Arizona Highways. January, 1972

              HIGHWAYS 
JANUARY 1972
 IND. 33940
 SIXTY CENTS
 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 
VOL. XLVIII No. 1 JANUARY 1972
RA YMOND CARLSON, Editor Eme ritus
JAMES E . STEVENS, Director of Publications
JOSEPH STACEY, Editor
GEORGE M. A VEY, Senior Associate Editor
WESLEY HOLDEN, Associate Editor
IN THIS ISSUE:
THE INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN INDIAN ART
Where a renaissance is preparing to emerge
LONDON BRIDGE AT HOME IN ARIZONA
CITIES OF FIRST AMERICANS
David Muench's Photographs In A
Brilliant Portfolio .
HOHOKAMS FROM THE SOUTH
THE ART OF THE OLD WEST.
PETROGLYPHS, PICTOGRAPHS & GLYPHS
Page 4
Page 6
Page 16
Page 34
Page 40
Page 46
JACK WILLIAMS, Governor of Arizona
ARIZONA HIGHWAY COMMISSION
Lew Davis, Chairman.
Rudy Campbell, Vice Chairman .
Ben F. Willi ams, Member.
Walter W. Surrett, Member .
Walter A. Nelson, Member .
Justin Herman, State Highway Director
William N. Price, State Highway Engineer
Tucson
Tempe
Douglas
Payson
Sedona
Phoenix
Phoenix
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS is published monthly by the Arizona
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COLOR CLASSICS FROM ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
THIS ISSUE
35ml11. slides in 2" mounts, 1 to 15 slides, 40¢ each; 16 to 49
slides, 35¢ each; 50 or more, 3 for $1.00. Catalog of previous
slides issued available upon request. Address: ARIZONA HIGH­WAYS,
2039 West Lewis A venue, Phoenix, Arizona 85009.
IR-I Three Turkeys, cov. I; IR-2 Taos Pueblo, cov. 2; IR-3
Betatakin Ruins, cov. 3; IR-4 Echo Cave Ruins, cov. 4; LH-I
London Bridge, p. 7; LH-2 London Bridge Ceremony, p. 10;
LH-3 London Bridge Everyday Look, p. 10; LH-4 International
Resort, p. 10; IJ-l Charles Loloma, p. IS; IC- I E-Yah-Pah-Hah,
p. 15; IR-5 Montezuma's Castle, p. 17; IR-6 Gila Cl iff Dwelling,
p. 18-19; IR7U Salado Ruins (upper), p. 20; lR7L Salado Ruins
(lower) , p. 20; IR8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E, 8F, 8G, 8H, 81, 8J, 8K,
8L, Amateur Archaeologists, p. 21; IR-9 Kiva Cave, p. 22; IR-I0
Tyuonyi Ruins, p. 22; IR-ll Pueblo Bonito Ruins, p. 22; IR-12
Pueblo Bonito Kivas, p. 23 ; IR-13 Pueblo Arroyo, p. 23; IR-14
Keel Seel, p. 24-25; IR-15 Tower of the Ancients, p. 26; IR-16
Cliff Palace, p. 27; lR-17 Mesa Top Pueblo, p. 27; IR-18 Acoma
Pueblo, p. 28-29; lR-19 Closeup - Acoma, p. 30; lR-21 City in
the Sky, p. 30; HA-47A, HA-47B, HA-47C, HA-47D, Life in
Havasupai Canyon, p. 31; HA-48 Mooney Falls, p. 31; IR-22
Diorama - Development, p. 32; IR-23 Diorama - Spruce, p. 32 ;
IR-24 Diorama-B asketmaker, p. 32; IR-26 Casa Grande, p. 34;
IR-24 Diorama - Basketmaker, p. 32; IR-26 Casa Grande, p. 34;
p. 39; IRA-3 Gila Pot Design, p. 39; IRA-4 Mimbres Bowl, p. 39;
CC-68 Beauty is Everywhere, p. 42; IR-27 White House Ruins,
p. 42; AR-IZ Ubiquitous Man, p. 47; AR2Z Washington Wash
Symbols, p. 47.
FRONT COVER - THREE TURKEYS RUINS
OPPOSITE - TAOS PUEBLO, New Mexico
Photographs By David Muench
FROM ARIZONA WITH LOVE
According to Plato: when we start out on a path of knowledge
we become more and more uncertain about all those things we are
certain about, and more certain about all those things we were uncertain
about. In Plato's time life was classically simple. The civilized world
consisted of Athenians and foreigners. The majority of the populace
were slaves who worked for, and were governed by the freemen, who
were a minority by at least a 5 to 1 ratio.
By today's measure the value of thought contained in his forestated
observation would have to be squared to an infinite root, especially in
knowledge related to the world and its people of modern times, and
above all - Indians.
There have been, and there are in various stages of publication
schedules more books written about the myths, mysteries, legends,
theories, facts, and biased and unbiased truths and contradictions about
Indians - than any existing library can catalog and house. More than
ninety percent of literature about Indians has been written by non­Indians,
who believe they know what they write about - on the other
hand - the Indian repeatedly insists what the white man knows is
not true.
So ... we're going to leave it at this point ... and those of you who
seek the answers, must seek out those dedicated and qualified sources
who are by nature born to be Anthropologists, Archaeologists, Ethnolo­gists,
or specialists in whatever "ology" one seeks the truth - to one
degree or another.
This magazine is renowned throughout the world for its beautiful
illustrations, and interesting articles, especially chosen to relax and
tranquilize the senses rather than stimulate and excite the serenity­seeking
mind into an attitude of irritating action and reaction syndromes.
I assure you that the beauties of Arizona and the Southwest are no
myths. If our photographs seem more brilliant and more appealing
than before, and the writings challenge you to come - seeing is believing
- there is no magic involved - the real reason is that our people are
inspired to the point of giving and doing their very best - and then
some .. . This environment brings out the best in people. And for the
most part brings out the best people.
We like to think of Arizona as the heart of the Southwest, naturally
and geographically one of the most spectacularly beautiful regions on
this planet. The Interstate highways are designed for safety, speed and
easy access to and from public and private facilities. The parts of our
neighboring states bordering Arizona share our way of life and the
glories and beauties of the Southwest are not restricted by horizons.
Our common interests began long before state lines were estab­lished,
when it was all generally known to geographers as the Great
American Desert. Prehistoric peoples, foreign colonizers, missionaries
and empire builders travelled freely through the vast Southwest, estab­lishing
centers of cultures and opening the trails and routes of transport
and commerce.
And so with a sincere !'Love thy neighbor" attitude we include some
of the life and beauties of our neighboring states in this special edition,
mainl y about our first Americans, in the states of Utah, Colorado and
New Mexico. We were once one with New Mexico, a Land of Enchant­ment
and enchanting people with whom we share a proud heritage of
the past - and a promise of greatness for the future.
For those travelling to Nevada and Northern California - Lake
Havasu City and London Bridge are really something to see.
See America first - the Southwest way. The more you see the
more you'll know ... The more you know the more you'll understand
. . . And to understand it is to love it . . . Es Verdad! . .. Jos. Stacey
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17th Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85007; Director of Publications, James E. Stevens; Editor,
Joseph Stacey, Art Ed itor, George M. Avey.
Average No.
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JAMES E. STEVENS, Director of Publications
NEXT MONTH: BIRDS OF THE BORDER & THE SOUTHWEST - A SPECIAL EDITION
HIGH1.VAVS
?/tM~
THE
GLORIOUS
SEASONS OF
ARIZONA
SELECTIONS FROM
THE PAGES OF ARIZONA
HIGHWAYS MAGAZINE
9n colorful Arizona, seasons are not only dependent upon the time of year, but
also upon the altitude of the area one happens presently to be in. From the statuesque
mesas of Monument Valley, to tree ringed mountain lakes, to shimmering desert floor
... Arizona offers a variety seldom experienced in any other part of the country.
ComPilation of "The Glorious Seasons Of Arizona" has involved nearly a hundred
color pictures by photographers who regularly contribute to the magazine. The
subjects and seasons are as interesting as they are varied. This camera artistry is
supported by descriptive prose and assorted. poetry appropriately chosen to accom­pany
the dramatic colorful scenes - all blended together to reveal the ever-changing
personality of Arizona. rn ere's how to get your copy. "The Glorious Seasons Of Arizona" is being dis­tributed
to newsstands and finer bookstores nationally by Independent News Company
of New York. It can also be ordered direct from ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, 2039 West
Lewis Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85009. Price: in soft-bound covers, $2.00; in hard­bound
covers, $4.95. Only a limited supply of "The Glorious Seasons Of Arizona" is
available in hardbound covers.
A Triumph
In Color
Publications
A Pictorial
Treasury Of
Colorful Arizona
Nearly One Hundred
Scenic Views
Of Arizona
4
the empty waqon
In these days when the country is so concerned about our basic ineptitudes in dealing with the
educational needs of not only Indians but all other disadvantaged groups in the country, it is indeed
gratifying to find oneself in an educational institution that seems to be working.
An English friend of mine recently likened the Indian's plight to that of a man who finds himself
in a trade situation with an empty wagon. His wagon was once full of the things he could use - land,
animals, and a functioning culture. Now they are all gone; and while the land and the game are not
replaceable, the remnants of his culture - enough to build on - are still alive. Unfortunately, in his down
position he has lost the knack for converting those values into the currency of the times, and no one has
shown him how. His cart is empty! He cannot do business. He knows only embarrassment and ignominy.
What he needs is an educational system which will give him goods of value, things he can trade in
order to regain his pride, his honor, confidence, and a sense of worth.
It is our premise at the Institution that the source of this needed wealth lies in the abundant raw
material of his cultural heritage, his philosophy, his feelings as an Indian. These raw assets he still retains,
but no one shows him how to convert them to his own use.
The Indian's richness lies not in his scientific accomplishments, but in his arts, his cultural expres­sions,
his traditions.
The Institution has found that Indian youth can be taught how to revive his spirit, his pride and his
dormant creativity by showing him that he has a wonderful offering to make to himself and to the world.
Using new technology, new materials he can invent new forms , suitable to his times, pulling heavily
upon his traditions for richness of inspiration and personal excitement.
We have found that he can produce exciting poetry, that he is capable of producing a new brand
of literature. He has an exciting new choral offering to make to the world, using his traditional songs as
the base.
And while we have not been able at this time to find support for its development, we glimpse a tre­mendously
exciting new development in orchestral music based upon a synthesis of his many fascinating, if
primitive, musical instruments! Imagine if you will a lOO-piece orchestra of all American Indian instruments.
Indian theatre could virtually set the world on its ear if we can successfully pursue our aim to develop
its unique form using legends, music, dance, costumes, designs, colors from a deep well of Indian tradi­tion.
Not to mention fresh concepts brought to the world in the fine arts, industrial design, etc.
These are the goals and objectives of this Institute, and come hell or high water we are gonna fill
the Indian's cart!
Lloyd H. New, Director
Institute of American Indian Arts
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS JANUARY I97Z
INTRODUCTION AND AFTER-COMMENT BY THE EDITOR.
INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN INDIAN ARTS
the source of an evolving renaissance of the oldest American Cultures
- emerging with a new dignity, and a new respect - prophetic of
brilliant success and a universal consummate understanding
by Lloyd New
Lloyd New was born to be a pacesetter ... a trail cutter
. and a leader in whatever he dedicated himself to do. When
I first met him in 1958 he was already a distinguished designer
and craftsman. His original creations in fabrics and leather were
of such distinctively fine qualities that only the most affluent
could afford the "limited editions" bearing his "Lloyd Kiva" hall­mark
and professional signature. His salon in Scottsdale's Fifth
Avenue Kiva Plaza was the hub of the newly emerging "high
fashion" arts and crafts world in one of America's most unusual
and fascinating market places. .
I recall an evening at his home, where I enjoyed an intimate
glimpse at his private collection of fine art represented by paint­ings,
drawings, ceramics and sculptures done by then unknown
but talented young artists. His personal views and comments con­cerning
creative art, and his sympathy and awareness of the
importance for the individual to express himself through the
various mediums of art were not only informative but also men­tally
and spiritually stimulating, and I had a feeling that here
was a man who would leave his mark on the cultural and artistic
trails of our land.
When I learned that Lloyd New had decided to give up the
business and social life of Scottsdale and Arizona to serve as a
Commissioner of The Indian Arts & Crafts Board, at New Mexico,
I knew he was about to cut a new trail. With the founding of the
Institute of American Indian Arts in 1962, he joined the staff as
Arts Director and helped to formulate the institution's educa­tional
philosophy. Lloyd New was appointed Director of the
Institute in 1967.
Born in Oklahoma of Cherokee ancestry, he is the right man
in the right place at the right time because he is old enough and
experienced enough to guarantee a solid foundation, and he is
young enough to innovate and project into the future the expres­sions
of young American Indians. Lloyd New is the ideal human
bridge connecting the old and the new, and at the Institute of
American Indian Arts he has already established a "well-spring
of new creative force relative to contemporary conditions and
New Mexico's Sangre de
Cristo Mountains,
celebrated in history and
literature, serve as a
background for this view
of the Administration
Buildings group on the
Institute of American
Indian Arts, at Santa Fe.
Photographer - IAIA
student LEO DOWNWIND,
Chippewa
environments so that the young Indian will be able to solve his
own problems and enrich the world scene in the process."
