Dallas, Eugene Hopi Field Mouse Kachina

Eugene Dallas · Hopi

Field Mouse Katsina

Eugene Dallas is a Hopi Katsina carver from Hotevilla, on Third Mesa of the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. Born in 1958, he comes from a family of artists and is part of a respected tradition of Katsina carving within Hopi culture.

Though small and easily overlooked, the Field Mouse Katsina is a powerful symbol of courage, cleverness, and humility in the Hopi tradition. In one story, the Field Mouse defeats a dangerous predator threatening the Hopi people — not through strength, but through stealth and intelligence. This Katsina reminds us that even the meekest among us can be heroes, and that wisdom often comes from the most unexpected places. Sometimes called Kooyemsi Waka, it is a lesser-known but symbolically rich figure in the Hopi tradition, tied to agricultural themes, practical survival, and the teaching of humility and resourcefulness.