Context: Recently, a site located in Arizona, United States and sacred to the Hopi Native American Nation has been awarded a ‘Water and Heritage Shield’ by the International Committee on Monuments and Sites International Science Committee (ICOMOS ISC). 

• The Shield was awarded to the Black Mesa Trust (BMT), a Hopi grassroots organisation.

About the Water and Heritage Shield

• Aim: to help the public become aware of the significance of water and indigenous sacred sites all over the world and the right to cultural and historical memory.

About the Sípàapu

• It is a rocky dome made of limestone.

• It has a spring located on the Little Colorado river, a tributary of the Colorado.

• The Little Colorado joins the main the river within the Grand Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• It is sacred to the Hopi, Navajo and Zuni tribe of the United States.

About International Committee On Monuments and Sites

• It is a global non-governmental organization associated with UNESCO.

• Its mission is to promote the conservation, protection, use and enhancement of monuments, building complexes and sites.

• It is an Advisory Body of the World Heritage Committee for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO.

• As such, it reviews the nominations of cultural world heritage and ensures the conservation status of properties.

• It also contributed to a series of resource manuals jointly prepared by the Advisory Bodies (ICOMOS, IUCN and ICCROM) and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Who are the Hopi Tribal people?

• The Hopi are known as one of the oldest living cultures in documented history, having migrated north to Arizona in the 12th century.