Last October (1971) I spent a rewarding and most interesting
part of an afternoon with Director New, at the Institute, in Santa
Fe, New Mexico, reminiscing a little bit on the past, and exchang­ing
questions and opinions about the future. There are many
bridges to cross and much of the trail yet to explore, survey and
build. The direction and the goal are set. I departed from our
meeting with a brief case filled with literature and information
concerning the Institute. The more I read the more I decided it
was important enough to share with our readers, who indicated by
their letters that they are aware, interested and concerned about
the life and pursuit of happiness related to our first Americans.
You have read "The Empty Wagon," and you have read
enough about Lloyd New to understand why he expresses himself
as he does. Anyone old enough to read this magazine has read
many factual or fictional articles and stories about Indians. Even
after subtracting all the negative aspects accorded to TV Indian
presentations, it must be admitted that were it not for television
many of our young Americans would be unaware of the Indian
or his way of life, because reading has, for the present at least,
become a lost way of life. The best books about Indians have been
written by non-Indians. The same is true of magazine articles and
TV and movie scripts. There are not many Indians who possess
the qualities essential to the kind of writing which will elevate
the Indian without disparaging the white man.
In the following paragraphs we have excerpted at random
some statements by Director Lloyd New, contained in a U.S.
Department of Interior Publication, titled Native American Arts I
. .. Institute of American Indian Arts. Lloyd New's essay is titled:
Cultural Difference As The Basis For Creative Education.
:;: ::! :;: * *
T he basic goal of the traditional American educational system
has been to prepare all individuals to function effectively in an
average middle class society. But, ideal as this goal may be, the
processes of mass education do not always lend themselves to
singular problems and since this country is comprised of varied
Text continued on page 12
JANUARY I97Z ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 5
Invitation to ceremonies accompanying laying of the
First Stone on June 15, 1825.
By paul ])ean
London
eridge
Has
Fanen
Here
.,. •
e harles Dickens felt the early moods
of London Bridge and said she
belonged to him. I shared the later
moments and choose to call her mine.
She almost certainly saved my urchin
life when her granite railings and posts
became a shield against German machine­gun
bullets.
So I led the cheers, a quarter century
later, when a millionaire's bid commuted
her threatened sentence of demolition.
And for the next three years, I grate­fully
followed every move of this monu­ment
from the London where we both
began to the Arizona desert that is our
new home.
That bridge and I met in 1943. I lived
in her shadow just a few steps down­stream;
on Secker Street in Waterloo. Eng­land
was at war and London was raising
kids like me who wouldn't taste a banana
until their middle teens. Ice cream was a
once-a-month dessert at Lyon's Corner
House restaurant, reached by walking
across London Bridge.
Mother and I were on our way back
(the restaurant had sold out of ice cream)
when sirens yelled, the bombs began and
a flight of Messerschrnitt fighters made a
strafing pass up the Thames.
6
.'''.. - - .'. , -~ -... . :" .:' .-:; .. -'~
I was tugged into a bed of concertina
barbed wire. Mother covered my body
with hers and we snuggled beneath the
bridge parapets. We survived and the Lon­don
Bridge earned battle scars that she
continues to wear.
Still as a child, I kicked cans across the
bridge, skipped her length without tread­ing
a crack and, on silent Sundays, stared
at the Thames sloshing her turtleback
cofferdams and made-believe they were
the bows of ships skippered by this kid in
short pants.
As an adult, I left my London and my
London Bridge to chase a writer's career
around the world.
I was on assignment in Canada in 1967
when a short story in The Montreal Star
reported that London Bridge was decay­ing.
Traffic had crippled her feet. A new
bridge was planned and the old must go.
Unless a buyer could be found, continued
the story, London Bridge would be
demolished.
But what price relics? Who would want
the Eiffel Tower? Who would buy the
London Bridge?
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
The answers came a year later. A rumor
flashed from London to Phoenix via Los
Angeles. A team of Arizona newsmen dug
deep beneath the whispers, parlayed sup­position
into educated guess and collected
enough "no comments" for confirmation.
And on the morning of April 17, 1968,
the first editions of The Arizona R epublic
in Phoenix were 24 hours ahead of the
world in announcing that millionaire
Robert McCulloch Sr. , builder of chain
saws, outboard motors, gyroplanes and
new cities, had landed the outlandish. He
had purchased the London Bridge for a
high bid of $2.4 million and planned to
re-erect it at Lake Havasu City, a resort
community he had hacked out of the
Arizona desert.
And on a sentimental assignment back
to London, I learned that McCulloch
wasn't the only man whose sealed bid
had been addressed to The Town Clerk,
Corporation of London, c/o The Hall­keeper,
Guildhall House, Gresham Street,
London, E.C.2., England.
Red Skelton, all clowning aside, wanted
to buy the pieces and restack them into a
theater.
Another American, this man an inad­vertent
comedian, offered $1.50 for all
JANUARY 1972.
10,000 tons provided it could be shipped
in 25-pound lumps "for easy handling by
my Boy Scout troop which will rebuild
them."
London, Ontario, appealed to the sen­timental
side of London, England, by not­ing
the bridge would feel quite at home
alongside Canada's River Thames and the
towns of Westminster and Blackfriars.
Melbourne, Australia ... Hollywood,
California ... Paris, France ... and Seoul,
Korea. These were more of the far reach­ing
postmarks on more than 100 bids.
But it was Arizona, represented by self­made
McCulloch, that finally yanked
granite-faced London Bridge from the
stiff-upper-lipped British.
And then the storms broke in England.
Public pressure rivalled the pull of
marauding Olaf the Norwegian who
skirmished up the Thames in 1014 and
rowed back to sea towing the original Lon­don
Bridge behind his longboats. Opinions
flared as hot as the Great Fire that in 1666
crisped some houses on the second version
of London Bridge.
Newspaper cartoonists made a Lord
Mayor's Banquet out of the sale. Their
puns were as weighty as the 130,000 tons
(although McCulloch only contracted for
10,000 tons of facing and would supply
his own footings and fillings) that was
shoving the third London Bridge, then a
toddler of only 137 years, into the Thames
mud at the rate of one inch every eight
years.
A Conservative member of Parliament,
his Tory temper still smoldering from the
sale of a Sir Christopher Wren church to
Fulton, Mo., and the Long Beach beaching
of the Cunard Liner Queen Mary, asked
the British government to block the sale.
"If we don't do something the Ameri­cans
will be after all our treasured build­ings
... even Buckingham Palace," he
wailed.
The Times of India in New Delhi
climbed on the bridgewagon and suggested
the United Nations should stop "this
dubious merchandising."
And Londoners, convinced their birth­right
was being sold for a mess of Yankee
dollars, would not be outdone by their
Lords.
Days after the sale was announced, stu­dent
picketers appeared on the bridge.
Chalked scribblings sprinkled abutments.
London Bridge glows resplendently in the light of a memorable day's night.
JANUARY 1972 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 7
PHOTOGRAPHS NOT CREDITED, FROM
LAURENCE LAURIE & ASSOCIATES
Two of the hundreds of
residents of Lake Havasu City
who participated in the Great
Costume contest sponsored by
the Lake Havasu Herald.
Robert P. McCulloch
introduces the Lord Mayor
of London, Sir Peter Studd,
center, at the Gala Ball
highlight of the inaugural
ceremonies.
Colorful ceremonials are not new under Arizona skies. This, however, is a rare glimpse of British
pomp and ritual, and a memorable one it was for na tives and visitors. Leading the distinguished group
are officials of the City of London. The Lord Mayor of London, center, is followed by Arizona's
Governor Jack Williams, wearing western hat, flanked by C. V. Wood, Jr., and Robert P. McCulloch.
8 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS JANUARY 1972
"Sold To The U.S.A.," said one. "Gone
But Not Forgotten," wept another. "Hitler
Couldn't Get it ... But McCulloch Has."
Despite the protests, the detailed demo­lition,
lettered chunk after numbered
block, went on. Six months beyond the
sale, more than 855 tons of parapet, cor­beilling
and spandril facings were on
steamers nipping through the Panama
Canal to the west coast of the United
States. By October, 1968, one complete
side of the massive, 1,005-foot, five span
bridge was down to naked, temporary con­crete
with little inconvenience to the
20,000 pedestrians and 2,750 vehicles that
trundled across London Bridge, from
Hibernia Wharf to Hay's Wharf, each rush
hour.
And Londoners, who traditionally
require only time to rationalize all things,
finally accepted the sad fact that their
nursery rhyme bridge had fallen down
into American hands.
They were convinced by engineers' state­ments
that the bridge had feet of Thames
clay, couldn't be strengthened, couldn't
be widened, and a new bridge would be
the only defense against the wheeled
bludgeon of city traffic.
Knowledge that the $2.4 million reve­nue
from the bridge 'sale would slice costs
of a new bridge to $5.5 million eased
remaining pains.
The trump came when one London offi­cial
said the city's choice was painfully
simple - either sell the bridge for total
reconstruction elsewhere; or have it dis­appear
into garden walls and gateposts as
had ancient Waterloo Bridge before World
War II.
And once this had sunk in, dear old
London Bridge, sooty symbol of 2,000
years of British heritage, from Roman to
Ringo Starr, began receiving more atten­tion
than it ever did in active life.
London cabbies developed sore palms
from hooting at charter buses that brought
world tourists for a final glimpse of Lon­don
Bridge in its original , although dreary,
riverside setting. Dozens of demolition
workers became historians to counter
inquiries from sidewalk superintendents.
At Guildhall, the City of London's civic
headquarters, cash registers began ringing
up the first of $10,000 in limited sales of
J..ondon Bridge paperweights shaped from
granite remnants.
But in a deliberate effort to tone down
commercialization of the sale, the city
refused one offer from a New York store
anxious to sell surplus bridge chips. City
of London Engineer Harold King, despite
a self-confessed sense of Scottish thrift,
refused an American distillery that wanted
to buy granite tid-bits to market inside a
new brand of Scotch whisky.
Meanwhile, back at the bridge leading
into the one-mile square City, two well­manicured
aristocrats from the skinned
knuckle world of heavy construction were
bringing dignity to demolition.
JANUARY 1972
PAUL DEAN
Paul Dean is one of those profes­sional
nomads, who, like many
established writers, believes that
travel, personal experience and the
ability to feel is the polish for words.
So it's logical that he was born in
England, has been around the world
twice, has written from five conti­nents,
including Antarctica, and
npw, at 37, chooses to live in Ari­zona
"until some bloody fool pays
me to be historian for a raft trip
from Yakutat to a tribal war in the
Marquesas." Until that bloody fool
comes along, Paul Dean, author of
this issue's feature on the london
Bridge, is happily anchored in Phoe­nix
where he writes a daily column
for The Arizona Republic.
One was Henri Morris, a doctor of engi­neering
from I'Universite de Grenoble,
France, and Melbourne University, Aus­tralia.
The other was Robin S. Anderson, a
member of the exclusive and medieval
Worshipful Mystery of Cooks (a historic
London trade guild that seeks $7,000 as
an initiation fee) who arrived for work
each day in a curly-brimmed bowler hat.
And both labored from a construction
shack that hardly lived up to its demean­ing
title by furnishings that included Turk­ish
carpets and cabinets of fine sherry.
Over a noontime tipple, we chatted of
the history that was being shipped 10,000
miles from London, the oldest English
speaking city in the world, to Lake
Havasu City, the newest.
Ah, we agreed, what history. On the
bridge's five Aberdeen and Devon granite
trestles were lampposts molded from
French cannons captured during the 1815
Battle of Waterloo. Its steps, worn to
smooth saucers by Londoner's boots, were
used by the much abused Nancy in
Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist."
Every British ruler, from William the
Conqueror to Queen Elizabeth II, has
trodden a London Bridge and sought cere­monial
permission from the Lord Mayor
of London to enter the City. Diaryist
Samuel Pepys parked his boat at one end.
Sir Thomas Moore's head was exhibited
on a spike at the other.
Thanks to the depths of excavation for
the new London Bridge, the offices of
Anderson and Morris had become mini­museums;
blueprints and books fighting
for shelf space alongside dozens of relics
turned up by dredgers and diggers.
Anderson had a jaw bone positively
identified by Pflthologist's examination as
coming from an Irish laborer killed during
an ) 831 construction cave-in. Morris had
claimed a leg bone from the same skeleton
of Paddy the hod carrier and was plan­ning
to have it epoxied "and made into
something. "
Commonplace in both offices were
oyster shells tagged by depth levels to be
from the first century.
"Care to have an oyster munched by a
Roman centurion," was Morris' favorite
greeting for visitors.
Every scoop of Thames muck recovered
troves of armor and spurs believed to be
from casualties of the Jack Cade revolt of
1450; timbers from wharf construction
during the 13th century; eons-old church­wardens'
tobacco pipes; and a pewter mug
LONDON BRIDGE IN PICTURES by CARLOS ELMER
A new book LONDON BRIDGE IN PICTURES shows the long and colorful history
of the various spans that have carried this famous name. Author Carlos Elmer has gathered
66 drawings and photographs during his three visits to London. Included are rare engrav ings
from the print files of London's Guildhall Library, recent newspaper accounts of the move
of London Bridge to America ("London Bridge Falls to the Apaches," etc.). and up to
date photographs of the bridge complete and in place at Lake Havasu City, Arizona. LON­DON
BRIDGE IN PICTURES is available at book stores in Arizona and Southern Cali­fornia,
or may be ordered directly from the author at $2.00 per copy plus 50¢ for shipping,
Carlos H. Elmer, Box 875, Scottsdale, Arizona 85252.
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 9
It was a beautiful day in Arizona and all who came enjoyed it.
Man has not yet moved a mountain from one contintlnt to another.
