OUR VISION
Nurture - Protect - Respect
We envision a world where Humanity values, cares for, respects, protects, and nurtures our Mother Earth while ensuring abundance for future generations.
ABOUT HOPI TUTSKWA PERMACULTURE
Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture is a community Indigenous-led non-profit based in the Village of Kykotsmovi, located in Northern Arizona on the Indigenous Hopi Reservation. Our mission is to create community-based solutions in order to pass knowledge to future generations and rebuild culturally sustainable and healthy communities. We initiate learning projects that engage, train, and inspire Hopi youth and community to revitalize Hopi culture, knowledge, and traditions. We support Hopi community members in developing leadership skills to strengthen local food systems and to implement sustainable ecological projects within the Hopi community. We aim to provide our community with the tools, training and practical experience needed to rebuild a vibrant community based on traditional Hopi values and worldview.
HOPI TUTSKWA STAFF, BOARD OF DIRECTORS & COLLABORATORS
Jacobo Marcus - Operations Director
Jacobo is the Operations Director for HTPI, he works to ensure that programming and core operations are functional and sustainable. He continues to co-manage HTPI's Sustainable Homeownership Program. Jacobo is a father, farmer, bee-keeper, teacher, natural builder and musician. He's also a Certified Orchard-Keeper and Certified Permaculture Designer who works in collaboration with many farmers, youth, schools and community members to plant fruit tree orchards and to help restore the supply of fresh fruit and food with in the Hopi villages and schools. Jacobo has a B.A. in Music and has attended many trainings and workshops in permaculture design, orchard restoration, bee-keeping, greywater/rainwater harvesting and natural building. Jacobo enjoys working with the Hopi community, caring for bees and fruit trees, spending time with his family, and playing music
Carrie Sakeva - Finance Manager
Carrie Sakeva is a member of the Hopi Nation and comes from the Snake Clan from the Village of Sichomovi. Carrie earned her B.S. degree in Business Administration from Northern Arizona University with years of experience providing her excellent expertise as Business Manager for the Keams Canyon Elementary School. Carrie is an alumni of our Hopi Permaculture Apprenticeship Program, has served as Treasurer on HTPI's Board of Directors and recently joined our team as Financial Manager working with our staff and board to effectively manage our financial resources and assets.
Lilian Hill-Strategic Advisor/Resource Mobilizer
Lilian, along with her husband Jacobo Marcus founded the Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture Institute in 2004 as a way to develop community leadership and provide opportunities for the Hopi community to develop sustainable solutions to the problems that exist on the reservation. Lilian has traveled to Italy, Africa, India, Tajikistan, New Zealand, and Mexico learning, sharing her work, and promoting community sustainability models developed by HTPI. She has studied at the North American School of Natural Building and has a B.S. Degree from Northern Arizona University in Applied Indigenous Studies and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. In 2015 Lilian was awarded the Agricultural Humanitarian of Year Award by the Justin Willie Foundation, and is a Skoll Foundation Fellow. In 2019 she was chosen as a Castenea Fellow which supports established rural, urban, and tribal leaders across the United States committed to building a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable food system for children, families, and all of our communities. Lilian recently served as the Executive Director of the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance and is currently pursuing her M.A. in Sustainable Communities at Northern Arizona University. Lilian provides high-level support to HTPI while leading fundraising efforts to mobilize the organization and community.
CiAnna Sakeva - Community Program Coordinator
CiAnna Sakeva is a member of the Hopi Nation and comes from the Snake Clan from the Village of Sichomovi. She has years of work experience working in the Hopi community with non-profits and community based initiatives such as the Hopi Foundation and the Hopi Elections Office. In addition CiAnna continues to create and strengthen programs and initiatives that directly benefit the Hopi and Tewa Community. In her previous role she has managed the Hopi Farmers Market and the Hopi Tutskwa CSA, centering local food access and support to Indigenous growers in our region. CiAnna has transitioned from this role into a core leadership staff position to provide leadership in ensuring that HTPI's programs are community-led and impactful.
Maree Mahkewa - Land Steward Fellowship Coordinator
Maree Mahkewa is a recent graduate of Northern Arizona University (NAU) receiving her B.A. in Environmental Sustainability Studies and minoring in Psychology and Sustainable and Resilient Communities. Her Hopi name is Paaqupmana which means Bamboo/Reed Girl. She is a member of the Hopi Nation and comes from the Corn Clan in the Village of Tewa. Maree is part of the inaugural cohort of the Center for Native American Youth’s Ambassadors for Land Conservation. Maree is focused on developing a community-based Fellowship Program focused on supporting Land Stewardship. Maree is also involved in many community-based projects such as the First Mesa Inaugural Earth Day Clean-Up and the First Mesa Erosion Control Project, initiatives to beautify and steward Hopi Ancestral Lands.
Hawthorne Dukepoo - Assistant Builder
Hawthorne is from the Village of Kykostmovi and a member of the Tobacco (Pipwungwa) Clan. He is a dedicated farmer, water harvester and orchardist. Hawthorne has studied Forestry and practiced restoration techniques throughout the landscape. He was born into a family of farmer's, builders and permaculturalists and lives in a passive solar hybrid stone, cob and straw bale home surrounded by gardens, trees and bees in Kykotsmovi. Hawthorne loves to spend time outdoors and is an avid fisherman.
