Arizona Highways. August, 1958

              IGHt.UAVS
AUGUST 195·8
FORTY CENTS
In This Issue:
INDIANS OF ARIZONA
ARIZONA HIGH"UJAVS
VOL. XXXIV NO. 8 AUGUST 195
RAYMOND CARLSON, Editor
GEORGE 1\'1. A VEY, Art Editor
JAMES E. STEVENS, Business Manager
IN THIS ISSUE:
\VE PRESENT
"INDIANS OF ARIZONA"
and we visit
a famous trading post in Navajoland
ERNEST W. McFARLAND
Govern01' of Arizona
ARlZONA HIGHWAY COMMISSION
Wm. P. Copple, Chairman . . Yuma
L. F. Quinn, Vice-Chairman . . . . . . . . . . . Miami
Frank L. Christensen, Member . . . . . . . . . . Flagstaff
Milton L. Reay, Member . . . . . . . . . . . . Safford
John J. Bugg., Member . . . . . Florence
Wm. E. Willey, State Hwy. Engineer . . . . . . . Phoenix
Justin Herman, Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . Phoenix
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS is published monthly by the Arizona Highway
Department a few miles north of the confluence of the Gila and
Salt in Arizona. Address: ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, Phoenix, Arizona.
$3.50 per year in U.S. and possessions; $4.50 elsewhere; 40 cents
each. Entered as second-class matter Nov. 5, 1941 at Post Office in
Phoenix, under Act of March 3, 1879. Copyrighted, 1958, by the
Arizona Highway Department.
~""
Allow five weeks for change of addresses. Be sure to send II1
the old as well as the new address.
FRONT COVER
"HOPI GIRL FROM LOWER ORAIBI" BY]. H. Mc­GIBBENY.
4X5 Linhof camera; Anscochrome sheet film;
£.8 at 1/ 100th sec.; 10" commercial Ektar lens; electronic
flash, 3 lights; meter guide #90. Taken at Lower Oraibi, 54
miles east and south from Tuba Ciry, Arizona, approximately
ninety miles north and east of Flagstaff via Leupp, Arizona.
This Hopi is wearing a black wool manta, traditional over­dress
of Hopi women. The shawl draped across her shoul­ders
originated in pre-war Czechoslovakia; it is a common
article of dress-up apparel. The jewelry represents fine
examples of the products of the Hopi Silvercrafting Guild.
The basket plaque is of the coiled type, produced by the
women of the three villages on Second Mesa. Baskets and
plaques are required in large numbers for ceremonial use,
for weddings and for many other purposes.
OPPOSITE PAGE
"PAPA GO BASKET MAKER" BY CHUCK ABBOTT.
4X5 Speed Graphic camera; Kodachrome; f.1I at 1/25th
sec.; Goerz Berliner lens; bright sun; meter reading 400.
Photograph taken on Papago Reservation near San Xavier
Mission. Papa go baskets are used in many ways in house.hold
work.
This issue is maink concerned with the Indian tribes
of Arizona. Clara Lee Tanner, of the University of Ari­zona,
tells us the story of the various groups of Indians
\\'ho people our state, and we feel the story is competently
and interestingly- told.
The largest tribe and the largest reservation in our
state is that of the Navajo, whose domain is a vast, wind­s\\'
ept, eroded land of sun and distance taking up the
northeastern part of Arizona. One of our most interest­ing
tribes is the Hopi, clinging so tenaciously to their
mesas of Arizona's high plateaus. One of our most admir­able
group of Indian neighbors is the Papago, who ha\'e
survived and even Aourished in a desert reservation where
rains are few and far between. The Havasupais, of all
our Indians, live in that picturesgue canyon that is part
of Grand Canyon, and one would have to travel far and
long to find more picturesg ue surroundings. The Apaches
on two great reservations, who gave to history such val­iant
leaders as Cochise and Geronimo and Victorio, pro­duce
some of the finest cattle in the state and are, indeed,
an estimable part of our commonwealth. And, in passing,
one should not forget to mention the Pimas and the river
tribes 'whose forefathers centuries ago practiced the art
of irrigation and who today reap bountiful harvests from
desert lands.
Here in Arizona live more Indians than in any other
state in the Union. They are part of our land, part of our
economy, part of OUf history. They were here long
before Columbus sailed, long before the Pilgrims landed.
They have survived under conditions that have not always
been favorable for survival. We have a lot to learn from
our Indians .... R.C.
COLOR CLASSICS FROM ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
THIS ISSUE
35 MM, SLIDES IN 2" MOUNTS, 1 TO 15 SLIDES, 40¢ EACH; 16 TO
49 SLIDES, 35¢ EACH; 50 OR MORE, 3 FOR $1.00. A CATALOGUE
LISTING ALL SLIDES PRODUCED FROM COLOR REPRODUCTIONS
IN ARIZONA HIGHWAYS IS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST. APPROXI·
MATELY 1200 SLIDES ARE NOW LISTED IN OUR COLOR CLASSICS
COLLECTION.
IH·16, Hopi Girl from Lower Oraibi, cov. 1; IPA·2 Papago Basket
Maker, cov. 2; IN-67 Navajo Artistry in Wool, cov. 3; IH-17 Hopi
Pottery Maker, cov. 4; HA-l0 Havasupai Horseman, p. 17; IPA-3
Papago Saguaro Harvest, p. 18, IA-l0 Apache Ceremonial, p. 19;
IN-68 Navajo Hogan and Sand Painting, p. 19; IA-ll Apache
Cowboys, center spread; IPA-4 Papago Pottery Maker, p. 22;
IH-18 Hopi Village of Moencopi, p. 22, HU-l Hualapai Basket
Weaver, p. 23; IP-3 Pima Basket Weaver, p. 23; IH-19 Shipaulovi
in Hopiland, p, 24.
~J \'L
HUALP}\}
YUMA
-... --... ... --~.-.... ... -­--...
... -....
·cocopAH
Photographs by Joseph Mi' ....
Cartography by George M. Avey
BOOK REVIEW:
SOUTHWEST
INDIAN PAINTING
By
Clara Lee Tanner
That Clara Lee Tanner is eminently qualified to
write such a book as "Southwest Indian Painting"
is readily acknowledged by anyone familiar with her
years of studies and research on all phases of the
life and times of our Indians of the Southwest.
Dr. Emil Haury, Head of the Department of Anthro­pology
of the Unive rsity of Arizona, in his foreword
to her book, writes:
" Her devotion to the study of native art began in
her student days when each fragment of painted pot­tery,
there for the collecting an the unnumbered ruins
of the Southwest, inspired questions about the mind
of the primitive artist. It was her sensitive appreciation
of the art forms derived from archaeology and the
wider range of handicrafts still produced by the
surviving Indian g roups that led, some sixteen years
ago, to the launching of a course on Primitive and
Contemporary Indian art in the curriculum of the
Department of Anthropology at the University of Ari­zona.
Here the continuities of the old and the new,
the trends, the losses and additions of forms and
techniques, were fully assessed . It was natural, there­fore,
that the modern school of Indian painting was
to become an absorbing interest and that through
this book Mrs. Tanner became the spokesman, the
historian, and the interpreter of a new tradition.
"She has diligently searched all sources vital to
an appreciation of the historical background of her
subject. How much further ahead the archaeologist
would be if some chronicler had put down what was
happening a thousand years ago. She has personally
become acquainted with many Indian artists, followed
their careers, evaluated their styles and the influences
which wrought changes upon them. And above all she
has held to the idea that the story of an emergent
art sty le needs telling, not only for its intrinsic value,
but for what it reveals of Indian character and culture."
"Southwest Indian Painting" was published jointly
by the University of Arizona Press and Arizona Sil­houettes,
that unique publishing firm of Tucson.
Liberally illustrated throughout, the book contains
thirty-six pages of color illustrations which previously
appeared in ARIZONA HIGHWAYS. If "not available
at your bookstore, readers can order this attractively
produced volume from Arizona Silhouettes, 1730 East
Greenlee Road, Tucson, Arizona. The price is $10.00.
We heartily agree with Dr. Haury in the closing
paragraph of his foreword:
" This book was written to be read; it is not merely
a reference work. Both accurate and popular, it
places on record the rich contribution native Americans
have made to our national heritage. Indian artists
have come a long way,lI
The village of Hotevilla in H opiland
great drama is playing in the Southwest, with the State of Arizona
as the stage and its Indian populations the performers. Here are more
than 100,000 of these people, speaking their nati,'e ta"ngues and prac­ticing
t heir age-old customs and religious beliefs.
World War II rang up the curtain on a new act in this drama,
Before the curtain falls, devastating changes wi ll be seen in the
characters we call Tndian, Let us Stop the act midway and view this
nati,'e before the drama is played out.
In Arizona is to be found the greatest concentration of pure
Indian blood in the United States, Dominant in all groups are l\ longoloid traits, as straight
black hair, dark and slanting eyes, high and broad cheek bones. These and other features
point to Asia as the original homeland of this stock, Prehistory saw some blending of
different groups which would explain deviations from the Mongolian strain. Occasional
lighter skin and eyes, or touches of curly hair tcll of contacts with Spanish and Anglo­Americans.
Some of t his inheritance of blood goes far back into the past, perhaps two thousand years
in the case of the Pueblo Indians, Hopis arc the Arizona representatives of this group. The
latest Indian arrivals in Arizona are thc Apaches and Tavajos, The latter tribes prcccded
lUayflower days by several cemuries, so, to all intents and purposes, they are nati,'es.