God knows he's probably thought about j;t, so He decided that it was about
time He drew a line somewhere in the area of miracles and human possibilities,
and He granted a dreamer his wish - that, a bridge, which outweighs a small
mountain, could be moved from one continent to another. God put no obstacles
in the way as man's. money and ingenuity accomplished another wonder in
thj;s once parched, useless land where less than a century ago the wisest sages
agreed that this was a part of the earth unfit for the habitation of civilized
man. London Bridge has fallen here and Arizona has fallen for London Bridge.
CARLOS ELMER
engraved with the name of an 1825 tavern
owner.
For the grisly there" were intact skulls
from victims of London's bubonic plague
during the 1500s and holed skulls indicat­ing
their owners had been victims of water­front
justice.
Most of the prizes were collected by the
City of London archeologist and placed
in storage for later display. Others were
borrowed by construction workers and
placed on immediate display in some Lon­don
Bridge pubs.
So demolition contractors John Mow­lem
& Co., Ltd., hired a former London
bobby to see that recovered objects d'an­tique
did not, as Andersofl put it, "grow
little legs and start walking away."
But not even the sturdy shadow of ex­Detective
Chief Superintendent Phillip
Grout was able to halt the swift hammers
of sentimental Londoners who plinked
countless pieces of souvenir granite from
the bridge.
. Each night, the locks clicked at the
construction shack. They were not simply
protecting Anderson's sherry. They were
guarding the original drawings that 19th
century architect John Rennie used to
build this third bridge.
And in late 1969, copies of those draw­ings
flew to Arizona in the briefcase of
Robert Beresford, the youthful British
engineer assigned by Mott, Hay and
LUIS AZARRAGA
Camerama view of the International boutique and resort plaza.
10 JANUARY 1972
Anderson, Ltd., to rebuild the bridge that
Anderson and Morris had so delicately
torn down.
To Beresford (some preferred to call
him The Resurrection) went the incred­ible
job of rearranging the world's heavi­est,
most expensive jig-saw puzzle since the
rebirth of Leningrad. He was also forced
into answering a granite conondrum.
Because demolition, by tradition and
necessity, starts at the top and works
down. Which meant engineer Beresford
had received the top blocks of London
Bridge while the base bits were still sitting
in the Thames mud a third of the world
away.
"We could have waited until we had
all the pieces here, but that would have
delayed the work considerably," said
Beresford, blond, longhaired, toothy and
32. "This will be one of the rare instances
where a bridge is built from the top down."
So he excavated a hole where the water
(diverted from Lake Havasu on the Colo­rado
River) would ultimately flow, back­filled
hummocks where daylight would
eventually show between the spans, and
constructed bridge arches over forms made
of desert sand.
Then bridge builder Beresford and his
American counterpart, Carl Baker, project
director for the M. M. Sundt Construction
Co., of Tucson, ran into problems of clim­ate
control in the 120-degree outdoor oven
that is Havasu.
"The London Bridge just wasn't built
to withstand a seasonal temperature spread
of something like 100 degrees," said Beres­ford.
"We found we were building a living
thing, a bridge that crept about all over
the place with 5 inches of movement due
to expansion and contracting from the
heat."
So those John Rennie blueprints were
modified to include steel, Teflon and neo­prene
bearings between the bridge's 1,005-
foot span and support piers. Which means
the entire bridge can now shift and shimmy
in the Arizona heat.
"Then we found we were building a
bridge in an area classified as a seismic
zone two - prone to minor damage from
earthquakes," added Beresford.
The Anglo-American team went back
to its drawing board again and adapted
bridge designs until the structure can now
meet earthquake specifications with an
ability to block a lateral, natural punch
of 3,000 tons.
Beresford, a veteran of engineering in
South Africa and the Sahara, confessed
to being "quite involved with the bridge
... but as an engineer working on the
last of the great stone bridges, not as a
sentimental British national."
But that was early in his two year visit.
Later we would chat of a mutual concern.
London Bridge had been sold with solid
ceremony, it had been dismantled with
grace, reconstructed with reverence and
finesse.
JANUARY 1972
But what would be the aura of the re­opening,
its rededication?
Some Arizona leaders had pre-con­demned
the entire project as "a stunt"
that could only introduce a "Coney Island
atmosphere" to the state's proud desert.
An editor said the achievement, if any,
could be paralleled to transplanting a dis­eased
kidney.
And when plans were announced for
the autumn inauguration, it did appear
that London Bridge would be draped with
great globs of worthless anachronism.
Squads of McCulloch's public rela­tioners
made no secret that the skydiving,
Under the brown jog oj a
winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London
Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had ' 1"­undone
so many.
T . S. ELIOT, 1888-1965
from "The Waste Land" - London, 1922
London Bridge, symbol of
years of human activity in British
history, is reborn under Arizona's
skies, and we doubt that she will
miss the pressure of traffic over
her topside, nor the slow but sure
deterioration under the surface of
the great river Thames.
If appearances mean anything,
"the old girl" is so happy to miss
the ice, snow and even the tradi­tional
fog, which in London is
something that inspires poets and
lovers.
The Western sun will cure her
once rheumatic arches, so she will
dance anew as the rhythm of the
gentle ripples of the Colorado
create a tempo of shimmering
reflections on the happy water
below.
... And by moonlight - you
have to see it to feel it.
balloon raISIng, skywriting, parasailing,
water-skiing opening would be engineered
by the man who helped launch Disney­land.
They failed to deny a leak that
claimed the weekend festivities would
cost $500,000. No one was upset when
The Wall Street Journal reported that
Indians had been hired.to man ceremonial
canoes but had to be given paddling les­sons
first.
The obvious cultural clash between
regal, old gold England and brash,
chromium-plated America even seeped
from McCulloch's press kits.
Mimeographed biographies told of The
Right Honorable Lord Mayor Of London
Alderman Sir Peter Malden Studd, a
retinue that included Alderman Sir Denys
Colquhoun Flowerdew Lowson, and their
backgrounds of Harrow, Cambridge,
Sand hurst and the Royal Artillery.
In absolute contrast was the background
sheet on C. V, Wood Jr., designer and
planner of Lake Havasu City and McCul-
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
loch's associate in the bridge purchase.
Wood was noted for attending Hardin­Simmons
University on a trick roping
scholarshi p and for being the 1971 world
champion chili cook.
And Robert McCulloch Sr., the man
who had paid $8 million to purchase,
transport and reconstruct London Bridge,
told newsmen he hadn't got dressed up
since his wedding and had no intentions
of wearing a tuxedo for his own black-tie
banquet on the bridge.
But somehow, all the social divisions,
all the canards, all the chic cynicism, was
poofed aside by the emotional pageantry
of the bridge's October rebirth.
Medieval dignity, along with cases of
vintage wine for the bridgetop banquet,
was imported by the planeload from
Europe. There was nothing flashy about
pipers and pikemen (with bodies and uni­forms
from their London barracks, not
EeeZee Theatrical Rentals of Hollywood)
escorting and bodyguarding the robed,
643rd Lord Ma.yor of London; no roll­a-
ball carnival nuance when posthorn
heralds signaled that history would com­mence.
Silver goblets, toasts in the tones of
Eton, and golden chains of office, blended
well with gubernatorial Cadillacs, speeches
in the drawls of Texas and Arizona, and
industrial aristocracy.
And when doves rose, men saluted, and
massed bands and a choir played the
national anthems of America and Great
Britain, choked hearts felt an international
love that hasn't been sensed since GIs and
Tommies linked hands in Trafalgar Square
in 1945 and hugged to celebrate victory in
Europe.
The banquet, a close duplication in
decor and menu to the 1831 ceremony
attended by King William IV and Queen
Adelaide, dragged through midnight of the
dedication Saturday.
For a moment, one man left the swish
of evening silks and the clinks and mur­murs
spreading beneath chandeliers and
candy-striped canvas.
He walked out on the bridge and his
fingers found a chipped parapet. It could
have been gouged by a clumsy stonema­son.
But the man knew it could have been
pocks from machinegun bullets.
He peered over the edge at the prow­shaped
turtlebacks. A man-made tributary
of the Colorado River doesn't slap like the
Thames. But he had no trouble recalling
a kid's dream of a bridge that was a ship
moving into the Pool of London.
He walked its length; alone and remem­bering.
He even sniffed the sooty granite
and knew it was the- same. He thought the
bridge looked solid, serene.
Later, the man would deny that the
moment brought him close to tears. For
only settled wanderers, or Charles
Dickens, would understand the mood
when, once more ... I held hands with
my bridge.
11
Sculpture from native wood _
JERRY SANDY, Taos Pueblo
"Cherokee Maiden" - sculpture
DON CHUNESTUDY, Cherokee
BRUCE MILLER, Snohomish - excels at the modern loom
groups requiring singular attention, some failures are inevitable.
Over a period of time, these have occurred in sufficient number
and with sufficient force to cause general concern and give rise
to questioning from many quarters as to the soundness of the
principles involved. Efforts are now being made on a wide front
to reconsider the goals and the methods and to search out new
educational approaches that will better solve the problems of
special groups. This is a particularly urgent cause in the case of
education for the North American Indian. The task of setting up
and administering educational programs for the American Indian
has been frought with seemingly insurmountable problems and
inbuilt frustrations for both the Indian population of the country
and the Federal Government. The circumstances need to be
examined briefly in order to understand past failures and present
needs.
The American Indian has never truly subscribed to the Com­mon
American Middle Class Dream, largely because of the fun­damental
differences existing between his life-goals and those of
society at large. The Indian value system always has been centered
on the idea that man should seek to blend his existence into the
comparatively passive rhythms of nature, as opposed to the
dominant society's quest for control of nature through scientific
manipulation of its elements. This schism, alone, has been a
formidable barrier to the establishment of a constructive inter­relationship
between the protagonists.
Another factor with important bearing on the Indian's nega­tive
reaction to some of the general' goals set forth for him has
b~en h~s . original indigenous relationship to the land of America,
his posItion and attitudes in this respect being dramatically differ­ent
from those of the immigrant groups by whom he was eventu­ally
surro~nded. Psychologically, the American Indian generally
ha.s remamed aloof from the melting pot concept upon which
this country was structured.
The language barrier must be placed high on the list of cir­cumstances
which have worked to the detriment of both the
Ind~an and the Government. The grammar and semantics of
Indian I~ng~ages differ so widely from English that they impede
commUnIcatIOn and are a major deterrent to successful education
for the I~dian child who, on entering school, has to contend with
~he reqUIrements of a curriculum based in English which, to him,
IS. a strange a~d unco~ortable foreign language. The child has
dl~culty learnmg under these conditions, not because he is unin­tellIgent
but, rather, because the educational offering has not been
structured to his special needs.
"The Future" -
sculpture carved in
African W onderstone
ROY RAPHAEL, Navajo
Contemporary
texture,
Traditional
motif,
JOE MENTA,
Quechan
12 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS JANUARY 1972
Leading and distinguished Indian artists participate in
the instructional program at the Institute. Alan Houser
heads the Sculpture Department and his experience and
devotion to his people is the foundation of a movement
bringing out the best in both expressive and expressionist
styles, indicative of a significant and lasting basis of inter­ethnic
understanding through the mutual appreciation of
art forms through aesthetic appeal, related to an artist as
an individual, rather than the old tribal or racial identity.
The heterogeneous makeup of the Indian population has been
the source of many frustrations for Indian and Anglo, alike.
According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census the Indian population
in 1960 numbered 552,000 and according to the Bureau of Indian
Affairs this number sorts itself into 263 separate tribes bands
villages, pueblos and groups in states other than Alaska, ~Ius 300
Native Alaskan communities. The job of creating and administer­ing
programs of health, education and welfare for such diverse
groups as these, with language barriers and culturally unique con­cepts
of life, can hardly be viewed as an easy one. And, unfor­tunately,
some early efforts of the Government to bridge the many
gaps proceeded erroneously, based on the premise that the Indian
if given the opportunity, would relinquish his "Indianness" soone;
or later and fit himself into the overall plan of American life. His­tory
points sadly to the flaws in this assumption.
For the past century the Indian has clung tenaciously to his
way of life and has managed to quietly reject any event that
seemed to threaten it. Overtures made in his behalf which did not
fit his sense of need were frequently received with submerged
hostility, often manifested by the kind of deadly passivity that kills
any cooperative program far more effectively than open warfare.
This kind of a situation amounts to an impasse; with the Indians
on one hand being labeled unresponsive; and the Government
on the other hand being labeled inept; and with neither side
achieving constructive goals.
Social and technological changes, and the rapidity with which
they have occurred, have made the old Indian way of life increas­ingly
less viable. The Indian finds himself pressured on many
fronts, particularly economically, to fall in line and cope with the
changes, but in most cases and for obvious reasons he is ill
equipped to do so. President Nixon, in his message to the Con­gress,
July 8, 1970, recognized these present conditions:
"The first Americans - the Indians - are the most deprived
and most isolated minority group in our nation. On vir­tually
every scale of measurement - employment, income,
education, health - the condition of the Indian people ranks
at the bottom ...
" It is long past time that the Indian policies of the Federal
government began to recognize and build upon the capacities
and insights of the Indian people."
This official awareness is encouraging, and many program moves
are now under way to increase Indian control of Indian affairs,
including their own educational institutions. Many schools have
moved to, or are moving toward, having their own Indian advisory
school boards, and a few actually exercise control of funds and
programs used in the education of their children.
In establishing the Institute of American Indian Arts the
Bureau recognized the special needs of Indian youth and provided
an institution which was set up to make special curriculum pro­visions
geared to their particular needs.