Construction Remodel Crew: Kevin Lomatska, Zachary Lomatska, Allen Joshvaema, Woody Coochytewa, Jeffery Dennis, Ronson Kallestewa
HTPI BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our Board consists of community leaders who are active and contributing members to our
community and are working towards developing the capacity and longevity of HTPI. We are proud and fortunate to work collaboratively with our current Board of Directors to strengthen capacity and initiatives.
Ryan Tafoya-President
Ryan Tafoya is from the Jicarilla Apache reservation and grew up in Dulce, New Mexico. He and his wife Alyssa have been residing in Hopi since 2015 and currently live in Polacca with their two-year-old son, Rael. Ryan currently works as Marketing Manager for The Hopi Foundation (HF) and also provides contract communications services. He previously worked as Marketing and Special Events Manager for the Hopi Education Endowment Fund (HEEF) and also has prior experience in wildland firefighting, maintenance, construction, warehouse management, and accounting. Ryan received his bachelor’s degree in English-Communications from Fort Lewis College in 2012. He is a member of the Hopi Food Co-op and volunteers for the Hopi Farmers’ Market. Although he has never served on a board, he has experience in working with nonprofit boards in his work with HEEF and HF. Ryan’s interests include reading, foreign languages, writing, being outdoors, woodworking, strengthening Native communities, humor, music, art, video games, journalism, driving, and helping others.
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Alyssa Fredericks-Vice-President
Alyssa is a Roadrunner/Mustard Seed from Sichomovi Village. Alyssa graduated from Ft. Lewis College with a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Science Athletic Training and aMaster of Science in Athletic Training. She currently holds two jobs as a Parent Educator and an Athletic Trainer at the Hopi Jr/Sr High School. She is a member of Hopi Food Co-Op and an active volunteer at the Hopi Farmers Market. Alyssa is married to Ryan Tafoya, and is the mother of a 2 year old toddler Rael and a fur baby dog Moxxi. She is a gardening novice and loves to be outdoors (camping, hiking, swimming). Alyssa loves to travel and try new things, and enjoys photography and sketching
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Valerie Nuvayestewa-Treasurer
Valerie Nuvayestewa is Hopi/Tewa, Corn clan, from the village of Tewa. She currently works as an Elderly Coordinator for the Village of Tewa Administration in Polacca Arizona and also as a part-time Americorps under the University of Arizona, Hopi Agricultural Extension Agent, in which she assists in gardening and growing programs with STEM education related to this area. Valerie is a former Diabetes Prevention Educator, Department of Health and Human Services and is an alumnus of the Hopi Foundations’, Hopi Leadership Program (HLP) which was designed to grow strong, effective and culturally grounded professionals at Hopi by using a model based on Hopi culture and western education. She has received certifications in Diabetes education and is a Native Youth Fitness trainer and Health Coach. Valerie is also a current Community Advisory Board (CAB) member for the Natwani Coalition, a non-profit group that helps support agricultural sustainability in the Hopi community; she is a member of the Hopi Food Co-op, a board member of Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture, and the Unite to End Violence-Native Women’s Empowerment Group, She has recently been added to the Land Healers Foundation, whose protection of traditional cultural and environmental knowledge is restoring faith in healing themselves and their sacred lands. Knowing that ensuring continuity of ancestral values is essential to the future of indigenous communities, Valerie draws from her unique background and experiences growing up with a traditional lifestyle on the Hopi reservation where she incorporates Hopi knowledge and nutrition within the schools and communities.
Maree Mahkewa-Secretary
Maree Mahkewa is a recent graduate of Northern Arizona University (NAU) receiving her B.A. in Environmental Sustainability Studies and minoring in Psychology and Sustainable and Resilient Communities. Her Hopi name is Paaqupmana which means Bamboo/Reed Girl. She is a member of the Hopi Nation and comes from the Corn Clan in the Village of Tewa. Maree is part of the inaugural cohort of the Center for Native American Youth’s Ambassadors for Land Conservation. Maree is focused on developing a community-based Fellowship Program focused on supporting Land Stewardship. Maree is also involved in many community-based projects such as the First Mesa Inaugural Earth Day Clean-Up and the First Mesa Erosion Control Project, initiatives to beautify and steward Hopi Ancestral Lands.
Darrance Makwesa Chimerica, Board Member
Makwesa Chimerica is Fire Clan from the Village of Bacavi. He is an accomplished artist and father who continues to uphold Hopi culture and traditions. Darrance is a homeowner in the Hopi Tutskwa Sustainable Homeowner Program, and has been an avid supporter of HTPI’s work.
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Lilian Hill - Strategic Advisor/Board Member
Lilian is the former Executive Director of HTPI, where she focused on growing HTPI's impact locally, regionally, and internationally as a leader in sustainable community development. Lilian, along with her husband Jacobo Marcus founded HTPI in 2004 as a way to develop community leadership and provide opportunities for the Hopi community to develop sustainable solutions to the problems that are in existence on the reservation. In 2001, Lilian founded the Black Mesa Water Coalition, an organization working to address energy and water exploitation on the Navajo and Hopi Reservations. Lilian has traveled to Italy, Africa, India, Tajikistan, and Mexico learning, sharing her work, and promoting community sustainability models developed by HTPI. She has studied at the North American School of Natural Building and has a B.S. Degree from Northern Arizona University in Applied Indigenous Studies and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. In 2015 Lilian was awarded the Agricultural Humanitarian of Year Award by the Justin Willie Foundation, and was recently accepted as a Skoll Foundation Fellow attending the 2019 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford, England. In 2019 she was chosen as a Castenea Fellow which supports established rural, urban, and tribal leaders across the United States committed to building a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable food system for children, families, and all of our communities.