This long inheritance was not of blood alonc. Many of the elements of ancient culture
have also sun'i,'ed. Along with the additions of historic times they form the props aga inst
which the modern Indian drama is enacted,
Our story rcally bcgins some ten to fiftecn thousand years ago, The Southwest was
more moist then, with lakes in Southern Arizona, and more trees and hea"icr gro\\ th
throughout the State, Kow extinct mammoths, mastadons, and bisons, and other creatures
large and small Jj,'cd in this lusher land. The large animals were tracked down indi,'idually
by the first inhabitants of the State. CollectiveIy they perished as the present climate bccame
established,
The early hunters of this large game left flint points which they used in spears and stone
knives with which to cut the quarry. Some few of the earliest Arizonans were more inclined
By
TAD N ICHOLS
An Apache village near TVhiteriver
CLARA LEE TANNER
to be vegetarians; they lived along lakes' edges and gathered grass
seeds which they ground for their daily diet. The gatherers left
little more than their camp sites and the crude grinding stones
with which they prepared their food .
As the climate changed, these early folk had to adapt them­selves
to new conditions. Exactly when, where, and how the
major adaptations were made is neither fully nor clearly known.
The picture comes into focus momentarily about 3,000 B. C., in
a cave in ew Mexico, where a crude variety of corn was cul­tivated.
Certainly this newly acquired and precious knowledge
was to spread slowly. Three thousand years later rumors of this
food revolution were turning into reality in the extreme northern
and southern parts of Arizona.
Crude grinding stones of the earliest seed gatherers were re­placed
by metates and man os for preparing corn. Beans and squash
were added to the list of cultivated foods. All of these products
had to be cooked, so pottery quickly found favor among the first
farmers. Pottery replaced in part the baskets which were an earlier
development. Too, permanent dwellings replaced camp sites.
Population increased and cultures developed. By the second
millennium of the Christian era, the greater part of Arizona was,
or had been, occupied. Small farming settlements were the rule.
In the northern part of the State there were sizeable single-umt,
stepped structures, pueblo homes of the Anasazi. The modern cli­mate
of southern Arizona was established by this time, with little
rainfall and high temperatures. This is indicated in well-developed
irrigation canals which watered hundreds of acres of ground. Here
were built single-roomed houses, the homes of the Hokokam.
Anasazis of the north and Hohokams of the south were splen­did
potters. They were excellent weavers in cotton. Shell and
turquoise they made into jewelry and mosaics. Thcirs was a stone
age culture, but one which was not surpassed in later years.
The Spanish came in 1538-40. In Southern Arizona they found
simple village folk living in earth covered houses and peacefully
tilling their fields, Those along the Gila Ri,'er were the Pimas,
On the desert lands to the south li,'ed the Papagos, a people of
frugal culture who eked out an existence on their barren and dry
lands, Bare remnants of the rich prehistoric culture survived
among both of these people,
In Northern Arizona the Spanish found but a handful of the
once extensive Anasazi population. There the Hopi Indians li,'ed on
three small mesas, rooted to their homeland by a legend which
promised the return of a white god, Contrary to the southern
natives, the Hopis preserved much of the traditional past, They
were rich in religious and legendary lore, they had a tightly knit
social order, The Spanish mentioned their fine texti les of cotton,
their pride and dignity of bearing.
Anglo-Americans drifted into Arizona after 1800. They, and
the Spanish too, and later the l\ lexicans, were to feel the impact
of the Ka,'ajo and Apache tribes as these nati,'es increased in num­bers
and extended the lands they roamed. These tribes were not
settled villagers, but rather, camp dwellers. They kept their groups
small so as to better raid their enemies and hunt the decreasing
wild life. Agriculturalists in some measure, the acquisition of the
horse made these folk farm less and raid more, Raiding brought to
them much of the culture of the more sedentary tribes.
In summary, it may be said that the nath'e Arizonans inherited
from their own direct ancestors specific types of homes and vil­lages
or settlements, the social order of their ancestors, and, in
\"arying degrees, all of the arts and crafts. From the Spanish, some
PAGE FIVE • ARIZONA HIGHWAYS • AUGUST 1958
of them acquired a new religion, Catholicism; horses, cattle, and
sheep; a few agriculrural products, as wheat and melons; ovens in
which to bake and chimneys for their homes; and a taste of a new
way of life. From the Anglo-American, the Arizona Indian has
received everything from reservations to bric-a-brac. Some of the
more significant contributions would include religion, schools,
household furnishings and farm machinery, new technologies, and
new ideas of government and society.
Out of all the conflicts and chaos which have resulted from
the meeting of two such greatly different civilizations as the stone
age Indian and the sophisticated European, have come necessary
adjustments. One of these was the defin ition of boundaries, for it
was inevitable that one group should encroach upon the land rights
of the other. Spanish land grants did not affect the Arizona Indians
as they did others. It was not until 1859 that measures were taken
to protect the Indian: by Executive order of the United States
government, the first lands were set aside for the Indians of the
State. Since that date, Reservations have been created for all tribes
here at the opening of the historic period. Additions, reductions,
and modifications have been necessary through the years, result­ing
in the final allotments as listed below. This chart, taken from
William H. Kelly's INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWEST, will
summarize the Reservations in far more simple and peaceful fashion
than was true of the reality of the situation.
of the Indian groups. The "act" in this Indian drama is stopped but
a moment to better view the players. But the play goes on, dipping
deeply into the past, but inevitably moving into the future.
HOPIS
Like the fellow with the longest and most authentic geneology,
the Hopi can claim precedence over other Arizona tribes as the
longest unquestioned dweller of the State. Spanish records of 1540
verify his ancestor's occupation of some of the very villages still
lived in by members of this tribe. Beyond this date, and back to
the early days of the Christian era, the archaeologist would carry
Hopi geneology through pueblo dweller to true cave dwellers.
Hopi villages are perched on the tops of three mesas in north
central Arizona. These mesas are really three finger-like projections
which form the southern cxtremity of the greater Black Mesa.
Today there are nine main villages on the mesas with some smaller
settlements on the lower flats. When the Spanish came to this
country they were traveling from ew Mexico to the west, and
t hey labelled the Hopi mesas accordi ng to their approach to each;
thus First or East Mesa, Second or Middle Mesa, and Third or
West Nlesa. To this day these terms are used.
Following the Spanish route, we would enumerate the Hopi
villages in this manner: First Mesa, Sic homo vi, Walpi and Hano
(the latter peopled by puebloans from New Mexico); Second
" The following chart shows the grouping of reservations by agency ju r isdiction, the reservation are a , the names of t he t ri be, o r tribes,
occupyi ng each reservation, and t he reservation popu lation:
•• yy.yyyt ••• YYYY.YYYYYYYYYYYYYY •••• YWY* ••• ************ •• w* •• *** ••••••• ,
Jurisdiction
San Carlos
Fort Apache
Papago
Colorado River
Truxton Canyon
Pima
Port Duchesne
Hopi
Navajo
Reservation
San Carlos
Fort Apache
Papago
San Xavier
Gila Bend
Colorado River
Fort Mohave
Cocopa
Hualapai
Havasupai
Camp Verde
Yavapai
Gila River
Salt River
Fort McDowell
Maricopa
(AkChin)
Kaibab
Hopi
Navajo
Area in
Acres
1,62 3,444
1,684,872
2,774,536
71,090
10,297
265,858
38,382
518
997,045
518
576
75
372,022
47,007
24,680
21,840
121,000
631,194
16,034,802
Total
Tribe Population
Apache 3m'
Apache 3,]38
Papago 6,957
Papago 517
Papago 200
Mohave 1,175
Chemehuevi
Mohave 374
Cocopa 55
Hualapai 641
Havasupai 235
Apache 438
Yavapai
Yavapai 54
Pima (and Maricopa) 5,546
Maricopa (and Pima) 1>403
Yavapai 212
Apache
Papago 139
Pima
Paiute 96
Hopi 4,000
Tewa
Navajo 71,000
Navajo ----
T OTAL POPULATION: 101,751 .............................................•............. ,., ........... .
Three great language families are represented in the fourteen
Indian tribes in Arizona, the Athabascan, the Yuman, and the Uto­Aztecan.
Athabascan speaking folk include the Apaches and Nava-­jos;
the Yuman language people are the Yuma, Cocopa, Mohave,
Walapai, Havasupai, Yavapai, and Maricopa. Strange language
brothers are the Uto-Aztecans, for they include the highly de­veloped
Hopi, the culturally inferior Chemehuevi and Paiute, the
Tewa, and the Pima and Papago. (The Tewa have lived with the
Hopi since about 1700; their culrure is very similar.)
Thwnb-nail sketches follow for each of the Arizona tribes. In
the main, these summaries will present the recent or present starus
Mesa, Shimopovi, Shipaulovi, and Mishongnovi; and on Third
Mesa, Oraibi, (New Oraibi at the foot of the mesa), Hotevilla.
and Bacabi. About forty miles to the west is another Hopi village,
Moenkopi, which was settled as a farming community by people
from Old Oraibi.
To his dying day the conservative Hopi will remain atop the
mesas, riding his sure-footed burro or walking up and down the
steep trails, while more progressive members of the same tribe may
find it expedient to live at the mesa bottom, closer to his fields.
Hopi houses are constructed in the traditional manner of one
against the other, using common walls. When a girl is married, she
PAGE SIX • ARIZONA HIGHWAYS • AUGUST 1958
builds her home as close to that of her mother as possible, in some
instances, actually joining the older home. Men of the tribe do the
hea'"Y work of house building, hauling and putting in place the
hea,";' roughly cut rock to form the walls, and constructing the
beamed roof. The latter is sufficiently well constructed that it may
sen"e as work space or home for second story dwellers. Generally
Hopi houses are un plastered on the outside, but interiors are
smooth walled, plastered in pure white, or, perhaps, with a deco­rati"
e red band around the lower edge. Plastering is a woman's
dut), .
