The plantings were situated near springs or where runoffs could aid in any irrigation. "The Peaceful Ones,"" as the Hopi name means did not live long free from aggressive contacts; first from the Navajo and Apache descending down from the north and later from the Spanish ascending up from Mexico. The region in which the Hopi inhabited in antiquity is called Tutsqua. Throughout the Tutsqua are found evidences of Hopi settlements current and abandoned. Located over the vast area are sacred shrines or holy places. The Hopi had little contact with its non-Indian intruders and overlords. The primary contact the Hopi tribe had with the United States government was in requesting protection against Navajo raids.
The Diné or Navajo as those whom they would "borrow- from would call them, is believed to have come from northwest Canada. The Diné language closely resembles the language family, Athapascan, coming out of Alaska/Canada. Claiming as most aboriginal peoples, the Navajo trace their ancestry back to time immemorial, descending from the gods. Earliest history, first finds evidence of their presence between 700 and 1000 CE. It appears that the Diné came in waves and not all at once. They are seen as a force to be reckon with in the period of time just prior to the coming of the Spanish in the sixteenth century. Adaptability was characteristic of the Diné. From the various tribes they picked up shepherding, dry farming, silver-smithing, weaving and domesticating cattle and horses. In fact the first historical record of American Indians riding horses was on a raid by the Navajo upon Spanish soldiers from whom the horses were stolen. Because of the aggressiveness of the Navajo its contact with the United States was other than friendly. When it was rumored that gold was on Navajo land, Kit Carson to find and bring all the Navajo to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico.
