In the Oraibi split of 1906, “traditional” Hopis separated themselves from “progressives” and established the new settlement of Hotevilla in what has been accepted as a response to changing tribal politics. Following the split, some returned to Oraibi but eventually left to establish another new settlement at Bacavi.
 
Drawing on oral accounts from Hopi consultants and on contemporary documents, Peter M. Whiteley argues that the split was in fact the result of a conspiracy among Hopi politico-religious leaders from both the “hostile” and “friendly” factions, a revolution to overturn the allegedly corrupt Oraibi religious order. A crucial element of Whiteley’s thesis is that, contrary to established theory, Hopi society was not egalitarian but was controlled by a ruling elite, the pavansinom, who clandestinely planned such events as the destruction of Awatovi because of its reacceptance of Franciscan priests.
 
Through an analysis of Bacavi social structure, Whiteley demonstrates how one fragment of a well-established society went about creating a new social order after the old one drastically fragmented. His detailed portrait of the history and social organization of a Hopi village represents an unusually rich resource for students of Hopi culture and history.

Peter M. Whiteley received his PhD in anthropology from the University of New Mexico and was director of the Special Collections Library at Northern Arizona University. He has been on the anthropology faculty at Sarah Lawrence College since 1985.

“Utilizes a wealth of published, archival, and oral sources, and handles the complexity of Hopi social organization clearly. The author is also to be commended for recognizing the importance of Hopi social stratification as well as for providing a large number of Hopi accounts and interpretations of the split. . . . [A] fascinating and lively book.”—American Anthropologist
 
“This book is far more than an exciting and provocative new explanation of the Oraibi split. Whiteley's historical ethnography clearly describes past and present third Mesa Hopi socio-religious structure. For anyone interested in Hopi or southwestern American Indian culture and history, this book is an absolute must.”—New Mexico Historical Review
 
“Whiteley presents and defends the Hopi analysis, which suggests that the split was a deliberate Hopi plot, that it had been foretold in prophecy, and that it provided for radical changes in Hopi society. A fascinating and thoroughly believable analysis. . . . [M]ust-reading for lovers of the Hopi.”—Choice
 
“A stimulating and interesting book. For anyone with more than a casual interest in the Hopi, it is well worth reading.”—American Indian Quarterly
 
“The resulting ethnohistoric reconstruction is by far the best available for the Hopi. . . . Whiteley has dealt with [the Hopi] and their conceptual worlds with respect and empathy. Beyond this, he has shown both thoroughness and sensitivity in examining the archival resources pertinent to the topic. Deliberate Acts is a book every student of Hopi history must wrestle with.”—Journal of the Southwest
 
“Indispensable reading for ethnohistorians, specialists of comparative religions, Americanists, those interested in the theory of social change, religious movements, and Native American studies. . . . [A] book for constant reference in any scholarly enterprise to unravel the intricacies of Pueblo society.”—Shuichi Nagata, University of Toronto
 
“Graced with some extraordinary photographs and informed by scholarship that gives proper attention to internal Hopi history, this is a book of substance. Peter Whiteley has been willing to listen to voices too often unheard or misinterpreted.”—Journal of Arizona History
 
“Whiteley’s ‘ethnosociological’ reconstructions brings an impressive array of individual Hopi participants in the split back to life, and his (by far the most exhaustive) data from the contemporary sources provide a remarkable confirmation of the internal critique by the Hopi. . . . The best available account of Hopi culture and history, and, as with other classic monographs, [Deliberate Acts] raises new questions.”—Man
 
 “A useful history of the split and the development of Bacavi.”—Ethnohistory