Hopi "illages are usually arranged in rows of joined rooms,
with an open space between whi ch sen'es as a plaza or court. The
center of interest in the open areas is the ki\'a, an underground
chamber used for ceremonial purposes. It a.Iso sen"es as a club,
where the men of the tribe can retire with the assurance that they
will not be disturbed by anyone, and most certainly not by the
\VOlnell.
A Hopi family may occupy from one to half a dozen, or
occasionally more, rooms. H ouse hold furnishings vary greatl y, but
always there are two essentials, a fireplace and a grinding bin. The
former may be a stone grill to be used O\'er coals on the clayed
floor or it may be a corner, hooded fireplace. A cast iron stove
ma\' also be added. The second essential item, the grinding bin.
is ~ n the floor, close to the wall. It has two or three flat- surfaced
stones placed at an angle and bedded in clay bins. Here the woman
kneels, her feet braced against the wall, and grinds corn of several
grades of fineness, depending upon its use.
Stone grills, or "piki stones," are made by the men for their
wi ,"es. It takes some days and considerable care to produce one,
for it must be ground to infallible smoothness, impregnated with
the oil of watermelon seed, and slow-burned before it is ready
for use. On this stone is made a ceremonial bread called " piki,"
paper thin and vari-colored. It is fascinating to watch a woman dip
her hand into a watery cornmeal mixture, run it quickly over the
stone, and just as quickly pick up and roll the "bread." Pyramids
of these rolls, stacked on nati ,"e-wo"en trays, form colorful addi­tions
to ceremonial foods.
In some Hopi homes there will be little more than these
"n'lusts" and a few mats, blan kets, garments hanging from a sus­pended
pole, and the necessary baskets, pottery, and other house­hold
utensils. On the other hand, a house may be furnished with
the requisites of our modern homes, chairs and table, bedsteads,
dressers, and so on. Extremes in the ways of daily life are to be
found also. The family may gather about a mat "table" on the
floor, each with his own cup, but eating from a comlllon bowl.
Eating on the floor is common for ceremonial affairs. And there
at the edge of the mat is the coffee pot, right next to grand­mother's
bare foot which just sticks out from under her full skirts.
A t the opposite extreme will be a table with cloth , a matched set
of dishes, and each member of the family with his own place and
eating equipment.
Always there is a storeroom in a Hopi house. These are frugal
people, for they ha\'e learned the hard way to get along in a "ery
in hospitable land. Well do they know the possibilities of drought,
or loss of crops by other means, therefore each household has at
least one year 's supply of food stored ahead. It is a delightful sight
to behold, with the rows of colored corn, pumpkins stacked high,
beans, and other produce from their fields stored with care.
Hopi Indians have been dry farmers for centuries. Believing
that there is an intimate relationship between the H opis and the
forces of nature, they pray to the rain spirits and perform cere­monies
for the maturation of crops. At the same time they will
di"ert the waters of the swollen arroyos onto their fields on the
dn" desert lands. The practical and the not-so-practical are also
bl~nded in planting and tilling the fields. Many seeds will be
placed in each hillock, one for the winds, one for the cutworms,
one for the mice, and a hope and prayer that one will grow.
vVooden digging sticks for culti"ating the fields have not given
way completely to modern m-achinery in Hopiland. Two fields are
planted by each man, to decrease the hazards of total crop ·loss.
Pl anting dates are part of the sacred lore of the Hopis.
Corn, beans, and squash are the age-old products of native
Southwestern fields. They are still cultivated in the clan-owned
lands below the villages. Spanish-introduced melons have become
popular among the Hopis as they have among practically all of the
Hopi giTls in ceTemonial dress
Hopi Butterfly dancers
I
Street scene, TV alpi, Hopi village
N e·(.;; Oraibi, Hopi village
Southwest Indians. A few fruit trecs, espccially peaches, may be
planted at secpage points ncar thc base of the mesa. Formcrly a
man walked cach day to the fields far below the mesas; now he
may ride in a buckboard or car.
Much ccremony is common before and during the growing
season ; so too are there rites when the crops are harvcstcd. One
of the most interesting of these is thc ceremonial race down to the
ficlds by young men, to bring back the first producc. They are
rcceil'ed in this dawn rite by medicine men, matrons in traditional
costume and hair-do (one roll down cach sidc of the hcad ), and
young maidens, also in traditional dress and hair-dress (great whorls
at thc sides of the head ),
Sheep and cspecially cattle hal'e becomc progressively more
important in the economy of the Hopis, and this in spitc of the
fact that the men of this tribe ' are not fond of hcrding in any
form. They object in part because it keeps thcm away from their
villagcs and their ceremonial obligations for too long at a time,
Some have met the situation by combining small herds so that
onc man can care for several herds, thus frceing the other men.
Like so many of the Southwest Indians, thc Hopi is wcll known
for certain crafts, yet they contribute but a pittance to his over-all
economy. Best known of all his craft arts are kachinas, then in
turn, baskets, pottery, and sil\'er work. i\ I uch has been inherited
from a rich past in craft forms, designs, and stylcs.
Kachina dolls are colorful figures can'ed from the soft root of
drift cottonwood, The small imagcs represcnt the maskcd dancers
of the same name who perform in the plazas of Hopi villages.
Often a father produces a dop of this type so that his little daughter
Illay learn the details of the costumed dancer. After whittling the
little figure with a pen knife, and filing it to a pleasant smoothness,
each detail of the original is faithfully reproduccd in poster paint,
Grotesque masks are typical of the kachinas; these too may be
carved, painted, and bedecked with the same accuracy, Bits of fur,
grcenbough, yarn, metal, or other materials may make the doll
copy a more realistic portrayal of the original. Quite recently the
wolf kachina has been reproduccd with startling realism by em­ploying
a cat's skull for the mask.
Basketry has a hoary ancestry, particularly in techniques.
Plaitcd trays are made in all of thc Hopi villages. i\lany of them
hal'e subtle patterns wOI'en into them in nothing more than
bleached yucca strands against grccn withes of the same material.
Coilcd baskets, which are made on !Vliddlc Mesa only, havc
foundations of grcat fat, round coils, thcsc covcrcd with cxccssively
narrow and cI'en sewing splints of yucca. The latter may be dyed,
II'ith either aniline or native colors. Patterns are varied, from
simplc geometric styles, as steppcd clouds, to claborate themes,
as full kachina figures, The third basketry typc is wicker, made
exclusil'cly on West i\Jesa. Colors run riot in these baskets, and
dcsigns in this technique may be simple or complex.
Women are the basket makers among thc Hopis, but the men
do all of the ' loom weal·ing. A man may set up his loom in the kil'a
so that he may gossip away the hours while he weal'es, or he may
weave in his home. Both the upright and slanting belt looms arc
used, the former for wider blankets and rugs, the latter for nar­rowcr
fabrics. The Hopi is the only Southwest Indian who
produccs kilts, blankets, and other ceremonial costume items; these
he uses himself or trades to other puebloans.
Whcn the Spanish introduced shecp, the Hopi accepted them,
but used the wool solely for secular dress, To this day cotton is
still employed in the wcaving of any objcct for ceremonial
purposes. Formcrly the men cultil'ated all thc cotton they used ;
now a commercial string has been accepted. Ceremonial fabrics
may be plain or decorated with brocaded, embroidered, or woven
designs. Patterns center about cloud, lighming, and rain themes.
Rugs and blankets rel'eal simple banded patterning, reflecting the
consen'ative nature of thc Hopi.
Although cooking POtS may be made on anyone of the three
Hopi mesas, the decorated· wares fdr which this tribe is known
are produced solely on East i\Iesa. There is an interesting back­ground
to modern Hopi pottery, In the late 1890'S, the pottery
made by these people was I'ery poor, particularly in design. An
archaeologist was excavating in one of the near-by ancestral homes
of the Hopi, and among his crewmcn was a fellow from the village
of Hano. This fellow's wife, Nampeo, saw some of the wares from
the dig, and immediately recognized them as superior to current
Hopi styles, So this young lady set about a revival in the ceramics
of her I'illage, inspired by the I'ery beautiful patterns of the
prehistoric wares. Her influence spread to other First Mesa villages,
Typical Hopi pottery has a 10l'ely, 50ft buff ground, with
indistinct rosy areas here and there, Designs are in black, or black
and red, and often feature wing patterns made famous by Nampeo
(and still produced by her daughters and granddaughters) . Other
Ruins of Old OTaibi
themcs and othcr color combinations are used, but none so success­fully
as Nampco's. Although Hopi I'essel forms are usually plain
bowls with an incufl'ed rim, or flat shouldered jars, there is,
nonetheless, some cxperimentation along this line. Recently a
cookie jar, complete with lid, and of simple but pleasing lines,
has bcen dCI·eloped.
