Subsistence and Commercial Activities. Aboriginal Hopis were horticulturalists, hunters, and gatherers. The major crop was maize. Hopis traded widely with neighboring peoples and were well known for the textiles that men wove of the cotton they grew. European articles were accepted and traded; and after coming under American rule, Hopi participated enthusiastically in wage labor and established Numerous small businesses. Today, wage labor, commercial cattle ranching (begun in the 1920s), pensions, and welfare are major economic resources for those who live on the reservation. Commercial craft production has been a supplementary source of income for both men and women since the 1860s, and tourism is a major source of income for a small percentage of the population. Dogs were used for hunting aboriginally. Sheep and cattle supplemented hunting until the early twentieth century.
Industrial Arts. Cotton garments were woven for home consumption and external trade. Basketry was important for home use and for ceremonial exchange. Painted pottery, a traditional craft that had fallen into decline, was revived as a commercial craft in the late nineteenth century. Modern clothing, tools, and household goods began to be used in the late nineteenth century. Today, the traditional crafts are made for ceremonial use, sale, and to some degree household decoration.
Division of Labor. Men did most of the subsistence labor, in addition to weaving textiles and working wood and leather. Women performed mainly processing tasks and made pottery and baskets. After contact, both sexes took advantage of wage labor opportunities on and off the reservation. Today, women and men hold a variety of jobs in teaching, administration, clerical tasks, and commerce as well as skilled and unskilled labor. Both sexes did and do perform ritual activities. Land Tenure. Land close to the village was owned by clans and was divided up among matrilocal clan households. Men cultivated land they received through their wives, and the harvested crops belonged to their wives. In addition, plots of land accompanied certain ceremonial positions. Since the horse and wagon and later the pickup truck were introduced, men have cleared fields in unclaimed territory farther from the village. These become their private property, which is often passed on to their sons.