The People of the Mesas are the Hopi. First Mesa, Second Mesa and Third Mesa with 9 villages located on these three Mesas. The Village of Old Oraibi has the distinction of being the oldest town in the United States that has been continuously occupied.

Basket making is an essential component of traditional Hopi culture and remains so even today. Baskets are essential to the Hopi and their traditional way of life. Besides being used as a utility, baskets have many social and ceremonial functions within the Hopi culture. There are two principal kinds of baskets: wickers, which are made on the Third Mesa and coils, which come from Second Mesa villages. Coils are considered sturdier and harder to make than wickers, which have a pleasing texture to their slightly open pattern. Kachina images and other figures, command higher prices and more attention. The wickers are made from wild currant and rabbit brush and the coils from yucca and galleta grass.