In this sixth episode of our seven-part road trip through Arizona, we're doing something a little different. This isn't a journey to a place, but into a culture. Arizona is home to 22 Native American tribes, each with its own artistic traditions, and the Indigenous art made here is among the most beautiful you'll find anywhere.

Beneath Hole-in-the-Rock in Phoenix's Papago Park, where the ancestral Hohokam once tracked the seasons by the sun, a world champion hoop dancer brings the drum and the hoops to life. Then we travel north to the Hopi Mesas to meet a basket weaver whose art carries a powerful message for her community, and for all of us.

This is Arizona - the Wonder of Native American Art

Episode Highlights:

The Heartbeat of the Drum

Sit in the shade of an ancient sandstone butte as Sampson Sixkiller Sinquah and his uncle Zachary Smith play a powwow drum. Hear why the drum is known as the heartbeat of Mother Earth, and why every drum has its own spirit.

The Hoop Dance

Hear the story of the hoop dance, a healing dance passed down through generations. To the beat of the powwow drum, the dancer sends as many as a dozen hoops flowing around their body, forming flowers and globes, eagles and butterflies, and finally the circle of life itself.

Baskets From the Earth

Travel to Second Mesa on the Hopi Reservation to meet basket weaver Iva Honyestewa in her gallery, Iskaskopu, "the spring where the coyote burps." Find out how every strand of her baskets is gathered by hand from the desert, and why she always leaves an offering of cornmeal in return.

Weaving a Message

Discover the Pootsaya, a new kind of Hopi basket Iva created to bring her community together. Hear why she believes the feeling a maker puts into a piece of art stays with it, and reaches whoever holds it.

Walk the Hopi Arts Trail

Find out how you can visit Iva and other Hopi artists in their homes and studios, and take home far more than a souvenir.

Thank you to our guests:

• Sampson Sixkiller Sinquah and Zachary Smith, Sinquah Productions: sinquahproductions.com
• Iva Honyestewa, Iskaskopu Gallery, Second Mesa: hopiartstrail.com/member/iva-honyestewa
• Plan your visit to Hopi artists' studios: hopiartstrail.com

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Recorded entirely on location over ten extraordinary days, this immersive documentary podcast follows a road trip designed and road-tested by presenter and award winning travel writer Aaron Millar (The Times, National Geographic Traveller(UK) and more) and his team at Armchair Productions.

To find out how you can take this exact road trip yourself, here's what to do:

• visit HaysTravel.co.uk and search up Wonders of Arizona
• pop into one of more than 500 stores and ask us about it
• give one of our experts a call on 0800 408 4048

CREDITS:

The Wonders of Arizona podcast is written and presented by Aaron Millar. Field recording and audio production by Jason Paton. Pre-production and itinerary by Brian Thacker. Produced by Armchair Productions for Visit Arizona.