Rooted in Zuni tradition. Building energy sovereignty for the future.
Hawikku is a Zuni-led nonprofit organization founded by enrolled members of the Pueblo of Zuni to advance education, entrepreneurship, clean energy, and community resilience. The organization was formally incorporated in New Mexico in 2024 with a mission to improve quality of life for Zuni people while strengthening cultural continuity and self-determination
The name Hawikku reflects a deep connection to place, history, and responsibility—honoring ancestral villages and the Zuni people’s longstanding relationship with land, water, and sky. Guided by Zuni teachings, Hawikku approaches modern challenges through Indigenous values: collective well-being, stewardship, and living in balance with the natural world.
Today, Hawikku focuses on expanding household solar adoption, culturally grounded education, and local workforce development to ensure that clean energy infrastructure is owned, understood, and sustained by the community itself. Through residential solar installations, hands-on training, and community-based programming, Hawikku is building pathways to energy sovereignty that reduce household costs, strengthen resilience, and keep energy dollars circulating locally.
In 2025, Hawikku completed the Hawikku Solar Community Hub, a solar-powered office and learning center supported by Dell Technologies. The Hub serves as a living demonstration of clean energy in daily use and a base for youth STEM education, robotics, entrepreneurship training, and community programming in partnership with the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps. These efforts translate clean energy from an abstract concept into practical, visible benefits for Zuni families.
Solar adoption in Zuni is not treated as a stand-alone technology deployment, but as a community-driven movement rooted in cultural stewardship. Hawikku’s work reflects thousands of years of Zuni knowledge—adapting ancestral principles of balance and responsibility into modern climate resilience that can sustain future generations.
Our Roots: The Major Market, Inc. Story
A family legacy of food sovereignty, community health, and resilience
Hawikku’s work builds on decades of community investment led by Major Market, Inc., a Zuni family-owned business founded by the Tsabetsaye family, enrolled members of the Pueblo of Zuni. Major Market was originally established in the late 1980s and grew into one of the most significant Native-owned private employers in Zuni, creating stable jobs and essential services in a community long underserved by outside markets.
Major Market was re-envisioned in response to persistent food insecurity, high rates of diet-related illness, and the loss of local food systems caused by environmental disruption and economic marginalization. After years of planning, land stewardship, and capital assembly—often in the face of barriers unique to Native businesses—the Tsabetsaye family constructed a 5,600-square-foot community grocery store on family-owned land along NM-53 in Zuni
The modern Major Market is more than a grocery store. It is a community anchor dedicated to healthy food access, offering fresh produce, custom-cut meats, traditional Native ingredients, and purified water—while supporting local farmers, ranchers, and Indigenous foodways. Letters of support from community organizations, Native CDFIs, and national partners describe Major Market as a critical response to Zuni’s designation as a USDA food desert and a model for Native-led economic development
Major Market has also served as a proving ground for clean energy deployment in Zuni. In 2022, the business installed an 84.5 kW USDA REAP–funded solar carport, paired with New Mexico Department of Transportation–funded Level 3 EV charging infrastructure—demonstrating that renewable energy can strengthen essential community services while reducing operating costs. A Phase II USDA REAP award will add an additional 35 kW rooftop solar system and a 120 kWh battery energy storage system, further increasing resilience for food refrigeration, water purification, and transportation access.
This legacy of perseverance, innovation, and community accountability directly informs Hawikku’s approach today. Where Major Market demonstrated what is possible at the commercial and community-anchor scale, Hawikku extends that vision to Zuni households—ensuring that families, elders, and multigenerational homes can benefit directly from clean, locally owned energy.