In general, the Institute plans its programs around the special
needs of the individual, as best these can be determined. It
attempts continuously to expand its understanding of student prob­lems
as they emanate from Indian cultural origins. The goal of the
programs is to develop educational methods which will assist
young Indian people to enter contemporary society with pride,
poise, and confidence.
The school offers an accredited high school program with
emphasis on the arts, and a post-high vocational arts program
as preparation for college and technical schools and employment
in arts-related vocations. The age range of the student body is
from 15 to 22.
Most of these young people have suffered from cultural con­flict
and economic deprivation. They are beset with misunder­standings
regarding race, color and religion; and are lost in a
labyrinth, in search of identity; they are stung by memories of
discrimination. Among them are the revolutionists, the noncon­formists,
and the unacademically-minded who find no satisfaction
in the common goals set for them in the typical school program.
They typify that percentage of creative individuals to be found
in all cultural groups who seek new ways of self-expression and
JANUARY 1972 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 13
who are bent on searching out very personal and creative
approaches to problem solving. Holding standards which are at
odds with the majority, they reject and are rejected by the typical
school program.
Without the opportunity to attend a school catering to their
particular' drives, such students are most likely to join ranks with
the growing number of dropouts who represent one of today's
major problems in education. Such misfits, when measured in
terms of their ultimate contributions to humanity, very often stand
in indictment of a system which categorically has excluded them.
In contemplation of his immediate position, the Indian youth
may easily view himself as a sorely disadvantaged, second-rate
citizen - and act accordingly. He may tend to equate his prob­lems
with the simple fact of being Indian and may, consciously
or subconsciously, reject himself and engage in acts of self-deni­gration
such as drinking to excess, flaunting the law, fighting
publicly, and other antisocial behavior; or, he may go to the other
extreme and take refuge in "Indianism," seeking to live in an
atmosphere of complete chauvinism and false pride, in which case
he may withdraw in a state of indifference and lethargy; or, he
may be astride a fence, torn in both directions, in a state of com­plete
frustration.
At the same time, the Indian youth shares in the general con­cerns
of the typical American teen-ager; he wears mod clothes,
does the latest dances, engages in TV hero worship, and is gen­erally
cognizant of the significant youth movements of search and
protest. In short, he has all the problems common to the youth
of this era and, in addition, the difficult problem of making a
satisfactory psychological reconciliation between the mores of
two cultures.
In all cases, the Institute's primary goal is to give the student
a basis for genuine pride and self-acceptance. At the outset and at
a very personal level, he is made aware of the fact that we know,
in general, what his problems are and that we are on hand to
discuss them with him and look into what can be done to help in
his particular circumstances; he is made aware of the fact that we
respect him both as an individual and as an Indian, and that we
cherish his cultural traditions. The school operates in a general
aura of honor and appreciation for the Indian parent and the
world he represents.
All students at the Institute are oriented in the history and
aesthetics of Indian accomplishments in the arts. They view exhi­bitions
of the choicest collections of fine Indian art pieces, listen
to lectures with slides and films covering the archaeology and
ethnology of Indian cultures, and take field trips into the present­day
cultural areas of the Southwest groups. They are encouraged
to identify with their total heritage, harkening back to the classic
periods of South and Central American cultures - heydays of
artistic prowess in the New World. And they are exposed to the
arts of the world, to give them a basis for evaluating and appre­ciating
the artistic merits of the contributions made by their
ancestors. Each student is led to investigate the legends, dances,
materials, and activities pertaining to the history of his own
particular tribe.
Through this process, he gradually increases his awareness of
himself as a member of a race tremendously rich in cultural
accomplishments and gains a feeling of self-worth.
In a curriculum unusually rich in art courses, a student who
may have become dulled to the excitement of personal accomp­lishment
as a result of unsatisfactory experiences with academic
subjects in his early years, can be revitalized through the experi­ence
of creative action. He may have an undiscovered aptitude
for music, dancing, or drama; a natural sense of color and design,
and sensitivity for three-dimensional form, or a way with words.
All students at the Institute elect studio art courses. Sooner or
later, with a great deal of sensitive cooperation on the part of the
faculty, a field is found in which a student can "discover" himself.
His first successful fabric design, ceramic bowl, piece of sculpture,
or performance on stage may be his very first experience with the
joy of personal accomplishment. His reaction is one of justifiable
pride, and sometimes a shade of disbelief, at having produced
something of worth, and he equates it with his own personal worth.
For him, this is a great personal discovery. It is, also, a most potent
form of motivation toward personal growth.
Hookstone is a commercial art gallery located on the Institute
campus where the general public may view and purchase fine
examples of student work. The gallery is operated by the students
as part of a class in sales and promotional methods, and offers
practical experience in operating a small business while also pro­viding
an outlet for student products. Profits on individual sales,
less a deduction levied by the Student Senate to help finance stu­dent
activities, go to the student artist or craftsman. Student work
is also reserved for the Institute's Honors Collection, employed
for organizing exhibitions which have appeared throughout the
United States and in foreign countries. '
To date, our approach is happily justified in a look at the
progress of young Indian students at the Institute. Art critics of
stature are excited by the work. The quality of design and work­manship,
equal in its own way to the finest traditional approaches,
is easily discernible in the work being produced in sculpture, paint­ing,
and the various crafts. New sources of richness and beauty
are reflected in poetry and prose. Early developments in drama
and music are gratifying.
As impressive as these results are in terms of artistic accom­plishments,
the real value of the program lies in the general per­sonal
growth of the student and in his discovery of newly found
strength and its carryover into his academic efforts and social
behavior.
"Three Drummers" - sculpture
DOUGLAS CROWDER, Choctaw
A continuous effort is made in the Academic Department to
find more effective ways to correct the academic deficiencies all
too common to Indian students who come from the disadvantaged
backgrounds previously explained. Special attention is given to
students who have language handicaps. New approaches are
sought continuously for expanding intellectual growth based upon
ways compatible with the cultural mores of the student's back­ground.
In the dormitories, living conditions are planned especially to
broaden the student's exposure to the behavioral expectations of
a contemporary society. Here, he learns the social amenities neces­sary
to democratic living in the world at large as well as within
his own cultural group. As a result of these procedures, most
students seem to gain self-affirmation. They emerge strengthened,
proud, and confident, exercising newly found powers of self-direc­tion.
In 1971 , 54% of all students completing work in the 12th,
13th and 14th grades enrolled in colleges or higher educational
art schools elsewhere.
Text continued on page 44
14 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS JANUARY 1972
The artistry expressed through the medium of gold and silversmithing shown above cannot be surpassed
by most noted designers, artists and craftsmen, at home or abroad. These are typical of the IAIA students
work, under the direction of Charles Loloma, distinguished Hopi artist.
PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THE INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN INDIAN ART BY KAY V. WIEST
Below: E-Y AH-P AH-HAH chorus in front of the Art Gallery entrance, IAIA campus.
Tile accompanying text is from the book THE ANCIENT ONES
by Gordon C. Baldwin, a W. W. Norton book, © 1963;
published by Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., New York, N.Y. 10010
cities o~ ~IRst ameRicans
In spite of 400 years of exposure to Spanish, Mexican, and
American civilization, Pueblo culture has changed relatively
little. Today most of the Pueblo Indians live much as their
ancestors did in 1540.
Many still build terraced apartment houses several stories
high. All of the modem pueblos have their ceremonial cham­bers,
their kivas. Some are round and some are rectangular.
Although most are now aboveground, some are still subter­ranean.
But they perform the same . function as they did in
ancient times. They are still social and work rooms for the
men and al&o serve as council chambers. In them are put on
rituals and ceremonies which have been handed down from
generation to generation.
Each pueblo is still independent from all others. Each has
its own governing council, its own clans and secret societies,
its own special ritual dances and ceremonies, its own farming
lands.
Most of the Pueblo Indians still make beautifully decorated
pottery. As in the past, each village has its unique vessel shapes
and styles of design. Some still make basketry. Some still make
turquoise and other fine jewelry. Weaving is still thought to
be man's work and is still usually done on looms set up in
the kivas.
Most Pueblo Indians are still farmers, raising corn, beans,
and squash in small gardens just as their ancestors did. Metates
and manos are still considered as standard items of household
equipment.
Pueblo architecture, agriculture, ceremonial practices, and
social systems may have changed little over the centuries. But
numerous other changes have gradually worked their way into
the lives of these people.
Outwardly at least, most of the younger generation attempt
to look and dress like their white neighbors. Only among the
older or more conservative people can you still find the old­style
colorful blankets and blanket dresses, breechcloths, and
moccasins. Machine-made fabrics are replacing native-made
cloth.
Pottery is still commonly used for cooking and for storage
of drinking water. But most of the pottery manufactured today
is for sale to tourists, its place in the home being taken by
metal pans and china dishes. On!y at a few pueblos is basketry
still maqe and most of that is also for sale. The same holds
true for turquoise jewelry.
Most of the Indians now keep livestock of one kind or
another and most also raise fruits and vegetables acquired
from the Spanish and the Americans. They use metal tools
and machinery for cultivating their fields. Burros and horses
and wagons are being replaced by trucks and cars.
Although basic architecture hasn't changed, the houses
aren't the same as .they were even fifty years ago. Most of
them now have wooden doors and glass windows. Single,
detached houses are going up in some villages. Many towns
have electricity and a great many houses have such modern
appliances as refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, radios,
and television sets. At least one pueblo has its own sewer sys­tem.
The inhabitants of Zuiii installed a water system to pipe
water into their homes. Several others have done the same.
Of all the pueblos the Hopi towns have been least affected
by these changes. After the revolt of 1680 they were never
reoccupied by the Spaniards and the desert country in which
they are located was too uninviting and too hard to reach to
attract later Spanish and American settlers.
Today the 600,000-acre Hopi reservation is completely
surrounded by the much larger Navaho Indian Reservation.
On three high barren mesas perch the ten or eleven surviving
Hopi towns. In them live some 4,000 Hopi Indians.
Oraibi, on the third or westernmost mesa, is the oldest
and the most famous of the Hopi pueblos. Up until 1906 it
was also the largest. But in that year the inhabitants split into
two factions, conservatives and liberals. The conservative party
was against the federal government, the schools, the missions,
and whites in general. To settle the dispute the two sides
engaged in a push-of-war, the losing side to leave the pueblo.
The liberals won by pushing the conservatives across a line
drawn in the sand. The defeated conservatives, some 300 to
400 in number, packed up their belongings and left the same
day, founding the town of Hotevilla 8 miles away on the same
mesa top.
Some of the less conservative members later tried to return
to Oraibi. But they were again driven out and founded the
village of Bakavi not far from Hotevilla. Oraibi's population
was stilI further depleted by migrations to the summer colony
of Moencopi 40 miles to the west. About 1910 the town of
New Oraibi sprang up at the foot of the mesa, even further
reducing the population. Yet today several hundred Hopis
still live in the partially ruined pueblo.
Montezuma's Castle Ruins - Arizona _
Among the Hopis, as with the other Pueblo Indians,
religion was and still is the center of their existence. Around
it revolve all other features of their life - their hunting and
gathering, their agricultural activities, their building, their pot­tery
and basketry making, their social and political system. The
Hopis have extremely elaborate and numerous rites and cere­monies.
Most of the ceremonies last either nine or seventeen
days, the first eight or sixteen days being taken up with secret
rituals and prayers. Part of these secret rites take place in the
underground kivas. Their most famous and unusual ceremony
is the Snake Dance, performed each year in August to bring
rain for their crops.
Here, like the archaeologist, you can still catch your
archaeology alive. Oraibi dates back 700 and more years into
the Pueblo Golden Age. Present-day Walpi and Shongopovi
and Mishongnovi go back at least to the time of the Pueblo
Revolt, and several others have nearly as long a history.
Text continued on page 33
16 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS JANUARY I97Z
ne ~~oto~ra~~s in t~is ~onfolio, an~ ot~ers in t~is issue, not
ot~erwise cre~ite~, are ~y Oavi~ Muenc~
LANDMARKS GUIDEPOSTS TRAIL SIGNS
• Cover 1 - Three Turkey Ruins, Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona. This is one of the least
photographed cliff dwellings in the Southwest. Its name is derived from the picto'
graph resembling three turkeys on the cave ceiling lip located directly in line with the
right hand corner of our logo nameplate. This tight canyon is south of Canyon de
Chelly and is known to the Navajos as Tse Des Zyaee Wash. David Muench set his
Linhof camera up on the top of the opposite canyon wall and brought the magnificent
ruins into focus with a telephoto lens. Full crop from 4x5 Ektachrome.
• Cover 2 - Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. Beyond the classic pueblo, to the northward,
the Sacred Mountain rises to 12,500 ft. This is sacred country to the Taos Indians.
Ten miles upland is Blue Lake from where the Spirit of the World emerged and entered
the Taos Indian soul. The beehive shaped form in the foreground is one of the many
baking ovens. There is no finer example of pueblo apartment architecture anywhere
and they are inhabited. The Indian ceremonials are especially noted for their beauty
and precision.
• Cover 3 - Betatakin Ruin, Navajo National Monument, Arizona. So remote that it
was not seen by a white man until 1909. Estimated to be seven centuries old, the 200
room cliff dwelling sets well back in a wind·carved cave large enough to house our
national capitol.
• Cover 4 - Ruins in Echo Cave, Monument Valley, Arizona. Extensive ruins are to be
found in this cave of eight to sixteen separate echoes - depending upon prevailing
atmospheric and climatic conditions.
