Community Radio
Wishing on “Shooting Stars” Hopi Radio Reignites a Culture and Its Language
“I volunteer at the station because I want Hopi to learn and keep our own heritage and language. It is my passion and we receive encouragement from the community.” — KUYI-FM radio volunteer
KUYI staff (L-R): Thomas Humeyestewa, production assistant; Anthoney Dukepoo, operations assistant; (baby) Abbott Dukepoo, Richard Alun Davis, station manager; Hongvi Preston, community volunteer; Macadio Namoki, marketing and development assistant.
Volunteer DJ Bruce Talawyma on air.
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Cara Dukepoo
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ore than a decade ago, in 2000, the inception of KUYI 88.1 FM in Keams Canyon, Arizona, began through community efforts to meet the growing need to hear the news and music in the Hopi language on the Hopi reservation in Northern Arizona. Today, inside almost every home, office, and vehicle, the radio is tuned to KUYI, which is also Hopi for “water.” The station has become an integral part of life on the Hopi reservation, as listeners start their day with a morning greeting in the Hopi Language. KUYI Hopi radio is a project of the Hopi Foundation, the oldest nonprofit organization on the Hopi Reservation that invests in local capacity building and community-based solutions. The station is one of roughly 50 that broadcasts on Native American lands to Native American listeners. KUYI is fortunate to have a staff of volunteer DJs who are fluent in Hopi. They share the Hopi language through the airwaves, ensuring the language is heard and spoken. And they serve as positive role models for youth, giving them a sense of pride in their identity, language, and heritage. The sharing of language creates a strong connection with “home,” as apparent by Hopi listeners who live around the world and listen online. Volunteer DJ Bruce Talawyma says, “Speaking Hopi on-air is a comfort to fluent speakers. To non-fluent speakers it is a way for them to hear, learn, and engage. The language is not spoken by the younger generation; they are hungry to learn, yet they don’t have a place to learn. I hope that by my continuing to speak, the language will be picked up.” Hopi elders say that our language is the root of perpetuating Hopi culture. Fluency began to decline during the era when children were forced into local mission and Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding schools. With the decline of their language, Hopi people also experienced a loss of cultural identity. Those who attended the boarding schools from the 1940s through the 1960s now find it difficult to teach their children and grandchildren to speak Hopi because they are not fluent themselves. A 1998 language survey by the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office found that 100 percent of Hopi elders (60 years or older) were fluent, while fluency in adults age 40-59 was only 84 percent; the numbers dropped to 50 percent in young adults age 20-39; and just 5 percent in children age 2–19. The survey projected that within one to two generations, the Hopi language would be completely lost—unless young adults and children begin to learn, speak, and practice their language. For this reason, among so many others, KUYI serves as a lifeline to and for our community. Recently, on one of the coldest mornings in northern Arizona history, KUYI listeners heard All photos courtesy of KUYI FM