Without qucstion, the Hopis are the best potters in Arizona,
About thc ycar 1898 the HOJJis learned sih'ersmithing from the
Zuiii Indians. Thcy hal'e never been particularly outstanding or
£.!!..'"!~ C !! ~ J'~r 1'I,6r metal craft, but since World War TI they have
-produced somc 1I'0rk worthy of high commendation, Setting up a
quonsct hut for on-the-job training, they appointed one of their
artists, Fred Kabotie, to do the designing, and another Hopi, Paul
Saufki, to tcach the craft to their young men. Some splendid
pieccs of sih'cr came out of this I'cnture, incorporating many of
the 100'cly pattcrns from basketry, pottery, and other Hopi sources,
Hopi organization is vested in a theocratic state. The village
chief is the head of a council of representatives from the leading
ceremonial socictics. Membership in such societies may cross-cut
Hopi I'illages; howel'er, there is no over-all tribal organization. All
H opis are bound togethcr by a common language, a common
culture, This may explain why a Tribal Council, organized in
1936, has ncvcr succeeded. In fact, there has not been represcnta­tion
on this Council from all of the I'illages, Secret Society and
clan controls of I'illage activities would also contribute to the
lack of strength and success of the Council.
The life cycle, to the Hopi, is a journey from birth to death.
Each phase, childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age, has accepted
patterns of beha I·ior. If followed, these will lead to a long and a
happy life, and will contribute to the common good. Death marks
the rebirth of the indil'idual in the Underworld. Ceremonies large
and small direct or accompany the stages of life. 1n fact, ceremony
and life to thc Hopi are so intimately a part each of the other that
both will be mcntioned in speaking of aspects of the life cycle. A
Hopi man's life is particularly concerned with rituals, As one
author has said, he spcnds most of his time getting ready for,
having, and getting over ceremonies! For the individual there are
special rites at birth, initiations into one or more secret orders,
marriage, and, last of all, limited but important death rites, For
the group therc are many fertility and rain rituals,
i\lagic is quite prel'alent among the Hopis, The first evidencc
of it appears whcn the umbilical cord of the new-born infant is
tied to a stirring stick if the child is a girl and to a bow if it is a
boy, then placed in the house rafters. This assures success to each
in his own realm. It is one of their many expressions to control the
futurc, During his first twenty-four hours the infant is placed on a
cradle board, and there he spends most of his time for the first
threc months, Thereafter the baby is secured to the board for
sleeping purposes only. On the twenty-fifth day after his birth,
the child is ritually named and prcscnted to the sun, the Great
Father deity of the Hopi.
A child always feels the warmth of care and 10l'e from the
moment it is born. The infant or \'ery small child is never left
alonc, for evil spirits may harm him, This may well explain why
one sees so many I'ery small "mothers" in Hopiland, for little
girls often play about the villages with a tiny baby brother or
sistcr secured to their backs by a blanket shawl.
Onc begins his introduction to the intricacies of Hopi clan
life at a tender age, That it is a matrilineal society is impressed
upon the child in many ways: all of the training of girls is in the
hands of the mother and her female relatil'es, The boy is respon­sible
to his mother for at least the first six years of his life; there­after
the mother's brother, rather than the father, is usually called
in for more serious disciplinary problems.
Little girls are usually more intercsted in going to school than
are thcir brothers, for it is their first opportunity to get away from
the closeness of the powerful female group. On the other hand,
it takes the little boys from their fathers' sides in the fields, or on
the range, where they have already known a freedom and com­panionship
which they greatly cherish. Already both hal'e learned
something of their respective duties in life, for little girls have been
participating in household chores at the same time that their
brothers ha\'e been digging in the fields or herding the flocks,
EI'en their play is directed in the same lines. They ha\'e few toys
with which to play, so mud houses are made, peopled with sticks
or stones, and equipped with dishes of mud pottery, "Pretend"
farming and herding, shooting of bows and arrows, and practicing
dance steps they hal'e seen in the kil'a occupy the leisure time of
boys.
Childhood ends before a Hopi youngster is ten years of age.
By this time he has been initiated into the kachina cult group
\I-hich emphasizes the seriousness of life. By this time, too, he
PAGE INE • ARIZONA HIGHWAYS • AUGUST 1958
TAVAJO LUNAR LORE
BY LILYAN JOH SON LEVY
As the seasons change, would you like to know
What each month is called by the Navajo?
January: First month was named, Thin-ley-Sheet,
Its constellation, Rabbit-Feet.
February: Young-Eagle-Month, though brief his stay,
His stars corral the Milky-Way.
1'. larch: Small-Thunder speaks through moon of March,
When thawing screams flow past the arch.
April: When-Mountain-Sheep-Have-Lambs, old facts
Claim April stars are Turkey-Tracks.
1'.lay: The-Porcupine, this prickly ball
Will hark when Eagles-1'. lake-First-Call.
June: The Early-Greens-Are-Ripe in June,
When birds and insects chirp in tune.
July: Large-Growth-Is-Ripe, the melons firm:
July is called, The Measuring-vVorm.
August: Corn-Tassels-Haye-Come, August sun
vVarms fields of 1'.laize till day is done.
September: EI'en-The-Mountains-Are-Ripe, when
The-Ducks migrate southward again.
October: Half-Winter-And-Half-Summer prove
The North Star, One-That-Does-Not-l\love.
Nm'ember: Light-Wind the scout for early snow
Wails down the canyon as we go.
December: Big-1'.ledicine, December's star
1'.lakes Big-Cold-Wind blow near and far.
(Indebted to source of information: Volume
#J , "Navajo Creation Mytb" by Hasteen [Gab,
Recorded by Mary C. T¥beelwrigbt, Musezml
of Navajo Ceremonial Art Santa Fe, New
Mexico.)
TAD ICHOLS
Navajo mother
and child
knows the fundamentals of the tribal kinship system-and it is
complicated, indeed- and has become a useful member of society,
knowing his responsibilities as well as his privileges.
Initiation into the kachina cult, at a ceremony called the Bean
Dance, is an impressive ritual for the Hopi child. He learns that
the kachinas are his ancestors, and that they bring the rains which
make the crops grow. Magic appears here, too, for the older
members of the cult group bring forth great, long beano~ outs
at this February rite. Unknown to others, they have forced growth
in cxccssil'ely heated and moistened underground kil'as. Now thc
boys learn who the kachinas really are, but the girls neve~ do. No\\'
the boys can participate in kachina ceremonies, and spend morc
and more time in the kivas. During all this training period a
boy is taught to be strong in mind and will as well as in body.
By the time he is fourteen, a boy can be fully responsible for
his mother's fields. It is of interest, too, that he plays in organized
groups, and he is less interested in the score than the game. l\Iany
of the games now, whether running or throwing darts, are aimed
in the ceremonial direction, to aid symbolically in fertility and
growth of crops.
When a Hopi girl is fifteen she is ready to take her place in
village life. She has learned the complicated Hopi cookery, she
has mastered the back-breaking grinding of corn, she has becomc
adept in the particular crafts of her village. Formerly it was propcr
for her to go through a puberty rite which included a four-day
ordeal of corn grinding and the dressing of her hair in the "squash
blossom" style.
The boys' adolcscent ceremony takes the form of initiation into
- one of four secret societies, which, in turn is prerequisite to mem­bcrship
in another tribal-wide and very strong society. The formcr
rite is complicatcd, and seems preoccupied with a death and rebirth
thellle, both for the individual and on a cosmic scale.
Courting days follow. So well trained are, both the young
men and girls that each knows what his obligations are, what gifts
are to be given and when, and other proprieties. The first marriagc
of a Hopi is a serious affair, and must be with one not previow;ly
marricd. It is under these conditions only that a bride can acquire
the wedding garments and the groom a woyen plaquc which are
nccessary to the entrance of the two into the Underworld. The
male relatil'es of the groom weave her white wedding blanket and
braid a beautiful wide white sash for her. Women of the bride's
family (or the bride herself), supply the plaque and food for this
gift exchange. Among other things the girl must cook in her
mother-in-law's home, during some of the days of preparation for
the wedding.
Husband and wife n:e equally independent among the H opis,
each going about his own business, each making his own decisions.
Each has the privilege of terminating the marriagc if he so wills,
the woman by merely depositing her husband's possessions outside '
the front door, the man by merely going home to mama. Yes, it is
a matrilineal society.
In addition to the matrilineal order of life, leadership is vested
in wisdom and the good one does for the whole group. One serves
his comlllunity in the true sense of the word in Hopiland. The
elaborate kinship establishes ones relationships with all other
Hopis, and el'en other Indians, indeed, with the universe. All are
interrelated; human relationships are extended into the non-human
universe with an extension of duties and privileges.
Ritual leadership is of obvious importance.
This mutual dependence between man and the world about
him, so real to the Hopis, makes it very necessary for him to hold
the Snake Dance in August so that the late rains will come and
mature the crops. Magic again! The ordered reciprocity basic to
family, to clan, is extended to the universe. A Hopi's life is
dcdicated to right doing, right feeling, right thinking, that all may
move in a rhythmic and balanced universe.
NAVAJOS
Sixteen million acres sounds like a lot of land. But when much
of the soil is eroded beyond use, when water is often unavailable,
when the last sprig of grass has been consumed by hungry goats,
the vast acreage shrinks into insignificance.
Such is the Navajo Reservation. Spectacular in beauty beyond
compare, rich in myth and historic incident to the tribe which
lives here, it holds the Navajo Indians with a vice-like grip .. .
and this despite years of poverty, famine, disease, and tragedies
of history.
The Navajo Indian relates in myth and chant the creation of
his land by the gods. After wandering through several under­worlds,
the Holy Ones came to this earth, creating the spectacular
features which mark Navajoland. Among these are the four great
mountains with which tradition bounds their country, the San
Frao,Gi~ co Peaks in Arizona, Navajo Mountain which straddles
Arizona and Utah, Sleeping Ute Woman in southwestern Colo­rado,
and Mt. Taylor of northwestern Tew Mexico.
