hopi beliefs differ from the beliefs of archaeologists. The Hopi people believe they exited and entered the world and traveled across the lands until they reached their holy land. This journey is important to the Hopi people and they believe that the land the Hopi walked on before arriving at their destination was also Hopi land and is considered sacred. Archaeologists and anthropologists, however, believe that most indigenous people came from a land bridge that existed years and years ago and connected Asia to America. According to the fossil record, they do not believe that the indigenous people came from America because the oldest human remains found are more evolved than those found in Asia. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay However, these issues go far beyond conflict of ideas. Near Flagstaff, Arizona, in the San Francisco Peaks, the Hopi have worshiped for years and use the mountains as shrines to their ancestors. However, in the last thirty years, the construction of a ski resort was planned in these lands. Despite protests by the Hopi and even lawsuits against the Department of Agriculture for desecrating their land, the American justice system ruled in favor of the ski resort. The Hopi people, like many other indigenous peoples, have unique and spiritual beliefs. The Hopi are as strong in their faith as their ancestors and should be treated with respect like any other religious institution. Despite differences in beliefs about how the Hopi people came to America, ultimately, they were here first and just because they shared their land with the United States does not mean the United States should overstep its borders and allow recreational resorts in the their holy land. Indigenous beliefs should be respected as much as more traditional religious institutions in America.