• Page 17 - Montezuma's Castle, Beaver Creek, Verde Valley, Arizona; off Interstate
17, toward Flagstaff. A classic example of the cliffside pueblo architecture, this five
story cliff dwelling fortress was accessible to its inhabitants by notched poles which
they pulled up for security from attack from below. A nearby lake which is called
Montezuma's Well is part of the entire area designated as a National Monument. The
builders of the dwellings were of the Sinagua group of ancients, and there is no con·
nection with Emperor Montezuma of Mexico with the history of the area.
• Page 18-19 - Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, 47 miles north of Silver City,
New Mexico, at the edge of the Gila Wilderness Area. The principal ruins are cliff
dwellings, fitted into a series of chambers or caves. Although it is not one of the larger
prehistoric sites, it is significant because the earliest ruins in the area were the pit·
houses of the Mogollon peoples who lived there about 500 A.D. Later square houses
were built above the ground, about 1000 A.D. The cliff dwellings were built in the 12th
and 13th centuries and abandoned about the beginning of the 15th century. Arizona's
famed Gila River is born in the Gila Wilderness.
• Page 20 - Salado Ruins, Tonto National Monument, Arizona. Located in picturesque
Gila County. There are two major ruins. Pictured is the Lower Ruin, 250 feet below
the Upper section.
• Page 21 - Most archaeological discoveries are not made by learned, degreed, aca·
demic intellectuals. For example: The famous Folsom find was fallen into by a blacl(
cowboy named George McJunkin. A stUdent from the University of New Mexico started
the stampede to the Sandia Caves. The oldest human remains discovered in North
America were found by 17 year old Howard Wilson while he was scratching the ground
looking for arrowheads, near his Laguna Beach home. Instead he uncovered a skull -
established by experts to be 15,000 to 18,000 years old. And the scientists tell us
there is more under the surface than there is unearthed. Jack Fowler, of Whiteriver,
Arizona and his Greek friend from Phoenix, Ernie Thiras, are amateurs at everything
they do excepting the business of making money, legitimately. As amateur Sunday
archaeologists they found a great system of caves and dwellings ... but ... they can't
remember where they found them, and the experts can't identify them. They do have
the photographs to prove their story.
All I can get out of Jack (the leader) is that they're somewhere in the western
section of the White River Apache Indian Reservation. The Greek "don'! know from
nuthin,''' but Fowler operates Jack's Indian Trading Post on the reservation, and
I've got a hunch he's I3laying "{lumb paleface." His camera, he says, "a 35mm
Japanese job" - and for lens - "a wide angle, a regular and a Russian Zoom with
rifle stock mount." Yes, there was film in the camera, otherwise the automation
WOUldn't work. As for exposure data ... " everything is automatic" ... And so was
the day because no professional could have done a better sequence.
• Page 22L-23 - Chaco Canyon National Monument - Northwestern New Mexico,
contains more than a dozen large prehistoric ruins and hundreds of smaller archaeo·
logical sites. These ruins are the most comprehensive north of central Mexico. The
most impressive and best known is Pueblo Bonito. At one time it housed more than
1200 people. This commune alone had 32 kivas. Archaeologists have estimated that
the combined population of Chaco Canyon towns at one time must have been 15,000
to 25,000.
• Page 24·25 - Keet Seel, Navajo National Monument, Arizona. Keet Seel lies 8 miles
northeast of the visitors' center at the Navajo National Monument. If one had to see
one cliff dwelling, Keet Seel, measured by size and importance, would be it. From the
first glimpse to the last look it is truly a treasure house of pueblo knowledge. David
Muench's photograph shows the apartments from the Ceremonial entrance.
18 JANUARY 197Z
These outstanding pueblos were con­structed
by the leading families of the
Salados (Spanish for "salty") , the Salt River
branch of the Zuni. The structures were evi­dently
a defensive necessity, for the homes
and the lands of the Salados were in the
valleys along the river where the remains of
their houses and the relics and signs of their
culture are still evident.
Although the trip up to the cliff houses is
an archaeological adventure it is worth the
effort for the rewarding panorama across
Roosevelt Lake to Sierra Ancha - framed in
a foreground display of giant saguaros. Visi­tors
enjoy the varieties of desert plants and
cacti - each identified and labeled.
Salado Ruins - Upper section, right.
Salado Ruins - Lower section, below.
A DOI(:Jn 7k dtlk O! Az /ltnaIPar hdwuXog~t
PHOTOGRAPHS BY J ACK FOWl
One would never think of finding prehistoric cliff dwelling ruins in a green, gentle-sloped, high chaparral country. Not
until you find a scarred spot in the verdant area do you even begin to get curious. Binoculars reveal there is more inside the
scar than meets the naked eye. You're a bit short on breath, as you get high on the excitement . .. this is not just another
cave in the rocks. Inside the dwellings your eye measures and your mind fills with wonder at the quantity and quality of the
stonework . . . and those timbers . .. at least 12 to 15 inches across. You know there are no trees that size within a radius of
20 miles . . . and to drag them up the steep cliffside. Almost every house had a grinding stone, broken of course was the metate
which they used to reduce corn to meal. You ask yourself why did they suddenly leave knowing they would never return . . .
otherwise they would not have destroyed their artifacts. As you leave and descend to ground level you see one of several springs
of clear water, so you assume they didn't want for water . . . Wow! look at the size of those mountain lion's paw prints in the
sand at the edge of the creek bed . .. as big as a man's hand. Suddenly a cloud comes between you and the sun, casting an
ominous darkness on the scene. You look skyward and there he is . .. that mountain lion himself - wildeyed and snarling
mad . . . We know about Indians and ab.out their spirits and signs and warnings . . . You'd better believe it.
Land Of Enchanted Ruins
Opposite Page, top left - Cave Kiva entrance, Frijoles
Cqnyon, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico.
Opposite Page, top right - Tyuonyi Communal Center
ruins seen through opening in one of the many artificial
caves carved out of the soft "tufa" canyon walls.
Opposite Page, lower half - Pueblo Bonito Ruins cover
more than three acres. According to archaeologist Neil
M . Judd of the National Museum, Pueblo Bonito was
the largest apartment house built anywhere in the world
prior to 1887.
Arroyo Pueblo, below, another complex in the Chaco
Canyon National Monument, New Mexico, shows the
high degree of skill employed in the masonry and stone­work
of these thriving communities. The buildings were
four and five stories high. The men were not only skilled
masons but also superior weavers; the women experts in
the making of pottery and baskets.
David Muench's expertise with camera documentation
is evident in the photograph at right, where the skill in
choosing the right camera position in relation to the
natural lighting accentuates the intricate and amazing
skill of the architects and builders of the vast Pueblo
Bonito Kiva System.
Overleaf, pages 24 and 25 - Keet Seel Ruins, Arizona
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID MUENCH
MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK
Mesa Verde National Park is a majestic plateau rising abruptly out of semi-arid land
bordering the Colorado high mountain country of the Continental Divide. It is world famous for
its matchless concentration of cliff dwellings. From Park Point, six mountain ranges in four states
can be viewed - 30,000 square miles of America the Beautiful!
No trip through the Southwest, or southern Rockies, is complete without time spent in
Mesa Verde exploring prehistoric ruins and marveling at artifacts left by a people that vanished
almost a thousand years ago. Interpretations by ranger·archaeologists in the ruins, in the
museums, and around evening campfire will give a thrilling sense of knowing part of America.
Excellent highways have shortened driving time to only one day from Denver, Salt Lake
City, Phoenix, or Santa Fe. For travelers driving along lAO through the Southwest, Mesa Verde
National Park can be reached quickly by a brisk drive north on US 666 from Gallup or northeast
on US 164 from Flagstaff. The latter highway, crossing the Navajo reservation past the "Four
Corners" of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico (called the NAVAJO TRAIL), was com­pleted
in 1962 to provide a new short·cut for transcontinental vacation travel.
Motorists who seek particularly spectacular areas of the Southwest will be delighted with
the paved route to Mesa Verde looping north from US 164 at Kayenta through Monument Valley,
Mexican Hat, the Goosenecks and other areas of scenic southern Utah.
• Opposite Page - Tower Of The Ancients, Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park,
Southeastern Colorado in Four Corners country.
• Lower Left - Cliff Palace Complex, Mesa Verde.
• Lower Right - Mesa Verde Mesa Top Pueblo. Pipe Shrine House, foreground. Far
View House in rear.
• Pages 28·29·30 - Acoma, The City of the Sky. I have never found any reason to
take back what I said more than a th ird of a century ago: " Acoma is the most interest­ing
rock in the world." That is rather a large word, but I think it will stick. It is a
perfect museum of the freaks of erosion; for this great stone island, left alone in the
center of an enchanted valley whose cliffs are about three miles away on either side,
seems to have been chosen as a very workshop and playground by whimsical spirits
of flood and frost and wind; and they have carved, gouged, gnawed its periphery into
a large labyrinth of bays, gullies, clefts, towers, bastions, caves, natural bridges, and
gigantic mushrooms. One could spend a week in toilsome clambering to explore the
" coastline" of this island in the air. I have ransacked it a hundred times, and can always
go back and find something new and startling. Few cliffs anywhere are actually per­pendicular,
though we talk as though they were a frequent occurrence; but some of
the cliffs of Acoma are really perpendicular - and in some places actually overhanging.
This great rock, about a mile long, and 357 feet high, is shaped very much
like a pair of eyeglasses; and a few millenniums more of erosion will cut away the
" bow" altogether and leave two distinct mesas. As it is, it involves a toilsome
clambering down the w.ind-smoothed rocks and up the huge drifts of sand blown up
by desert winds to the very peak of the cliff, to cross from the northern mesa to the
southern - a very important and necessary trip, as will appear later.
But while its fantastic carving by the forces of nature makes the rock of Acoma
endlessly interesting and delightful, its deeper wonder lies in the human romance
and history which brood upon that strange wild citadel. For Acoma is the oldest
home of the First Americans continuously occupied to this day. When Coronado, that
intrepid Spanish explorer, came in 1540 to New Mexico, he was the first European
to see this high-perched city and the other pueblos. Acoma and Isleta - fifty miles
east, on the bank of the Rio Grande, and called by its natives Shee-eh-huib-bac -
are the only Pueblo towns which have not changed their location in the least in that
380 years. And in all the history of the Southwest no other Pueblo city has played
so romantic and so notable a part. Its story is as fascinating as the natural wonders
of its incomparable site.
by Charles F. Lummis MESA, CANON AND PUEBLO Century Press, 1925
Acoma Pueblo is reached by driving south from Interstate 40, on New Mexico
State Road 23. This most picturesque cit" pueblos is well worth the drive off the
main travel route.
Acoma is famous for its pottery, and excellent specimens of weaving and basket
work are available. The Great church has an irresistible spiritual impact to souls
of all faiths.
CREDITS DEBITS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It is impossible to include each and every area related to the subject matter in
one 48 page magazine. We have covered the Hopi in several notable magazines in
the past 24 month period. The same goes for the Apache and their vast recreational
area. Our publication schedule for 1972-1973 includes many features programmed
for exposure of the Indian tribes, with accent on the arts, cultural and economic
contributions to the development of our great Southwest. We sincerely promise you
the best is yet to come.
Our December 1971 issue fell short of mortal perfection by many words. Ronald
C. Tinnel is a gentleman and a fine photographer, as shown by the excellent photo­graph
on page 20 of our December magazine, which was erroneously credited to
Reinhold L. Schable, w~o .also is a gentleman and a fine photographer.
Throughout the year art gallery owners and directors everywhere always graciously
and effectively attend to many details they receive no pay for, at our request, and in
the interests of their artists and clients. One of the outstanding men in the business
is Mr. Ralph Wollheim of Wollheim's Rosequist Galleries of Tucson, who worked with
Ross Stefan in the selection of the art for our December magazine. It was not an
easy task to come through with a half dozen from a total of a half thousand. Many,
many thanks to you sir.
And so meticulous to deta il is that gentleman that he called my attention to
the fact that - Ross Stefan's showing at the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York
is not his first major showing .. . After all, Ross has only been " major showing" for
20 years, and Ralph is correct. I should have made it clearly understood that this was
his first major show for 1972. And fQr the pleasure of our late winter visitors, WolI ­heim's
Rosequist Galleries will be the place for a Ross Stefan spectacular in March.
Oh, yes .. . another boo-boo. In our November 1971 magazine, on page 20,
the caption , " Wupatki National Monument," is incorrect. The photograph depicts part
of the Indian ru ins at Tuzigoot National Monument, also in Arizona .
GOD BLESS TED DeGRAZIA, THE COCOPAH INDIANS, DAVE METZ, THE ARIZONA
BANK, MRS. VIRGINIA TROSTER!!! I've ordered that set in bold·face type so my
friend Dave Metz won 't be disappointed with me for not using his long and sincerely
beautiful tribute to the hundreds of wonderfu l people from all 50 of our blessed
United States .. . and from Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, England, Canal Zone, Bel ­gium,
West Germany, Australia and New Zealand for making the Cocopah " Cry House"
venture such a beautiful example of " People to People love." (Arizona Highways,
September 1971.)
. And to all who wrote expressing their ·feelings about our 1971 Christmas maga.
Zlne . . . I want to assure you there is only one thing more beautiful than Love given
. . . and that is Love returned ... Praised be Love.
Jos. Stacey
Ladders and masonry detail in the old section of the pueblo, Acoma ~
28
One of the oldest streets on the North American continent - Acoma Pueblo.
Acoma, the City in the Sky - Built on the world's most unusual Mesa.
Photographed by Herb and Dorothy McLaughlin with special telephoto lens.