Mythic history continues, telling of the slaying of great mon­sters
which peopled the earth. Here one was destroyed and hi,
congealed blood forms Comb Ridge, a volcanic projection attached
to Ship Rock in northwestern New Mexico. At another spot a
limestone formation is referred to as the bones of a giant.
Then, and now too, for that matter, the Holy Ones got about
by trayelling m'er rainbows, or by lightning, or on sunbeams.
They were yery actiyc on earth until they withdrew to the four
directions. And, as this tribe will have it, their last act before
departing was the creation of the Navajos, Tbe People, as the word
Dine indicates.
Fact replaces fancy in the story of the Navajos in the South­west.
Dim trails trace him into Colorado, possibly on back into
the Plains. Then firm el'idence is found of his occupation of the
Gobernador country of northern New Mexico, certainly by the
opening of the historic period, 15+0. For sel'eral centurics he
rcmains here, probably absorbing much of pueblo culture. West­ward
migration of thc Dine may hal'c bcen encouraged by the
acquisition of more stock, and particularly of horses. Canyon de
Chelly and adjoining lands of northeastern Arizona then become
the center of their activities.
Raiding was the root of many of the evils which befell the
NaI'ajos during the nineteenth century. This unfortunate custo~,
possibly of many centuries standing', culminated in the grcatest
tragedy of Nayajo history, the Bosque Redondo. Depredations
against white settlers coupled with misunderstandings to force the
United States Gm'ernment to take action. Kit Carson was in­structed
to round up all wayward Navajos; this he did, collecting
both innocent and guilty. A 3so-mile march, with all but babies
and the infirm walking, from de Chelly to Ft. Sumner in eastern
New Mexico, has ever been remembered as "The Long Walk."
Four unhappy and long years were spent on the Reservation of
their enemy, the Apache. A deeply saddened and decimated group
rcturned to de Chelly in 1869.
Combining forces with those who resisted capture by hiding
in canyon fastnesses, the People once again began an upward
climb. They increased in numbers and spread out in territory.
Eventually their lands encompassed all of northeastern and north
central Arizona and northwestern New Mexico.
In spite of their apparent semi-nomadism, the Navajos have
pursued agriculture to a greater or lesser extent for some centuries.
Again if we may call upon legend, we find that the tribal culture
hero acquired corn, beans, squash, and tobacco in the long ago
from the gods themselves. The traditional thought here probably
bears out the agricultural implications in permanent residences of
the 1'\a\'ajo in New Mexico of many centuries ago.
There is no consistency in the amount of agriculture pursued
by members of this tribe today for the vagaries of environment are
all important. EI'erything from irrigation farming to dependence
upon summer rains is in evidence. In spots on the Reservation one
can dril'e along and see fields of corn which have been left to grow
as best they may while the family mOl'es the sheep into better
grazing lands for the summer. These Nayajo fields are often raggcd,
with unwatered spots stunted and growth unproductive, while the
moist portions support fuller growth and a few ears of corn.
To the traditional crops have been added others; melons have
found great fal'or among the Dine. Ancient methods of planting,
using a digging stick and dropping seed in by hand, still prevail in
some areas, adding further to the curtailment of production. In
some sections, more advanced methods have been introduced, with
consequent increase in produce. .
Although agriculture is an insignificant part of the whole
source of Navajo income, and what is produced is consumed by
the tribe, nonetheless it is important. Further, it .has the chance
of becoming more important as the government establishes add i-
PAGE ELEVEN • ARIZONA HIGHWAYS •
A Navajo 1nedicine man
Navajo silverS111ith
AUGUST 1958
Water is scarce in N avajoland
Navajo family and hogan
tional sources of water, as dams, for this purpose. Livestock is
almost three times as important as agriculture as a source of in­come;
here too, a sizeable share is "consumed income."
. One would be hard-pressed 'to define "Navajo sheep" today.
The first acquired animals, from pueblo sources, were added to by
government issue after the "Bosque Redondo" incident. From time
to time other stock has been introduced, so that these animals
are today quite a mixtu~e. It has not been easy to produce an
animal which could live under the rigorous conditions of the
Navajo Reservation, with little feed and less water, and one which
would provide both meat and wool. Controlled breeding, but re­cently
effected, has greatly improved lamb output, weight, and
wool quality in these animals.
Women often own the sheep in this tribe. This gives them con­siderable
prestige, too. In fact, between owning sheep and the
hogan, a woman can rid herself of an undesirable husband by
merely putting his saddle out the door. He takes the hint.
Horses and cattle are traditionally owned by the men; owner­ship
of the former holds prestige value for the men. In the late
thirties it was necessary to reduce the one million sheep units of
Navajo stock holdings to 750,000, this because of overgrazed and
eroded- lands. This, plus further reduction has completely im-poverished
some Navajo families; the stock, as a whole, has been
improved.
Further sources of income have been developed in post World
War Il times. Wage earning has increased, lands have been leased
to oil companies, uranium has been discovered on the Reservation,
and some new industries have been introduced to the Navajos.
Both private and tribal coffers have profited from these activities.
Scattered all O\'er this vast land are the homes of the Navajos,
the hogan. One or several of these, with corrals, form a camp.
Despite their seeming nomadic nature and their scattered homes,
the Navajos are definitely a sociable people. They recognize their
immediate family relations first, then they acknowledge additional
ties in the extended family. Clan comes next, which is basically
made up of blood relati\'es. "Linked Clans" were common at one
time; for some reason, several clans considered themselves related.
Formerly marriage restrictions and other clan controlled customs
were extended to linked clans. Today many of the young people
are totally unaware of linked clans.
Today the "outfit" is important. It is a ' group of relatives,
larger than the extended family. Outfits cooperate regularly in
various ways, for planting and harvesting, or in giving a ceremony,
Native leadership seems to have been related to extended
WESTERN W'AYS JOSEF MUENCH
Navajo girl and pet
families. White men were unaware of the lack of unity in the tribe
as a whole. They did not realize that a treaty made with one chief
did not apply to the members of another group, and certainly not
to the tribe as a whole .
The pointed shape of the Navajo hogan is often cited as an
evidence of their northern origin. Materials, however, differed
greatly, as they came into the Southwest. A forked stick founda­tion
of cedar poles was mud and earth covered to make it warmer
in winter and cooler in summer. This differed greatly from the
Plains skin tent. A stone-lined fire pit in the center of the room is
kept burning most of the time, smoke emitting through the opening
in the top of the hogan. That this is the older type of hogan is
indicated in the same construction for the sweat lodge. Heated
stones are tossed into this small version of the house, a bit of
water is poured over them, and the one or several men inside sweat
profusely. Better this than nothing, and water is not plentiful on
the Reservation.
Although the above house type is the traditional one, several
other styles are constructed by the Navajos. One is more domed
with logs placed horizontally rather than vertically, and in an
eight-sided plan rather than a circle. When a family moves about
in the spring and SUITUHCF to graze the herds,- a mere' shelter , is''
PAGE TWELVE • ARIZONA HIGHWAYS • AUGUST 1958
thrown up; four posts support a roof, and a side or two may be
covered with cedar or piiion branches.
Furnishings? Well, to our way of thinking, many of the
Navajo hogans would appear to be exceedingly bare. At first
glancc they re\'eal littlc or nothing, but as ones eyes grow accus­tomed
to the semi-darkness of the room he will see objects stuck
into crannies in the wall, or hanging from sticks protruding thcre­from,
a chest and a stack of blankets against the wall. Somctimes
the familics who are sure to mo\'e with the coming of spring have
few possessions beyond the clothes on thcir backs, some jcwelry,
and the cooking and eating utensils about the fireplace.
A summer curing rite, the enta, is apt to bring out the finest
wearing apparcl of this tribe. After all, onc is going to see a great
many friends and relati\'cs one has not seen for a long time. In
the ~econd place, one is going to be in the public eye, for in the
light of a grcat bonfire dancing takes place; hence the popular
name for this e\'cnt, "squaw dance." Then too, one must wear all
the jewclry hc or she can, for the women must appear attracti\'e
in the eyes of the men and \'ice \'ersa. Romances are often made at
these affairs!
So here is collectcd all the color and charm of N anjo dress,
in the circlc of the squaw dance. The circle is defincd by co\'ered
'VESTERN'VAYS JOHN BLACKFORD
Navajo farmer
wagons and automobiles, men on horseback closing in on the group,
and men, women and childrcn standing or seated on the ground.
Within the circle arc a bonfire or two, and a cluster of chantcrs,
and, as the e\-ening wcars on, indi\'idual couples or lines of them
in thc dance, 'Vomen \\'car their most gaily colored and fullest,
tiered skirts, and the brightest \'eh-eteen or plush blouses in their
wardrobes. The brightest shirt a man owns is worn with his
bluejeans, cowboy boots, and hat. If the night is cool, the women
add colorful striped blankets, not of nati\'e make but a machine
Illade style from Pcndleton, Oregon.
E\'cryone wears je\\'e!ry for one of these gala occasions, the
more the bettcr. This is one time abo\'e all others when a fellow
must be able to take his possessions out of pa\\'n, for not to wear
quantities of the stuff marks one a social failure. So se\'eral neck­laces,
earrings, as many bracelets and rings as one can conveniently
wear, even a belt or 1'wo, are in order. This is not enough for some
folks, so additional strips of silver, or long rows of buttons, or
both, will be attached to yeh'eteen blouses, on collars, down the
length of slee\'es, or down the shirt front.
