One of the abiding problems in the study of American Indians is that it is plagued by stereotyping and romanticism. In the history of ideas in Europe and the United States, negative as well as positive stereotyping has been called "primitivism." Much of the author's work has been an attempt to get beyond primitivism in order to get to know real human beings, whether in the field or in the history books. The Hopis have been singled out by Europeans and Americans as a most special people. Despite concerted efforts against this attitude by both scholars and Hopis, the stereotyping continues unabated. Following along the lines of a recent contribution on deconstructing primitivism in the study of Hopi Indian religion (Geertz 2008b), the author explores evil in Hopi thought. The Hopis are no more evil than other people, but they have often been portrayed as being exceedingly harmonious and good by people who don't know any better. It is therefore instructive to see how Hopis deal with the problem of evil, and, hopefully, along the way one will gain insight into real human beings. (Contains 24 notes.)