Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary Places Reflecting
America's Diverse Cultures Explore their Stories in the National
Park System Walnut Canyon National Monument The rugged terrain
in the Flagstaff, Arizona area was home to the Ancestral
Puebloans from whom the present day Hopi are descended. Known by
their descendants as Hisatsinom, meaning people of long ago, the
Hopi ancestors lived in this region for more than 800 years.
Although they were not the first to inhabit the Flagstaff area,
the Hopi ancestors were the first residents to establish
permanent dwellings in a 20-miles long, 400-feet deep, and
¼-mile wide canyon. Walnut Canyon National Monument preserves
these cliffside homes, which tell the story of the Ancestral
Puebloans of Flagstaff and their influence on Hopi culture
today. Believed to have lived in the Flagstaff area from 600
until 1400 AD, the Hopi ancestors were an innovative people who
managed to sustain their community in an arid region.
Archeologists named this group of Ancestral