Possession of jewelry, or "hard goods" as the Na\'ajos call it,
is far more significant than just for wearing purposes. Sih'er, tur­quoise,
coral, and sllell, of which jewelry is made, constitute one
of the two major craft arts, are the basis of wealth, sen'e in lieu
of money through pawning, and reflect a standard of taste and
wealth in this tribe. As necessary, jewelry is left at the trading
post for food, or credit for clothing, When lambs, wool, or a
wo\'en blanket are ready for market, they are taken to the same
post and the jewelry is retrie\'ed. Obviously this is a better system
than a bank account when the nearest bank may be se\'eral hun­dreds
of miles away. Too, the Indian's love for jewelry and his
relati\'ely simple life make this system far more logical than
b2nking.
j\ len produce the jewelry in Navajoland, although there is a
!l;l'o\\'ing number of women smiths. Techniques center about ham­Illel'ing,
casting, and cutting from various grades of sheet silver.
The Na\'ajo himself prefers smooth polished areas with little or no
stamping, set with a few larger turquoises. He has bowed to the
taste of white man, however, and often stamps effusi\'ely all thc
area about stones. The range of this craft art, acquired since 1853,
has extended far beyond the production of jewelry, and includcs
keyrings, boxes, table ware, and miscellaneous other items.
Wca\'ing is another of the important arts of the Navajo.
COlllbined with sih'er, these crafts bring in less than ten percent
of the total income of this tribe; nonetheless they playa far more
Making piki, Navajo bread
Interior, Na'vajo hogan
Apache CrOU'12 dancer
significant part in the lives of the people than this figure would
indicate, Traditionally, weaving is a woman's occupation; socially
it gi\'es her prestige among her pcoples; and historically it presents
a significant chapter in the lives of the Navajo, Legend-wise
weaving was taught the Dine by Spider Woman,
Very likely weaving, including the loom, sheep for wool, and
design styles, was acquired from the Pueblo folk while the early
Tavajos lived in the Gobernador country, Contemporary Tavajo
artists dramatically illustrate the acquisition of sheep: a bareback
rider cuts a few animals out of a Pueblo herd and drives them
away, Tradition embroiders this likely incident by saying that
two of the sheep were black, two white, two brown, and one blue.
Historians of the Navajo would place the sheep-acquisition incident
at about the opening of the eighteenth century,
For some years the Navajos wove plain blankets, or a few with
narrow stripes in natural colors of the wool or in native dyes,
Never content with a trait as they borrow it, they began to
experiment. First, small geometric elements were added between
bands, This style pleased the Navajo, for it has remained a favOl;ite
of his to this day, Navajo weavers welcomed the:brJght- colored
Bayeta yarns which began to appear arollnd 1800, T11ese came to
them by a devious trail. Bayeta was manufactured in England,
purchased by the Spanish, and traded to the New World, into
Mexico, then into the Southwest, Raveled out of the original fabric,
the gay yarns were res pun by avajo women and combined effec­tively
with their own native materials, Blanket designing reached
a peak between 1850 and 1870, in all-O\'er, edge to edge patterns,
With the first trading posts in the lavajo country came both
Germantown yarns and aniline dyes, For a short spell the lavajo
weaver became "punch drunk" with color and elaboration of
design, Borders, pictorial themes, all-O\'er patterns running riot
over the whole fabric, these and other fancies of the moment took
O\'er, many of them reflecting historic contacts with white men,
Up to the time of these fanciful rums, the Navajo wea\'er had
produced blankets for his own tribe or for other Indians, With tbe
increased demands from white men for Tavajo weaving at the
close of the nineteenth century the blanket thickened into a rug,
The twentieth century has seen a multitude of changes in
the story of Navajo weaving, Many efforts have been made to
better the quality of the wool. This, obviously is not easy, It
demands, among other things, an animal which must provide both
wool and meat, It involves a grazing land which provides too littlc
feed and too many burrs to tangle the wool. Further, considerable
effort has been directed toward better spinning and weaving and
improvement of dyes and patterning, Today a multitude of rugs
is produced, from the subtly designed saddle blanket (the only
piece he wea,'es for himself), to plain banded rugs in vegetable
dyes, to bright creations in aniline dyed yarns,
No other major craft arts are produced by the avajo Indians
today, However, there are several extinct or almost extinct crafts
which have known brighter days, as basketry making and pottery,
Rarely a woman here and there will produce one or the other of
these two products today, Probably every conservative Navajo
family has a pottery \'csscl around the hogan, for tradition dictates
that a native-madc jar be used for drums and occasional othcr
ceremonial purposes,
Out of the basketry habit themselves, the Navajo have other
tribes, primarily the Paiutes, weave a traditional form, a wedding
tray, These baskets are in constant motion on the Reservation, in
and out of trading posts, Requisite for a wedding, the basket is
acquired by the last person to eat sacred meal out of it at the rite­this
fellow often takes the wedding tray to the trading post, Thcre
it is picked up by a tribesman for another ceremony, One trader
reports that in a year's time he handled about five hundred Na\'ajo
wedding baskets,
Navajo religion presents some of the most intercsting aspccts
of American Indian life, Basically they are nature worshippcrs,
In contrast to the pueblo belief of the individual as a part of thc
group, with each one functioning as a part of the whole, the
Navajo puts more emphasis on the individual. Further, he looks
at a man as an entity, with mind and body a functioning whole,
This explains, in part at least, the curing rites of this tribe, wherc
the sick man must be put in harmony with the universe before the
disease can be treated, The Navajo practiced psychosomatic medi­cine
before the word was coined in our own society,
First, Navajo religion is so intimately interwoven with all
phases of life that it cannot be set apart, Rituals are held to restore
health, to obtain food, for the continuation of life, to bless a new
home, to insure a safe journey, Ceremony may be held for or
"over" the individual but blessings may also flow over the whole
group,
Ritual is intimately intertwined with the Holy People, toO­those
powerful, mysterious Beings who are so important and real
to the Navajo, Changing Woman is foremost among the Holy
Ones; she seems a personification of nature and the seasons, Her
husband is the Sun, Their children are the Twin War gods who
are not only important in ceremony but also serve as models for
'avajo youth,
One of the most delightful tales in all Navajo mythology
relates to the Twins, On one occasion they visited their grand­parents,
The grandfather was the keeper of thunderbolts, Indul­gent
as grandparents are, the grandfather allowed these favorite
children into the sacred store of bolts, Sitting atop their grand­mother's
home, they delighted in throwing the powerful thun­derbolts,
enthusiastically casting one after the other. It was not
until the poor grandmother had almost drowned from the accom­panying
downpour that the grandfather finally put an end to
the Twins' engaging pastime,
Ghosts are important in Navajo life, "Chindi," which are
spirits of the dead, are so potent that burial takes place as quickly
as possible, All who have been im'oh'ed with the dead must be
ceremonially "cleansed" before returning to normal life.
Witches are powerful, toO, They can acquire one's property,
or cause illness, or bring death to those they hate, Witches work
in devious ways, Among other things, they can utter spells to
effect their evil, or they can shoot small objects into the bodi~s of
their victims. A Navajo takes many precautions against Witch­craft;
the most elaborate protection is the chant "Enemy Way,"
01', as it is popularly called, the Squaw Dance.
Curing rites are basic in Navajo religious expressions, Nine day
winter chants are primarily for curing, This tribe has diseases
nicely catalogued, as those caused by the Holy People, because
of the breaking of taboos, or by ghosts, or witchcraft, by lightning,
snakes, or enemies, Likewise, each disease is cared for by the
proper ritual. Special diagnosticians determine the cause and nature
of the trouble; the shaman or medicine man cures it through the
proper chant,
A chant or "sing" is a most complicated affair. It im'olves the
preparation of all the necessary ritual paraphernalia to be used,
the practising of the songs and chants, and the lengthy presenta­tion
which has many ordered parts, All is intimately tied to the
recitation of a series of songs or prayers; sometimes a chant is
built around se\'eral hundred of these \'erscs, They must be recited
perfcctly by the shaman, It takes years to become a shaman who
administers the more elaborate chants,
Pcrhaps the most colorful part of the chant is the sand painting,
In somc cases these are made on each morning of the first four
days of a rite, The patient is placed upon the painting, to bring
him in direct contact with the uni\'erse, These 100'ely creations
bring the essence of deity into the prcscnce of the ritualist and
to all who are gathered in the ceremonial hogan, the House of
Bcauty,
Sand paintings are made under the dircction of the medicine
man, H is assistants \'ary in number according to the size and
complexity of the painting , , , and somc may be twenty fect
across and ha\'e multiple figures with many small details, On
clcan sand which has bcen spread on the floor of the hogan, the
workers dribble between thumb and forefinger the colored, ground
mineral and \'egetable substances, creating mythical beings, sacred
mountains, natural phenomena, and many other subjccts of ritual
significancc,
Before sundown of the day they arc used, the sand painting
is destroyed, The artistic creation is now a mass of blended colors
which arc swept onto a cloth and carried to the proper direction
and distance from the hogan and deposited, So ha\'e pcrished many
of thesc unusual creations, Their patterns are carried in the mind
of the mcdicine man under whose direction the sand painting is
made, In rccent years some of thcse exquisite creations ha\'e been
prescn'ed through the interests of white men, l\lany will ne\'er
be known,
Onc other aspect of ' a\'ajo art should be mentioned, water
colors, An "art for arts sake" in that it does not decorate another
objcct, it would seem to be unrelated to the craft arts, The
mcdium is new, but the water colors of the Na\'ajo are heavily
imprcgnatcd with age-old subject matter and design, Flat colors,
little or no perspective, a portrayal of the life of this tribe with
cmphasis on horses, a rhythmic flow of linc, and a touch of the
mythical would characterize Nanjo water color painting,
And what can be said of the avajo tribe today? The most
characteristic phrase might be "fast moving," He is rapidly increas­ing
in numbers, He is quickly adopting the white man's way of
Iifc, Hc is reaching out for more and more education, now acccpt­ing
the latest de\'elopment in Trailer Schools which may bctter
accommodate the scattered populations, He is growing in power
and wcalth, particularly through the Tribal Council. He is e\'er
morc aware of his own problems, as illustrated by the recent
de\'elopmcnt of a stronger police force, Some tribal members
are turning back to the traditional for strcngth, others are accept­ing
white man's ways and material culture,
But, withal, there is still a "Na\'ajo People," a "Navajo Cul­ture."
