'Everything is drying.' Springs on Hopi Land Decline. Sacred Connection Lost.

MISHONGNOVI — At the base of a sandstone mesa, the ground descends in a series of stone terraces and steps, forming an oval-shaped ceremonial gathering place with flat rocks arranged around a central pit. At the bottom, a pool of water shimmers in the sun. This natural spring, called Toreva Spring, is a sacred place for Hopi people. For centuries, they have held religious ceremonies here while looking into its serene waters.  When he was a boy, Howard Dennis sat by the water during ceremonies and dangled his feet in the cool spring. “See that little ledge right there? At the bottom, that’s how high it used to be,” Dennis said, motioning to the dry edge of the pit.  Over the past four decades, he said, the water level in the spring has dropped 8 to 10 feet. - AZ Central