Michael Kotutwa Johnson receives 1st Place Overall for 2016 Fall Fest Poster Competition
Michael Kotutwa Johnson, a PhD candidate in the School of Natural Resources and Environment and a member of the Hopi Tribe in northern Arizona, won the 1st Place Overall Award for the 2016 Fall Fest poster competition. The competition was sponsored by the Institute of the Environment and came with a $500 award.
Johnson's poster was titled, ?A Manual to Preserve Hopi Agriculture Conservation Techniques for an Era of Climate Change.?
Abstract for Johnson's presentation:
Since time immemorial the Hopi people have lived and farmed in the semi-arid region of the Little Colorado Plateau. Despite climatic fluctuations such as periods of drought they continue to raise crops (corn, beans and squash) without the aid of man-made irrigation systems, herbicides and pesticides. I am developing a manual that documents Hopi agriculture conservation techniques as a way of preserving Hopi indigenous knowledge. These techniques have been tested and adapted over a longer period of time than western based agriculture has existed. The manual may be used as an example for the preservation of Indigenous agricultural systems located on arid, semi-arid and non-arid regions throughout the globe.
Congratulations Michael!
Photo by Maria Elena Peterson