30 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS JANUARY I97Z
THE HAVASU PAl
Hidden in the depths of the Grand
Canyon of Arizona is the reservation
of the H.avasupai, which means "Blue
Water People," the source for the name
being sparkling, clear, skyblue Havasu
Creek.
Supai is the name of the village which
has been the home of the Havasupai
Indian tribe for more than 900 years.
Deep in the Cataract Canyon is far
more picturesque than even Acoma's
mesa heights. Here, cut off by sheer
cliffs 2000 to 4000 feet high, the Hava­supais
live in a verdant paradise com­parable
to greenest Ireland, France,
Britain or Italy. Three waterfalls pro­vide
a spectacular which no genius of
movieland can duplicate. Before heli­copters
there had been no way 'to the
reservation floor other than a rugged
eight-mile trail used only by horses,
pack mules and persons walking, if they
be hale and hearty.
Today, thanks to Bell helicopters the
Havasupais are enjoying things like
refrigerators, stoves and other gas
appliances. In addition they haul in
groceries, clothing, medical supplies,
propane, building materials, ice cream
and occasionally people.
JANUARY I97Z
The same trails Father Garces found
in 1776 when he discovered Supai are
' still the only ground routes, and the
packer is still essential to the life of
the community which includes a school,
church, grocery store, clinic and other
buildings. It is assuring to the Havasu­pais
that should the need demand it, a
Bell 47G-3B-i helicopter can carry
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
more material on one i5-minute round
trip than four mules can pack on a day­long
trip.
The best times to visit are late spring
through early fall.
T he photographs on this page were
taken by Walt Mancini, of South Pasa­dena,
California, while on a back-pack
trip to the canyon.
31
LONELINESS
Loneliness is the time between yesterday and today.
Loneliness is a sunset without a mountain blue-gray.
Loneliness is a sky where exits no planets or a star.
Loneliness is, most of all, admitting what you really are.
- Frances Bazil, Coeur d' Alene
The superb diorama displays at the Mesa Verde
National Park Museum represent countless years of
meticulous study and research. Remarkably lifelike they
depict the life of the prehistoric inhabitants of the
Southwest. At left at top - Development of a pueblo
... Center - Concept of activity at Spruce Tree
House ... lower - Basket Maker group.
WHAT THE "-OlOGIES" ARE All ABOUT.
Using our Random House Dictionary as a source of infor­mation
we learn that: -ology means any science or branch of
knowledge.
In this special edition concerning the first peoples of our
land and their ways of life, we become aware of several com­pound
words ending with ·ology, and many of us are not
completely sure of the relation of one to another, and most
important the meanings to us as individuals or as a part of
society, and of the significance of our times in the Great log
Book of the Journey of Man to Whatever and Wherever ...
For example: ANTHROPOLOGY is the science that deals with
the origins, the physical and cultural development, racial
characteristics and social customs and beliefs of mankind.
It is derived from the ancient Greek word Anthropo meaning
"human."
ARCHAEOLOGY is the scientific study of historic or pre·
historic peoples and their cultures by analysis of their arti·
facts, inscriptions, monuments, ruins and other such remains
that have been excavated. ARCHAEO· also is of Greek origin
and means "primitive."
ETHNOLOGY is a branch of anthropology that analyzes
cultures in regard to their historical development and the
similarities and dissimilarities. ETHNOS - from the Greek
meaning "Races."
Also used in many compound words is "·geny," also
borrowed from the Greek, and It means "origin." Thus
ETHNOGENY is a branch of ethnology which studies the origin
of distinctive populations and races.
ARIZONA IS A VAST SOURCE OF ·QLOGIES & ·GENIES.
Museums, foundations and private and public collections
throughout the state present a collective treasure unmatched
in the nation. The most notable of course are the State of
Arizona's three Universities. In addition to it's academic
program the University of Arizona at Tucson houses the
renowned Arizona State Museum, with its outstanding col­lection
of Southwestern Archaeology. Arizona State Univer­sity
at Tempe has one of the outstanding Departments of
Anthropology anywhere offering courses in all aspects of the
science. At Flagstaff, Northern Arizona University in the heart
of the Sinaugua and Anasazi country makes It a natural
choice for scholars and scientists. Several private institutions
are priceless National treasures in the quantity and quality
of their collections. The Museum of Northern Arizona at
Flagstaff has to be considered a fountainhead of that area's
historic and prehistoric knowledge. In Phoenix the Heard
Museum is a visual encyclopedia of the culture of the Amer­icas,
from Alaska to the Straits of Magellan. At Dragoon,
Arizona, The Amerind Foundation not only houses one of the
world's most valuable collections, but it is the center of
operations for the great and important Casas Grandes excava­tions
in Mexico. Add to these the many lesser collections,
plus the displays and reference materials available at the
National, State, County and City Visitors' Centers and you
realize what an unending and fascinating pursuit it is - man's
seeking, searching and finding the answers to the secrets
and mysteries of his heritage.
San Il'defonso, N .M. is noted for its
beautiful pottery and friendly people.
On First Mesa the Hopi women still make fine pottery,
with black or red bird and feather designs on a cream or yellow
background. On Second Mesa they weave coiled baskets and
on Third Mesa beautiful wicker plaques.
Southeast of the Hopi country, just over the border in
New Mexico, is the pueblo of Zuni. There were six or seven
Zuni towns when Coronado arrived in 1540, but they were
all abandoned before or during the Pueblo Revolt. Now there
is only Zuni itself, established about 1695 near one of the
abandoned pueblos, and a few summer camps or farming
villages.
Zuni and Hopi, the two westernmost of the pueblos, are
sometimes called the Desert Pueblos. They have always traded
back and forth and have many of the same customs. But their
inhabitants speak totally different languages. Zuni pottery is
also different from that of the Hopi. Black and red designs,
often of deer or long-tailed birds, are painted on a white back­ground.
In recent years Zuni silversmiths have become famous
for their fine jewelry.
Midway between the Desert Dwellers and the Rio Grande
are two other pueblos, Acoma and Laguna. Acoma stands 00
top of a 400-foot-high mesa. It is one of the older towns,
occupying the same location it did when the Spaniards first
came. Laguna, a few miles to the east, is newer, founded just
after the Pueblo Revolt by refugees from the Rio Grande. The
inhabitants of these two towns speak Keresan, the language
of five other pueblos along the Rio Grande.
Up and down the Rio Grande Valley, from Taos 70 miles
north of Santa Fe to Isleta 12 miles south of Albuquerque,
the the sixteen present-day River Pueblos. By language, these
fall into four groups. The members of five pueblos, Zia, Santa
Ana, San Felipe, Santo Domingo, and Cochiti, speak Keresan,
the same language as do their relatives at Acoma and Laguna.
All of the other pueblos belong to one language division,
the Tanoan, but this in turn is divided into three languages
which are not intelligible to one another. At Santa Clara, San
Ildefonso, San Juan, Nambe, Pojoaque, and Tesuque the Tewa
CITIES from page 16
language is spoken. It is also spoken by the residents of Hano
in the Hopi country. The people of Taos, Picuris, Sandia, and
Isleta speak dialects of Tiwa. The last pueblo, Jemez, is the
only one today in which the Towa language is used.
Like their western cousins, the inhabitants of most of the
Rio Grande pueblos also make pottery. In general, each pueblo
has its traditional patterns and forms. The women of San Juan,
Santa Clara, and San Ildefonso are noted for their polished
red and polished black pottery. About forty years ago several
potters at San Ildefonso began to make highly polished black
jars with designs in dull black. This style became so popular
that it has spread to other pueblos.
Unlike the Hopi towns, these New Mexico pueblos are
not on reservations. The Hopi were never actually under
Spanish control and thus never received land from the Spanish
government. Not until 1882 was a reservation set aside for
them by the United States government.
But the New Mexican pueblos are on land which was
granted to them by the Spanish Crown nearly 300 years ago.
These grants were later confirmed and guaranteed by the
United States Congress. These Pueblo Indians are among the
few Indian groups in the United States who have title to their
land, instead of living on land owned by the federal govern­ment
and reserved for Indian use.
The Pueblo Indians are slowly increasing in numbers.
Today there are some 25,000 of them living in thirty-odd
towns and villages in Arizona and New Mexico.
The Atomic Age has come to the Southwest. Railroads
and highways crisscross the desert aqd mountains; giant planes
leave vapor trails across the blue sky. Cities and towns are
spreading out over the countryside. But all these signs of prog­ress
have touched the Pueblo Indian only lightly. Life still
goes on in the ancient pueblos much as it did a thousand years
ago. Painted and masked dancers still perform their age-old
ceremonies in the kivas. The Pueblo Indian rests serene in the
knowledge that he is still living in the center of the universe,
that his own gods still rule over his world.
Washday at Laguna Pueblo, N .M.
JANUARY 1972 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 33
Casa Grande (The Big House) Ruins, under protective canopy.
The Ear!y People OJ Southern Arizona Brouaht they A Major Step Towards Civilization To The Southwest.
Cam€ ~Qom the south
Casa Grande. Hohokam. Prehistoric canals. These are
terms that create curiosity and ~nticipation. Rewards come
in the experiences that await the visitor when he drives up
to Casa Grande National Monument in southern Arizona.
Suddenly, one is confronted by a towering structure that grows
from the desert floor. Its massive adobe walls are both a part
of the landscape and yet something discrete. For over 600
years the "Great House" has withstood the challenges of the
desert winds and the infrequent but violent rains. The visitor
cannot help but see here a tribute to the industry and skills
of a past people.
Exploration soon reveals that the imposing structure stands
like a guardian in the midst of huge blocks of adobe-walled
rooms. There are compound walls that enclose large areas of
the site. Great canals~once brought water from the Gila River
to irrigate crop lands. Sophisticated pottery decorated with
black and red designs on a white background, or with a red
slip on the exterior and a burnished black interior, or with
red elements painted on a buff background can be seen. A
case in the museum exhibits a graceful pink shell carved in
the form of a stylized bird with a border inlay of blue turquoise.
The unusual never seems to end as you walk through this bit
of time that existed before Europeans came to the Southwest.
Settlements such as Casa Grande did not exist in a vacuum;
there must have been a before and an after. Recent investiga­tions
at the Hohokam village of Snaketown under the direction
of Dr. Emil W. Haury of the Arizona State Museum and
research by Julian D. Hayden of Tucson suggest that the
Hohokam people were intrusive in southern Arizona. It is
possible that the Hohokam migrated to this area as early as
300 B.C. from far down in western Mexico. Among the new
ideas that they brought were cremation of the dead, advanced
34 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS JANUARY I97Z
By Dr. Alfred E. Dittert, Jr.
HERB Me LAUGHLIN
Sacaton Red-on-buff pot shows distinctive Gila
shoulder form of the A.D. 900-1100 period.
Casa Grande National Monument is located near
Coolidge, Arizona. The visitor's Center features visual
displays of ceramics and artifacts, plus illustrated
exhibits depicting the way of life of the Hohokam.
Human and animal form vessels had religious
and utilitarian purposes.
Dr. Alfred E. Dittert, Jr., is a Professor of Anthropology
at Arizona State University, Tempe, and formerly Curator
in charge of Research at the Museum of New Mexico
at Santa Fe. Dr. Dittert's experience in the southwest
has extended over 30 years.
ceramics, irrigation of lands by canals, manufacture of tur­quoise
mosaics, figurines, shaped stone objects, shell industry,
and large houses in a relatively permanent settlement.
At first, settlements of the new people were concentrated
along the Gila and Salt Rivers upstream from the confluence
of the two drainages. Little expansion from this territory is
evident until A.D. 500 when major influences began to spread
up the tributaries of the Gila and Salt. By A.D. 900, much of
Arizona south of the Mogollon Rim has sites with traits of
Hohokam origin. Ruins as far away as Flagstaff, that date A.D.
1100, have ball courts, cremations, and pottery with vessel
shapes much like those of the Hohokam. After that time, it
appears that the sphere of influence contracted back to its
earlier location but leaving many reminders that Hohokam
ideas had once dominated distant areas. This is the time of
Casa Grande.
Hohokam houses, until about A.D. 1100, were built in
shallow pits. Walls of poles and brush bounding a square,
rectangular, or oval space, were set into the floor of the pit.
Dirt was backfilled into the space between the wall and the
edge of the pit. A small but carefully made firepit lined with
clay was the characteristic furnishing. Unlike the ~mmense
Pueblo structures of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico and Mesa
Verde, Colorado with an apartment-like appearance, the
Hohokam houses were individual units separated from one
another. At some sites only a few houses have been found;
other sites, such as Snaketown, had hundreds of structures
and the location was occupied for 1,400 years.
Surface houses with adobe walls appeared around A.D.
1100. Some walls had a core of vertical posts while other
walls were formed by building up successive layers of adobe.
Rectilinear rooms of varying sizes were arranged in blocks
resembling a mosaic and the whole was surrounded by a
thicker compound wall. Small open spaces within the com­pounds
were characteristic. The walls were too thin to support
a second story but multistory houses with heavy adobe walls
appeared slightly later.
Although the houses were simple, crafts of the Hohokam
were sophisticated from the beginning. The earliest pottery
was a thin gray-buff colored ware which might have a red slip.
Before A.D. 1, red elements were painted on the gray-buff
background and this style became the dominant trend of
decorated pottery for the next 1,100 years. At times, the
designs were negative; during other periods there were curvi­linear
or rectilinear patterns covering a vessel, or the entire
field might be composed of individual small animals or stylized
humans. Pottery shapes were not limited to bowls and jars;
there were vessels in the shape of mountain sheep, snakes, and
other animals. Ceramics also included modeled human figures.