APACHES
Two Resen'ations were created for the Apache in east central
Arizona, The San Carlos, or southern Resen-ation, runs from dry,
dcsert em'ironment to mountainous and timbered lands; the north­ern,
or White lountain Resen'ation, contains some of the most
lush country in Arizona, with creeks, hea\'y grass, shrubs' and
timber. They include the San Carlos, Cibicue, White j\lountain,
and Southern and Korthern Tonto groups,
Origins of the Apache are less easily traced than for the
Na\'ajos, One possibility is that they came in with the Navajos;
another points to a separate and more southerly entrance into
Arizona, Legend supports a north to south migration, Certainly
JOSEF MliENCH
Apache tepee
these tribesmen re\'eal traits of the Plains Indians, as huckskin
clothing and moccasins, preference for hunting, and traditions of
skin co\'ered houscs, Thcy cherish cd their mountain homcs, Ica\'ing
them only to raid more sedcntary farmers, or to hunt, Agriculture
was of little interest to thcm; yet tradition relates the custom of
planting small fields and leaving them in the care of several old
folks while thc rest of the group went off to hunt or fight,
After the opening of the eighteenth ccntury, the Apaches
became the bane of existence to many tribes, particularly the Pima,
Papago, and some Puebloans, Still later, they harasscd the I'lexi­cans
and Anglo-Americans, Reputedly, thcy took many of thcse
folk capti\'e, marrying some of thcm, Actually they seem to bc
purer in blood than the l'\'anjo,
Economically, the Apaches ha\'e gonc through se\'cral stages,
In thcir earlier years most of them seem to ha\-e bcen dcpcndent
on wild plants and animals and on proceeds from raiding and
limitcd farming, Then they turned more and more to tilling thcir
fields, particularly after they were placed on Reservations, F arm­ing
on the San Carlos Resen'ation was greatly discouragcd through
the di\'ersion of waters by white settlers along thc Gila Ri\-cr
abO\'e the Indian lands, This situation may ha\'e contributcd to
the growing popularity of cattle raising,
As early as 1877 it was reported that the Apaches had fine
cattle, In 191.f a tribal herd was established for the San Carlos
Indians, Today therc are thirteen cattle associations on thc latter
Resen'ation. Although many problems confront these Indian
cattlemen, they are producing such finc stock that buyers from
all O\'er the country come to their annual sales,
l'\'atural resourccs ha\'e been exploited but slightly, In partic­ular
the White i\ lountain Apaches have utilized the heavy timber
stands for tribal bcnefit. Wagc work is important in the cconomy
of the Apaches,
Quite a change has occurred in the organization of the
Apaches, Their former bands ha\'e gi\'en way in some measurc to
two rather acti\'e Councils, both instigated by the Indian Sen-icc,
l'dajor difficulties in each of these bodies (White l'llountain and
San Carlos Councils), might well be related to thc \'ast gap
betwcen the old form of leadership and the type necessary to
the newer group, In the old days, a man became a leader of a
group of families, or chief, on the basis of his individual attain­ment.
His ability as a warrior and hunter was important, his
wealth, oratorical qualities, and personality were likewise signifi­cant,
He was assisted by elders in his group, A man remained a
leader as, long as he was worthy in terms of these Apache standards,
Recently each Agency developed its own Council, with seven
members on the San Carlos and nine on the White Mountain Coun­cil.
A man is elected for a term of two years. Gone are the qualifi-
PAGE FIFTEEN • ARIZONA HIGH'VAYS • AUGUST 1958
UI I H
Apache basket weaver
cations of old, and in their place are age, residence, and "good moral
character" requirements. Too, in place of the unwritten laws of
the past are a constitution and by-laws. So the old order changeth.
Like the Navajos, the Apaches have had no concept of tribal
leadership. Great are the problems, then, of a council which aims
to administer to the entire tribe.
San Carlos Apaches are vitally interested in education; they
passed their own ordinance that all children between the ages of
six and eighteen be required to attend school. Non-attendance at
school is not the major problem among the Apaches that it is
among the Navajos. On both Apache Reservations school facilities
are more adequate. Also, non-Indian schools are more available to
the children of this tribe.
Despite all this, and in spite of the fact that many Apaches have
accepted homes, dress, and customs of the white man, many of the
ways of life from the past survive. Mother-in-law taboo is still
prevalent. Matrilineal descent is still recognized. Many ceremonies
are strictly native, and some material culture has survived contacts
with white men.
The old type Apache home, the wickiup, can still be seen
on both Reservations. A large, domed affair, it has a skeleton
framework of branches covered with layers of bear grass. Like
the Navajo hogan, the doorway is to the east. A small copy of
this serves as a sweat lodge.
Late nineteenth century dress styles, which replaced two­picce
buckskin garments, are still popular among many Apache
women. This is a long, full, and tiered skirt, worn with a loose
blouse. Although gay in colorful cottons and synthetic materials,
Apache dress does not include the quantities of jewelry so typical
of the Navajo. Men wear typical cowboy outfits, adding a
brighter shirt f01: special occasions.
The sun, moon, and winds play an important part in Apache
religion. So, too, does White Painted Woman; she seems to be
the Apache version of the Navajo Changing Woman, a personifi­cation
of the seasons and nature. To the Apaches, she is also the
ideal of womanhood.
Like the Navajos, the Apaches have many myths telling of
their origins, their gods, their migration. Their myths tell of
heroes who established patterns of behavior or who brought to the
Apache his learning and lore. Myth and legend are so like the
'avajos that one is tempted to accept common origins for the
two tri bes.
A puberty rite or Coming Out ceremony is perhaps the
most important surviving ritual among the Apaches. Young
maidens are ushered through a four days' ceremony during which
they are associated with White Painted Woman. The initiate
enters the period a girl and comes out a woman, ready to take
her place in Apache society. She is assisted throughout by a god-c
mother and ·a medicine man. F-riends and relatives from far and
ncar join in the Kestivities; they, too, benefit from the blessings of
COLOR
CAMERA NOTES
FOR
PHOTOGRAPHERS
A TOUR WITH COLOR CAMERA TO SOME OF THE
INTERESTING INDIAN RESERVATIONS IN ARIZONA.
OPPOSITE PAGE
"HAVASUPAI HORSEMAN" BY JOSEF MUENCH. 4X5 Lin­hof
camera; daylight Ektachrome; f.16 at 1/ 10th sec. 6" Xenar
. . Is is the tallest of three
spe.ctacular drops in Havasu Creek, deep in the Grand Canyon of
Anzona. The canyon (above the falls) is inhabited by the Hava­supai
Indians in their village-Supai. This picture was taken from a
trail overlooking the falls. The canyon floor and village are reached
only by trail and Indian ponies can be hired for the trip and for
the trails in the vicinity, such as this one. Ha\'asupai Indians are
expert horsemen. Narrow trails into the canyon from the rim can
only be travelled by foot or horseback.
FOLLOWING PAGES
"PAPAGO SAGUARO HARVEST" BY WESTER WAYS.
4X5 Graphic View camera; daylight Ektachrome; between 16 and
22 at 1/ loth sec.; 4.7 Ektar lens; very bright day in june; 500.
Scene-Papago Indian Reservation at Sells. Take State Highway 86
from Tucson to Sells. About ten miles northwest of Sells you come
to the little settlement of Santa Rosa, then about five miles north
of Santa Rosa this saguaro forest is found. Near Santa Rosa the
Papagos make camps each year to gather the saguaro fruit. Only
one family uses one area, about two miles square. The Papago
family takes a camping outfit for sleeping, cooking and picking
the fruit. They use a traditional long stick (from fifteen to forty
~eet in length) called a kuibut. The crosspiece (called a matsuguen)
IS used to pull the fruit loose. The women start out as soon as it is
light, gather a basketful and return for breakfast. Then they
gather two more loads, and stay in camp during the heat of the
day. Two or three trips in the late afternoon completes the day's
gathering. Ripe fruit is selected-red on outside and already burst
open. The center meaty section is taken back to camp-the outer
rind is thrown away. At camp everyone eats all the raw fruit
they want. Balance is mixed with water and the juice drained
off for drinking. The pulp is put in the boiling olla over the fire
and boiled down, then strained through loose-woven basT{ets.
The juice is put back on the fire and boiled down to a syrup.
The pulp is spread out to dry. Then pulp is dried completely
and can be stored as dried fruit pulp or made into jam before
they leave camp. The seed is saved as food for chickens and
pigs-or roasted and ground up into powder and mixed with sugar.
"APACHE CEREMONIAl}' BY PETE BALESTRERO. 4X5
Speed Graphic camera; daylight Ektachrome; ' f.8 at 1/ 50th sec.;
4·7 Ektar lens; early july; noon, bright sunlight; 400. Scene­Fort
Apache Indian Reservation, eighteen miles southeast of
Show Low, a few miles from U.S. Highway 60 and State High­way
73. As a part of the Apache Puberty Rites, corn pollen is
sprinkled on the head of the young Apache girl. This is one of
the most colorful of all Apache Ceremonies.
