The Hopi Tribe was under strict safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic, with nightly curfews and stay-at-home orders. That left little to do for young people on the remote Reservation in northeastern Arizona. So…they started skateboarding. Anywhere they could. It was something to do outside, together, that was relatively safe. It became therapeutic. In the village of Tewa, two friends decided to create a skateboarding collective and build the Hopi Tribe’s first skate park. KNAU’s Sakya Calsoyas spent a recent sunny day at the half pipe.
The Hopi Tribe was under strict safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic, with nightly curfews and stay-at-home orders. That left little to do for young people on the remote Reservation in northeastern Arizona. So…they started skateboarding. Anywhere they could. It was something to do outside, together, that was relatively safe. It became therapeutic. In the village of Tewa, two friends decided to create a skateboarding collective and build the Hopi Tribe’s first skate park. KNAU’s Sakya Calsoyas spent a recent sunny day at the half pipe.
I hope this will inspire other youth groups to try and do something like this to make the Hopi community a better place for the future generations of our people
Native American teenagers of the Hopi reservation saw a need for a community skate park. The youth group built one by gathering support, securing land, and receiving funding.