From the beginning, Hohokam ceramics were made by the
paddle-and-anvil technique-a process still used by the Papago
and Yuman peoples in Arizona.
The working of sea shells was a craft in which the
Hohokam excelled. It is probable that a large part of
the prehistoric shell ornaments found in the Southwest were
traded from this source. Bracelets, beautifully carved with frog
designs or ground irtto the shape of a snake, were made from
the Glycymeris shell; tinklers were fashioned from Conus
shells; and long strings of beads were formed with Olivella
shells. Rings and carved pendants were made from the shells
that once were protective habitats of mollusks from the Gulf
of California.
JANUARY 197Z ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 35
Display of assorted Hohokam ceramics. HERB Me LAUGHLIN
An unusual shell working technique, but one found in use
by the Hohokam, was the etching of shell. A resist material,
such as a plant gum, was applied to portions of the shell which
the craftsman did not want affected. Fermented juice, possibly
of the saguaro fruit, was applied to the areas not covered and
allowed to remain until the desired amount of surface was
removed. Later the shell might be painted to emphasize the
etched area.
Grinding and carving was not limited to the medium of
shell; stone vessels, palettes of schist, ground axes, and stone
ornaments all exhibit the skills of past craftsmen. Through
time there were changes in art style or form of the stone arti­facts
which permit the archaeo~ogists to use these objects as
indicators of periods. The axe, for example, was made from a
very dense and hard stone. Its bit was not sharp enough to cut
but was effective in breaking the layers of wood in a tree.
Hafting of the axe was facilitated by a groove that extended
around three-fourths of the body; the one flat edge often had
a groove for the insertion of a wedge to keep the handle tight.
Both above and below, the groove was bounded by a collar
left in place as the tool was ground from a large stone. Early
axes had a very pronounced collar which became less evident
through time and were no longer present at A.D. 1300.
The stone palettes also changed through time. At first,
these objects were simple, smoothed and shaped thin slabs
of stone. Then, the "interior was ground so that raised rims
were left. As wider rims were left in subsequent periods,
incised designs occurred and sometimes the rims were carved
into a representation of a rattlesnake enclosing the flat palette
area. Later, the decorations became simpler and by A.D. 1200
palettes were no longer being made. While the purpose of the
palettes is not fully understood, they frequently are found with
cremations and may have remains of melted lead ore adhering
to the surface.
Among the ornaments made from stone were ground bits
of turquoise that occur as mosaics or individual stones
cemented to a shell, stone, or perishable base. Inlay work was
part of the artisan's skills. Beads, pendants, and similar jewelry
ground from turquoise and other attractive stones have been
found at many Hohokam sites. Among the more unusual items
were the mirrors fashioned from bits of pyrite and set onto a
backing. One is tempted to suggest a resemblance between
the pyrite mirrors of the Hohokam and the bits of modern
mirrors that the Huichol Indians of Mexico attach to their
"Ojo de Dios" - "Eye of God."
With only primitive tools, the Hohokam constructed ball
courts larger than a modern football field. Dirt was removed
to a depth of ten or more feet to form a long oval playing
surface with a surrounding embankment. There are no written
records from the Hohokam to tell us how the game was played.
However, it is believed that the courts were used for a game
similar to that played by the Maya. Historic descriptions tell
Tex t continued on page 38
36 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS JANUARY 1972
The Pueblo Grande Museum is administered by the
Division of Archaeology of the Parks and Recreation
Department of the City of Phoenix. In addition to the
museum, the institution includes three laboratories and
self-guided tour facilities through the excavated areas.
Dark area
indicates the extent
of Hohokam influence.
THE RIVER HOHOKAM
OF PUEBLO GRANDE
The prehistoric desert farming culture termed Hohokam
(a Pima word meaning " Those who have gone."), may extend
its roots of origin back into the ancient Cochise culture.
These early food gatherers inhabited southwestern New Mex·
ico and southeastern Arizona from about 8000 B.C. to 500
B.C. From this relatively small corner of the Southwest, the
Hohokam culture developed and spread, until by 1400 A.D.
it covered most of that part of southern Arizona from the
Mogollon Rim on the north to the Mexican border on the
south, a large part of southwestern New Mexico, and parts
of northern Sonora and Chihuahua.
In this area of nearly 49,000 square miles were scattered
the communities of two distinct groups of Hohokams. The
River Hohokams inhabited the river valleys of the middle and
lower Gila, the lower Salt and the lower Verde. The vast desert
region extending south of the Gila River was occupied by the
semi'agricultural and food gathering Desert Hohokams.
The River Hohokams were settled along the Gila possibly
as early as 300 B.C. Their way of life was based on desert
agriculture. Because the semi·arid desert region of southern
Arizona is not suited to dry farming, the Hohokams first planted
their crops on the lower river terraces where they depended
on the periodic flooding of the Gila to irrigate their fields.
The Salt River at this time was only sparsely settled, since the
character of the river did not lend itself to flood plane irriga·
tion. However, sometime between 500 and 700 A.D., the idea
of canal irrigation was either borrowed, or independently
developed, thus making the fertile desert around both the
Gila and Salt rivers available for farming.
Now that the resources of the Salt River Valley could be
more fully utilized, there was a population shift from the
Gila to the Salt between 700 and 900 A.D. Mile after mile of
irrigation canals were constructed to bring water to the
parched land. The whole color scheme of this valley began
to change as the bright greens of CUltivated fields replaced
the natural browns and yellows of the desert. During the early
part of 1920, the surviving canals of this ancient project were
measured and found to have a combined total length of over
150 miles. At one time there may have been between 200
and 250 miles of canals here in this valley. But today, only at
Pueblo Grande and in one other area, have small sections of
this great system of canals resisted the devouring expansion
of modern civilization - the only visible remains of the largest
prehistoric irrigation project in North America.
Scattered through this vast network of canals were 22
large, and many small, communities. The village at Pueblo
Grande was large, as evidence suggests that it occupied over
80 acres. The houses of a Hohokam village were constructed
of poles which were· covered with brush and then plastered
with mud. As a rule, the floors of the houses were depressed
below the surrounding area. Since there were no windows,
these structures were dark inside and, therefore, most of the
everyday activities were carried on outdoors. A ramada (a
shade supported on posts), stood near the house and here
such tasks as making pottery, weaving, grinding corn and
preparing meals were carried out. Cooking took place over
large pits.
The life of the River Hohokam in the Salt River Valley was
not always as unvexed as it would seem. Especially towards
the end of their occupancy of this area, the last 150 to 200
years, life must have become increasingly more difficult. The
consolidation of the sprawling villages into compact com·
pounds, surrounded by walls, suggests war or the threat of
war. Perhaps groups of nomadic peoples, newcomers in the
area, were finding it easier to raid the Hohokams for food ,
than to compete with nature by hunting and gathering. Per·
haps the Hohokams were experiencing some form of internal
unrest.
Other difficulties encountered by the Hohokam - such
as salt erosion of wall bases, moisture problems in food stor·,
age, and water logging of fields - were the direct result of
their own vast system of canals. In our own time, we have
been encounterir)g these same problems which result from
excessive irrigation. Salt erosion is still a constant threat to
the stability of the adobe walls of Pueblo Grande.
The situation along the Salt River did not improve. Unable
to relieve the waterlogged condition of the land, and under
constant threat of war or raid, the Hohokams began to move
out of the valley. The exodus was probably gradual; the
people were returning to the Gila. By 1400 A.D., the Salt
River Valley had been completely abandoned.
JANUARY 1972 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 37
HOHOKAM - from page 36
of the use of a rubber ball which the players propelled by
hitting with parts of the body other than the hands. The object
was to cast the ball through a ring on either wall of the court.
Evidences of rings have not been found at the Hohokam ball
courts but there are markers on the floor and a rubber ball
has come to light. It is possible that the rings were made of
twisted grass, reeds, or other perishable material.
Like the ball courts, countless hours of labor went into the
digging of canals to carry water from the river to fields near
the settlement. Over 500 miles of canals are now known in
the Salt and Gila valleys; the routes of some canals are still
being used today for our modern water distribution systems.
Lacking engineering instruments, the Indians probably began
the excavation at the river and allowed a pilot stream of water
guide the depth of the canal. With a shallower gradient of the
canal than that of the river, eventually the water could be
brought out of the valley and onto higher agricultural lands.
Carbonized remains recovered from Hohokam sites
indicate that crops included maize, beans, squash, and cotton.
But many other kinds of foods have been found that were
obtained by gathering. The desert is one of the richest parts
of the Southwest in terms of the potential food resources that
grow wild. Mesquite beans, saguaro fruit, screwbeans, iron­wood
seeds, paloverde seeds, pigweed seeds, barrel cactus
fruits, and cholla cactus fruits are but a few of the many foods
available. Large numbers of campsites with Hohokam pottery
and tools are found in areas away from the rivers where gath­ering
of wild foods was possible.
It does not appear that hunting played as large a role in the
subsistence of the Hohokam as among a number of prehistoric
Southwestern Indians. Nevertheless, well made projectile
points, tools that could have been used to make arrowshafts,
and skin-working tools are found at most sites. Animal bones,
except for small mammals, are rare. Bone tools are found very
infrequently., It has been suggested that hunting required a
trip of some distance from the village and that once a large
animal was killed, it was butchered and the meat dried. One
person could easily bring in a large deer from some distance
if the bone and much of the moisture were removed from the
meat. This was not an uncommon practice among modern
Indians before the pickup truck was introduced.
When the Hohokam first arrived and settled in the Salt
and Gila valleys, about 300 B.C., southern Arizona had already
been occupied for a long period by a hunting and gathering
people that archaeologists call the Cochise. Most of the
Cochise sites are in the uplands and there is no evidence that
friction developed when the new people arrived.
The earliest period of the Cochise, the Sulphur Springs
Stage, began about 7000 B.C. While remains are sparse, sites
of this type have shown that associated tools were primarily
flat grinding slabs, small handstones used to grind seeds against
the slabs, and a few crudely-flaked large stone implements.
Although bones of animals now extinct were found in the same
deposit, no projectile points have come to light. It is possible
that thrusting spears or darts made completely of wood were
present but have long since disintegrated. Lacking evidence,
however, we must assume that the major food resource was
in the wild products that they gathered.
Later, in the Chiricahua Stage of the Cochise culture,
projectile points are present as are well-made metates and
manos for grinding seeds, a maul, and flake tools. The pro­jectile
points are suggestive of use with a dart and an atlatl or
throwing board. The life of the people probably revolved
around the movement from one place to another as seed crops
ripened or hunting was good. Pigweed, cattail roots, and grass
seeds would be plentiful on the river floodplain. On the benches
away from the river would be groves of mesquite and the
many cacti. Higher still were jojoba nuts, hackberry, and
acorns with pinyon nuts only slightly higher. Deer; rabbit,
antelope, ground squirrels, mice, and many other animals
would reward the patience of the hunter.
The last period of the Cochise, the San Pedro Stage, began
about 500 B.C. It saw the arrival of the Hohokam and lasted
for almost 600 years as a way-of-life while the Hohokam were
building large villages, making pottery, and tending the fields.
Now we must go back even further in time, for the Cochise
were not the earliest in southern Arizona. Before the Cochise
there were the Big Game Hunters. Our knowledge about this
group is limited mostly to kill sites where mammoths or other
large game were killed for food. Tools embedded with the
bones, bits of knapping refuse from the manufacture of tools,
evidence of removing part of the carcass, and a few tools left
behind are all that remain. From the scant evidence here, and
at other scattered sites over the Southwest, we obtain the
impression that the Big Game Hunters were specialized in the
exploitation of a limited number of resources. But the environ­ment
changed and the large game animals died or their smaller
relatives moved eastward. The hunters withdrew following the
herds, thus leaving southern Arizona open to a people who
would use a wider range of resources - the Cochise.
Are there earlier times to explore for man? If we look to
Mexico, there are sites at Tlapacoya and Valesquillo southeast
of Mexico City with Carbon 14 dates in excess of 25,000
years ago. Man may have traveled through some part of the
Southwest to reach Mexico.
Now that we have traveled as far back in time as possible,
let us return to Cas a Grande. Even with the story we have, the
"Great House" and the adobe-walled compounds seem
strangely out of place. Some archaeologists maintain that the
changes from houses in pits to the adobe walled structures,
and that of polychrome pottery, were the result of a people
moving into the Gila-Salt area from the northeast - the Salado.
Adherents to that theory are decreasing and many archaeol­ogists
are looking to Mexico for the influences that gave rise
to such structures. This position is not unwarranted since there
appears to be continual reinforcement of traits from Mexico
throughout the entire Hohokam sequence. The ball courts,
pyrite mirrors, footed vessels, copper bells, platform mounds,
and the many compound-walled settlements found in Mexico
all suggest that the source of the Hohokam lies to the south.
Can we go forward in time and find an end to the Hohokam
today? What happened between A.D. 1400 and the beginning
of historic accounts in the early 1700's? Only guesses are
available. Most authorities will agree that the Pima probably
are the descendants of the Hohokam, but 300 years of that
story are not understood. What happened to a people who
could build a village like Casa Grande? We can only hope that
the answer might lie in some site not yet recognized.
38 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS JANUARY 1972
• Right - Gila Poly ­chrome
Pot Design. Ari ­zona
State Museum ,
Unive rs ity of Arizona,
Tucson.
• Left - Mimbres bowl
from southern New Mex­ico
. A ri zona State
Museum, University of
Arizona, Tucson.
