Thomas Banyacya, Sr. (June 2, 1909 – February 6, 1999) was a Hopi Native American traditionalist leader.
[1][2][3][4] Thomas Banyacya was born on June 2, 1909, and grew up in the village of Moenkopi, Arizona.
[3] He first attended Sherman Indian School in Riverside, California and then Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
[6] In 1948, he was one of four Hopis (the other were David Monongye, Dan Evehema, and Dan Katchongva) who were named by elders to communicate Hopi traditional wisdom and teachings, including the Hopi prophecies for the future, to the general public, after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.
[6] Banyacya died on February 6, 1999, in Keams Canyon, Arizona.