More Than a Race: A Local's Guide to the Annual Footprints for Hopi Event in Arizona

Every summer, runners and walkers gather in the pines near Flagstaff for Footprints for Hopi, a fundraiser organized by Hopi Relief, a nonprofit founded by members of the Hopi Tribe. The event raises money and awareness for the everyday needs of Hopi communities, and it has become a meaningful way for people from across Arizona to show up for their neighbors, one step at a time.

A run with a purpose

Footprints for Hopi began during the pandemic, when Hopi Relief was delivering food and essential household supplies to families across the Hopi reservation and needed a creative way to fund that work. It started as a virtual run and has grown into an annual in-person event held each summer at a county park in Flagstaff, with a course that runs through the pines near the San Francisco Peaks, a landscape of deep significance to the Hopi people. Runners can participate in person, choose a shorter walk, or join virtually from anywhere, which is how support from across Arizona and beyond finds its way in.

What the event supports

The run is the organization's primary fundraiser, and the money goes to practical, ongoing needs: food distribution, water access, and hygiene and household supplies for residents of Hopi villages, along with support for local Hopi artists and community projects. It is aid shaped by Hopi priorities, organized by Hopi leadership, which is part of why it resonates so strongly with participants. When you register, you are not just running a race, you are helping stock a pantry, support an artist, and keep essential goods moving to families who need them.

Why events like this matter

The Hopi people have lived on their land in northeastern Arizona for centuries, and that land presents real, longstanding challenges, including limited access to water and the distance of essential services from many villages. Events like Footprints for Hopi matter because they turn awareness into action without turning sovereign communities into spectacles. The tone is one of partnership and respect: supporters bring funds and attention, and the community itself decides how they are used. That model is worth honoring, and it is the reason the event keeps growing. The setting matters too: the race winds through a landscape the Hopi people hold sacred, which gives participants a felt connection to the place the event serves rather than a distant, abstract cause.

How to participate or give back

The easiest way to join is to find the event online, through Hopi Relief, and register for the in-person run or the virtual option. You can also volunteer, fundraise among friends and family, or donate directly to support the same programs the race funds. For Arizona residents, it can be a meaningful addition to the summer calendar, a morning in the mountains that raises money and connection at the same time. For people outside the area, the virtual option means anyone, anywhere, can carry a footprint for Hopi, and even a small contribution, or simply telling someone about the event, carries the awareness forward.

A note from Denise

I share this event because it is a genuine Arizona story: neighbors supporting neighbors, runners showing up for communities that have been on this land far longer than any of our towns. Supporting Native communities means listening to their priorities and showing up consistently, and Footprints for Hopi is one small, concrete way to do that. If you are new to Arizona, it is also a beautiful introduction to the state beyond the Valley, worth the drive north for the cause alone. If you are considering a move to the Flagstaff area or anywhere in northern Arizona, reach out, and my relocation guide has more on how Arizona's different regions compare.