H 0 h 0 k am She II Art.
Cardium shells overlaid
with turquoise mosaic.
HERB MC LAUGHLIN
Polychrome Jars, Urns
and effigy vessels found
at Casa Grande Ruins.
HERB MC LAUGHLIN
40
..,4t /~ ~adtptec&. ..
a~ G~+tt/G~B~
This beautiful book is perhaps the finest collection of American western
art ever brought together in one volume.
Its publication by Knopf marks an important event in the worlds of art
and publishing. It represents the first time that the trustees of the Gilcrease
Institute have authorized the reproduction in book form of their collection -
by far the finest and most comprehensive in the nation.
Nearly 300 plates (134 in full color) have been chosen by Paul A. Rossi,
Director of the Gilcrease Institute, and David C. Hunt, its Curator of Art.
The book is oversize (9% x 12% inches) and includes 134 plates in full
color, the rest in two colors, and a foldout jacket which allows the reproduc­tion
in full of Charles M. Russell's magnificent painting, "The Buffalo Hunt." A
running narrative was added to closely relate the art to life on the frontier,
providing a social history of the West.
There are two editions:
- a regular edition priced at $25.00 (until the end of 1971,
$30.00 thereafter)
- a deluxe, leather-bound edition priced at $100.00, which is
already sold out in advance to bookstores.
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS J ANU ARY 1972
THE GILCREASE COLLECTION
The Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art is a
national treasury. Its galleries, museum, and library are dedicated
to the permanent safekeeping of the artistic, cultural, and his­torical
records of this country, with particular emphasis on those
paintings, documents, and other materials which chronicle the
story of the American West. The Institute's vast collection of art
encompasses a span of nearly 400 years - from our earliest
artists, through those artist-reporters who recorded the expan·
sion and eventual disappearance of the frontier during the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to contemporary painters of
the American Southwest, especially American Indian artists.
J ANU ARY 1 9 72
Every great name in American
western art, covering every period of
our history, is richly represented in The
Art of the Old West. There are 22
paintings and bronzes by Remington,
20 by Russell, 11 paintings by Miller,
9 by Moran, 24 paintings, studies, and
sketches by Catlin , 23 by Leigh, 4
Schreyvogels, Bodmers, and in addi­tion,
scores of remarkable works by
lesser-known artists:
• Olaf Seltzer's classic western char­acters,
from mule skinners to traders
and stage drivers;
• the western mountains and the great
plains as seen by the majestic land­scape
painters;
• riverboat men, mountain men, hide
hunters , bronc riders , traders,
settlers , roustabouts , gamblers ,
gold-rushers ;
• the great herds of buffalo, the
beaver, and the grizzly.
Because of their quality as art, and
because of their quality as a vital rec­ord
of what life in the Old West was
like, this lavish collection will be of
enduring value.
"Carson's Men" by CHARLES MARION R USSELL, 1913
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
A SPECIAL SERVICE
FOR OUR
READERS ONLY
We are generally not in
the book selling business,
and we sincerely urge our
readers to patronize their
favorite book sellers.
As a special service to
those readers who are
remote from conven ient
shopping facilities we have
reserved a limited supply
of "The Art Of The Old
West," in the regular edi·
tion only, and because
of our later·than ·usual
release date of our Jan·
uary magazine, our readers
may purchase this book
from us at the introductory
price of twenty-five dollars
($25.00) per copy post­paid.
Offer expires Febru­ary
IS, 1972.
41
Canyon de Chelly (Shay) National Monu­ment,
Arizona, covers more than one hundred
thirty-one square miles, and numbers more
than 400 Indian cliff dwellings within its bor­ders,
the most photographed being The White
House Ruins pictured below. Not only is this
area one of the most appealing to the aesthete
- it is also an area celebrated in myth,
legend and history of the Navajos and those
who came before. The giant cliffs of the Can­yon
gave it its name from a Navajo word
meaning "rock canyon." It was carved over
the ages by Oak Springs. Canyon del Muerto
(Canyon of the Dead) is the chief tributary
of Canyon de Chelly. In 1805 the Spanish
'and the Navajo fought a fierce battle there
and more than 150 Indians were killed near
a rock shelter called Massacre Cave. There
are many viewing points where the visitor
may truly see and feel the glorious sensual
impact of the unusually beautiful and primi­tive
land.
"On the far canyon walls I see the eyes of
the Great Spirit looking down on the sheep
grazing peacefully, on the terrace below."
- Photograph by June Payne
WHY IS HAPPY?
I cried because I didn't have
A little bitty slice of something else;
Then the sun reached down
and tickled my tears
I made a laughing bowl
that caught the tears
To wash the hand that touched me.
- Donna Whitewing, Winnebago-Sioux
To the Navajo beauty is a way of life and a constant
state of mind. Where else but in the strange beautiful world
of the Navajo can two half-pint size females in a
Ford Pinto be so lost and so helpless, yet find such a
treasure of beautiful memories to cherish forever?
"NAVAJO FIRE DANCE"
concept by Navajo studl':nts
at IAIA campus
Reprinted from THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC of November 16, 1971 --------------,
Navajo friends show the ~beauty way~
WHEATFIELDS LAKE, Ariz. -
Friends are where you find them, and
friends in need, the saying goes, are
friends indeed.
We found Navajo friends all over the
place this past weekend, both here and
60 miles away in a mud hole.
Maybe it was the only mud hole that
existed then on the entire Navajo
reservation. But we managed not only
to find it, but to get the car hopelessly
mired in it - in the middle of nowhere
in the middle of the night.
This place was where the final night
of a spectacular Navajo Fire Dance
took place this past Saturday.
NOT, as Anglos had told us, north of
Highway 264 off the Kinlichee Board­ing
School Road, five miles east of
Ganado.
But that's how we became stick-in­the
muds - looking for the dance that
wasn't there.
Oh, we eventually got from there to
here. And the Fire Dance was every­thing
in the way of an all-night spec­tacular
that we had read about and
been told that it was.
And just never even mind that we
fell fast asleep when the "magic" or
"miracle" parts of the ritualistic nine­day
healing ceremony began.
So this column is NOT about seeing
a yucca stalk burst into full bloom
before my very eyes. Nor is it about
the feather in the basket that dances
in perfect mime and rhythm to the
dancing child. Nor is it about the sun
symbol that climbs up and down a
stick all by itself.
This column does not deal with the
ceremony that dispels the evil effects
of what the Navajos call bear sickness.
It is simply to dispel the evil effects of
oft-told tales about how Navajos will
not help white strangers who invade
their reservation.
Not only are they helpful friends,
they'll walk an extra mile in their
moccasins, so to speak, in going out of
their way to be kind and accommodat­ing
to strangers.
And you can take that from Poko
JANUARY 197Z
Arizona
Album
By Maggie
Wilson
Petek and me, a minority group of two.
Poko is the artist who is my back
country amigo on numerous "inva­sions"
of numerous reservations here
and in New Mexico.
Our adventures with new-found
friends began at the mud hole at 7700-
foot elevation and so far away from
civilization there wasn't a pin point of
light to be seen in any direction except
straight up - where the Milky Way
glittered coldly down on us. We didn't
have spark enough to glitter coldly
back at it. We were just two icy auto­matons
trying to tear up high desert
brush and sage with our bare hands to
put under the wheels of the car.
After about an hour of fruitless
wheel-spinning, we saw the lights of
a car rocking down another of those
interminable dirt roads that crisscross
the reservation.
The driver saw our blinking lights
and came to where we were. "Sir,"
Poko said, "we're stuck in this mud
hole."
"Yes," he agreed. "You certainly did
a good job of getting stuck."
I'll tell you the truth: I thought,
"Oh, oh. He's going to laugh and tell
us it serves us right and drive away."
But no. He got out of the car and
laughed and said, "Too much Phoenix.
You two have too much Phoenix. Don't
know how to drive when you have too
much Phoenix."
It took him, and us, another half
hour of backing and filling and gather­ing
sage (and I was panting from the
high altitude like maybe I'd run a mile
- but that was "too much Phoenix,
too," he said) before we got the car out.
Or rather, before he got the car out.
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
We asked if he had children where
he lived. Of course he did, he said.
Would they like this stick candy,
which was all we had? Of course they
would, he said.
But where were we going? And did
we think we could get back to the
highway all by ourselves without
another mishap?
We were looking for the fire dance,
we told him.
He drew us a map to where the fire
dance really was, on a road out of
Window Rock that veered back and
forth across the New Mexico-Arizona
border and was north of Navajo, N.M.,
at Wheatfields Lake.
Was it all right for us to go see it?
Certainly, it was. Certainly, we
would be welcome. Matter of fact, he
was going himself, but not for several
hours and he would see us there - IF
we managed to get there.
We did, armed with sacks of candy
and oranges to give him that we had
stopped in Window Rock to buy. We
never saw him again, though.
But we did get the same kind of
welcome from . .. well, I'd guess 500
Navajos at the dance. Sit here between
these two campfires. You're too cold.
Have some hot coffee. You came from
far away, you get so cold. Here, have
this extra blanket. You like fry bread?
Give them more coffee, they too cold.
As a rooster crowed in the first light
of a new day, the dance ended. I asked
a Navajo woman if the four men in the
final dance were chanting about
beauty.
Were they saying something like
"In beauty, it is finished ... In beauty
"7
Yes, yes, yes, she replied eagerly.
"You not a schoolteacher but you read
that in a book?"
And with that, there wasn't enough
mutton stew or fried bread in the
world to show us they appreciated us.
Nor, for us, was there enough candy
or oranges to reciprocate.
In beauty, it was finished. In beauty
... in beauty.
43
INSTITUTE - from page 14
All poetry used in this edition, credited to Indians, was
written by students in Creative Writing classes at the Insti­tute
of American Indian Arts. They represent the feelings
of a vibrant, courageous and superior intellect - certainly
indicative that the young Indian has not "lost his spirit." We
are proud to share this "soul harvest" with you.
NEW WAY, OLD WAY
Beauty in the old way of life
The dwellings they decorated so lovingly;
A drum, a clear voice singing,
And the sound of laughter.
You must want to learn from your mother,
You must listen to old men
not quite capable of becoming white men.
The white man is not our father.
While we last, we must not die of hunger.
We were a very Indian, strong, competent people,
But the grass had almost stopped its growing,
The horses of our pride were near their end.
Indian cowboys and foremen handled Indian herds.
A cowboy's life appealed to them until
economics and tradition clashed.
No one Indian was equipped to engineer the water's flow
onto a man's allotment.
Another was helpless to unlock the gate.
The union between a hydro-electric plant and
Respect for the wisdom of the long-haired chiefs
had to blend to build new enterprises
By Indian labor.
Those mighty animals graze once more upon the hillside.
At the Fair appear again our ancient costumes.
A full-blood broadcasts through a microphone
planned tribal action.
Hope stirs in the tribe,
Drums beat and dancers, old and young, step forward.
We shall learn all the devices of the white man.
We shall handle his tools for ourselves.
We shall master his machinery, his inventions,
his skills, his medicine, his planning;
But we'll retain our beauty
And still be Indians!
- Dave MartinNez, Navajo
LIZ SOHAPPY, Yakima, operates an etching press, executing one
- of her fine award winning prints.
The Institute is moving (1971) toward gaining accreditation
at the college level for its returning post high students, and pro­fessional
courses are now offered in the training of young Indians
to become cultural specialists in several areas: Teacher training,
museum work, commercial arts related to special needs of Indians,
film arts, and business approaches to the utilization of craft skills
in jewelry, ceramics and sculpture. Professional courses for train­ing
in the performing arts, tourism and travel, and National Park
positions are being readied to help young Indian adults, tapping
heretofore neglected cultural resources in special programmatic
curricular offerings not available in standard higher educational
institutions elsewhere.
In summary, the Institute of American Indian Arts is embarked
on an exploratory program, with many steps yet to be taken. We
are aware that cultural change is always difficult, and even trau­matic
when it involves alteration of one's own traditional founda­tion
in favor of new values - especially when the latter emanate
from an alien source. But, we must assume that change is inevit­able.
Therefore, the need is to find ways to encompass it healthily,
taking care to avoid the destruction of ethnic traditions.
Thus far in our job, we have found that by stressing cultural
roots as a basis for creative expression and by offering a wide range
of media in which to work, Indian students can be inspired to new
personal strengths in dimensions heretofore unrealized. As a result
of the Institute's heritage-centered approach, a gratifying num.ber
of its students do discover who they are and what it is they have
to say to the world; and they develop the self-respect and confi­dence
to express themselves accordingly. They are helped to
function constructively, in tune with the demands of their con­temporary
environment but without having to sacrifice their cul­tural
being on the altar of either withdrawal or assimilation.
This method of dealing with Indian minority problems seems
to hold promise of being an effective educational approach for
dealing with the needs of other minority groups in the U.S. and
throughout the world, wherever similar problems prevail.
It cannot be overemphasized that the program at the Institute
could not succeed without the presence of a sensitive, creative,
alert faculty who are attuned to the youth of today and are
immediately empathetic; who appreciate and use wisely the great
storehouse of positive ethnic forces that can be turned to the
advantage of our Indian students.
::: ::: * * *
Preceding Lloyd New's article in the Native American Arts 1
publication is a full page Introduction by Vincent Price, Chair­man
of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. In his concluding
paragraph Mr. Price states:
"The stultifying tendency we have shared of catalogu­ing
the Indian racially and culturally as an old people,
apart and past, is being overcome by their own young
people. They are proving themselves very much of the
present, and have become living proof of that cheering
proverb "The Past&l