{"id":22313,"date":"2025-05-10T21:55:04","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T21:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/debuting-film-features-hopi-man-who-traced-his-dna-back-to-chaco-canyon\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:12:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:12:49","slug":"debuting-film-features-hopi-man-who-traced-his-dna-back-to-chaco-canyon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/debuting-film-features-hopi-man-who-traced-his-dna-back-to-chaco-canyon\/","title":{"rendered":"Debuting film features Hopi man who traced his DNA back to Chaco Canyon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"An
An elevated view of Room 33, a archaeological site at Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Culture National Historical Park. \u201cRoom 33 \u2013 Chaco Canyon\u2019s Room With A View Into the Past,\u201d by filmmaker Larry Ruiz, will premiere at the Fort Lewis College Lyceum on Wednesday. (Courtesy of Rich Friedman)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cRoom 33 \u2013 Chaco Canyon\u2019s Room With A View Into the Past,\u201d by filmmaker Larry Ruiz, will premiere at the Fort Lewis College Lyceum as part of a San Juan Basin Archaeological Society presentation on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The documentary film has a runtime of 19 minutes 13 seconds and features Philip Tuwaletstiwa, a member of the Hopi Tribe who discovered via a DNA test his lineage traces back to the people of the Chacoan civilization, remnants of which lie in Chaco Culture National Historical Park.<\/p>\n

Tuwaletstiwa explained in the film his DNA traced back to Chile, but his closest matching relative was determined with DNA taken from human remains found within Room 33 in Pueblo Bonito, which was first excavated in the late 1800s.<\/p>\n

He said in the film he was speaking as an individual and not on behalf of the Hopi Tribe, and noted the difficulty of getting Native Americans to contribute DNA for research because of an incident in Arizona where Native DNA was collected for medical reasons and then used for other purposes, breaking trust between tribes and researchers.<\/p>\n

Ruiz said Tuwaletstiwa\u2019s story bolsters the sovereign Picuris Pueblo nation\u2019s research using DNA to corroborate its oral histories<\/a> as reported by The Associated Press, and it is Tuwaletstiwa\u2019s hope his experience does not overshadow that greater research.<\/p>\n

The film explores artifacts found in Room 33 and neighboring sites, architecture and masonry, and aspects of Chaco civilization that are or are not understood.<\/p>\n

Rich Friedman, who spent about 40 years researching the Chacoan civilization and 25 years researching Pueblo Bonito specifically and who appears in the film, said DNA gives researchers another unique window into the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt confirms what he\u2019s heard through the years,\u201d he said of Tuwaletstiwa and DNA research. \u201cFinally, the sciences have come here to support the oral histories, which is a pretty important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Philip
Philip Tuwaletstiwa, a member of the Hopi Tribe, discovered in 2021 a DNA test traces his ancestry back to the people of the Chacoan civilization and to Chile, reflecting oral histories he was taught and bolstering a DNA study that corroborated oral histories of the Picuris Pueblo sovereign nation. (Screenshot\/Courtesy of Larry Ruiz)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

But he also shares some doubts or hesitancy with Native Americans about the use of DNA research, who have said their cultures are much more complex than what many archaeologists and anthropologists recognize.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of that complexity might be misunderstood and, and as a result, the DNA analysis not really understood the way it should be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But he said the DNA research that contributed to the understanding of Picuris Pueblo\u2019s ancient history does further confirm contemporary Indigenous cultures were tied to Chacoan civilization in some way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps them establish some of their ancestry that maybe people weren\u2019t paying attention to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Esteemed researchers not paying attention to Indigenous oral histories is a problem, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite often, the importance of oral histories aren\u2019t really recognized, and what those oral histories document is isn\u2019t recognized and isn\u2019t given the weight is should and is quite often ignored,\u201d he said. \u201cThis shows clearly how science now can be used to reinforce oral histories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruiz said he plans to release the film on YouTube after it premieres at FLC on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

cburney@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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