" 'AVAjO HOGAN A D SAND PAl TI G" BY JOSEF
MUENCH. 4X5 Linhof camera; daylight Ektachrome; f.8 at
1/ 50th sec.; 6" Xenar lens; April, one 22B flash bulb. Tl,is scene
is in a Navajo hogan on the Navajo Indian Reservation in north­ern
Arizona. The sand painting was used as part of a healing
ceremony. It is not easy to get permission to photograph an
Indian sand painting during a ceremonial. In this case the other
Indians preferred to move out of view and pictures could be
taken only when the Medicine man gave his permission.
Please turn to page twenty-five
"Papago Pottery Maker" HUBERT A. LOWMAN
"Hopi Village of Moenkopi" DAVID MUENCH
· .. Continued frorn page sixteen
CE ITER PANEL
".-\PACHE CEREMONY" BY RAY MANLEY. 5X7 Linhof
camera; Ektachrome, daylight type film; f.8 at 1/2 5th sec.; 8 Yz "
Symar lens; mid-October with heayy oyercast; ASA rating 100.
picture was made at bridge crossing the White Ri,"er one half
mile west of Fort Apache. These are Apache cowboys who run
the registered Apache herd. They had just brought oyer a
thousand head down to vVhiteriver where they will segregate the
ones for sale and dri,"e them another thirty miles to McNary for
auction. Photographing cattle is always an interesting challenge,
in that one can't make a cow do much more than what it wants
to and one must be prepared to make alternate dews, quick
changes of exposure and expect the most disastrous possibilities.
Dust can blow toward the camera position; a cloud can hide the
sun or it has e'-en rained just as-the cattle get to the position.
They don't stop and on se,"eral occasions these things have
happened-there may be another chance next year.
"PAPAGO POTTERY 1\IAKER" BY HUBERT A. LOW­JUAN.
4X5 Speed Graphic camera; Ektachrome; f.1 I at 1/ loth
sec.; 5 y. " Zeiss Tessar lens; in the spring, early April; hazy
sunshine, about noon; ASA rating 8. Photograph was taken on
the outskirts of Sells, Arizona, agency headquarters of the Papago
Reservation. Hazy sunshine, the full light of the sun diffused by
high, thin clouds, was helpful in opening up the large shadow
areas and doubled the normal exposure required for midday.
The potter is Mrs. Ignacio. The large earthen ollas are used to
hold drinking water. They are hung in gunny sacks in shade
under trees or ramadas. In the summer the sacks are kept wet,
which assures cool, fresh water.
"HOPI VILLAGE OF MOENCOPI" BY DAVID MUENCH.
4X5 Speed Graphic camera; Ektachrome; f.8 at 1/ 50th sec.; 6"
Xenar lens; August, sunny day. The Hopi yillage of Moencopi is
near Tuba City on the Navajo Indian Reservation of Northern
Arizona. The Hopis are superior farmers. Terraced fields, care­fully
tended, produce corn, chil i, melons, squash and other
yegetables for family consumption.
"HUALAPAI BASKET WEAVER" BY R. H. PEEBLES.
Photograph was taken on the Hualapai Indian Reservation on the
summit of Hualapai Mountain north of Peach Springs, Arizona.
Hualapai weavers are considered especially expert in the weaving
art.
"PIMA BASKET WEAVER" BY R. H. PEEBLES. Photograph
taken in Sacate Pima village, about nine miles west of Route ,87
in the Gila River Indian Reservation. The weaver's name is
Anastacia Harvey. She is the last of the old weavers who made
storage baskets. Before the white man came into the country, the
Pimas had no bins or boxes in which to store corn or wheat so
they took the wheat straw from their fields and bound it to­gether
with bark from the roots of young mesquite trees and
made these storage baskets. Some of the baskets hold as much as
thirty to fifty bushels of wheat. Photographs of the Hualapai
and Pima basket weavers were taken by the late R. H. Peebles
of Sacaton, Arizona, noted cotton authority, and appeared
originally in Bert Robinson's scholarly book, "The Basket Weavers
of Arizona," (University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque,
?\. M., '954, $7.50).
OPPOSITE PAGE
"SHIPAULOVI IN HOPILAND" BY DICK CARTER. 4X5
Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.20 at 1/ 5th sec.; commercial Ektar
2ol0 mm lens; June, late afternoon, clear day. 120-Norwood.
Shipaulo"i is on north side of the reservation road on the 2nd
illesa and about ten miles west of Polacca. This yillage might
easily be passed unnoticed unless purposely watched for. This
Village was built about 1625 A.D. and is the smallest of the Hopi
villages of this type. Photo was taken looking south and the
subdued hues of the rock are made soft by the 10W'sun angle of
t!le late June afternoon. A skyiight filter was used to reduce
ultra-"iolet light.
I I
I
Apache handicrafts
the rite. As in the old days, such an event is more than a cere­IlIony;
it is an occasion for renewing old friendships, for catching
up on the news, for horse racing and games. It is an occasion for
social dancing. It affords opportunities for gambling, a favorite
pastime for all American Indians.
The most spectacular e,-ent in the puberty rite is the appear­ance
of gans dancers for an evening's performance. Gans are
1\ \ountain Spirits. There are four of them and a clown who comes
out of the darkness into the light of a great bonfire. They utter
strange cries, like the Hopi kachinas. Masked and costumed, they
gi,-e a fantastic performance, twisting and bending and flashing
great can'ed and colored head pieces in the fire's glow. During
winter rites, these same performers carry a heavier and more
scrious burden of curing.
There is no calendar of ritual events, no fixed dates for cere­monies
among the Apaches as there is in Hopiland. Puberty rites
are held in the summer, curing rites in the winter. A family in
necd hires a sham<ln to perform the desired ceremony. As the
fZIllily is able to provide, it is a larger or smaller affair.
Se"eral Christian faiths have been accepted by some Apaches
but on the whole they have retained their old beliefs. Nativistic
IlloveIllents crop up now and then; they would appear to be the
fu lfillment of a strong desire to perpetuate their own faith, or, at
least, parts thereof in compromise with other religious expression.
Like so many of the Southwest tribes, the Apaches are fast
losing their nati ve arts. Sand paintings, or "Medicine discs" as
the Apaches called tl.cm, were formerly made. They differed
froIll the i"avaios in many respects, but particul;Irly in variety
of subject matter, size, and artistry. The term disc is descriptive
of their form: often they were made up of a series of circling
and parallel colored bands, for example, of red, black, and white.
On these would appear the deities, heavenly phenomena, snakes,
birds, animals, mountains, and water symbols with which the
Apache sand artist was concerned. An interesting bit of Apache
philosophy is expressed in connection with the use of sand paint­ings:
if the patient for whom the disc is made does not survive
the ritual, at least this artistic expression will speed him on his
,vay and assure him a pleasant life in the hereafter.
Some pottery was made by all Apache tribes in the past; all
wares were of simple utility type. Shiny black and pinon pitched,
the "essels were unpainted; they were primarily of simple form for
cooking purposes. Today no pottery is made by any Apache group.
Basketr)", on the other hand, is the craft in which the Apaches
excel, both in skill and artistry. It is also a craft which has survived
the inroads of white man's pots and pans. A recent survey revealed
a fair number of women of this tribe who still produce all three
of the major types of western Apache . basketry. Coiling and
twining are the basic techniques. Large and small tray baskets
and jars are coiled. Attractive burden baskets and water bottles
are twilled. l'ati"e plants supply all -material for these baskets, with
willow and cottonwood twigs, squawberry, and sumac as the
III I
II 1I
fa,-ored sources today.
Although the twined water bottle, or "tus" is generally un­decorated,
it may have an all-over coloring, for red ochre is
rubbed O\-er the surface before it is water-proofed inside and
out with pinon gum. Burden baskets often carry a subtle type of
decoration in nriations of the twined weave; or, perhaps, aniline­dyed
or natural colored materials may appear in simple banded
patterns. Rows of plain or yellow-dyed buckskin thongs, some­times
with small tin cones or "tinklers" attached, may add a
decorati,-e note to the burden basket. It is a colorful sight to
see a row of these freshly decorated burden baskets on the
ground, filled with gifts for all who have come to attend a "Com­ing
Out" ritual.
The coiled tray is the most artistic piece of Apache basketry.
] ars in this technique seldom display the same artistic arrangement
of pattern, although they carry similar design motifs. A pleasing
contrast is offered in both as the natural soft shades of willow
are set off by black patterns. Designs include both geometric and
life forms, the latter apparently added since the late 1800's. In
fact, the great complexity of Apache coiled basketry designs seems
to have evolved from this same date. Patterns are dynamic, and
often an otherwise perfectly symmetrical pattern will be offset
Papago wonhippen, San Xavier
Papago shade shelter
by some small addition or omiSSIOn.
A craft expression which was introduced to the Arizona
Apaches after the middle of the [8th century, bead work, has
become reasonably popular among them. Women ply this craft,
making headbands, belts, neck pieces, and ornamenting buckskin
bags, and, formerly, dresses. Dresses were tastefully and simply
decorated; bags, which became important commercially were
often more ornate and less artistic in the application of elaborate
design and in the use of a greater variety of colored beads. Per­haps
the most interesting beadwork from the standpoint of
Apache usage is a T-shaped neck piece, usually worn by a young
girl in the puberty rite. Designs are geometric, with a few life
forms; no patterns ha,-e symbolic meaning.
When the Apaches acquired horses from Europeans, they also
adopted much of the specialized equipment for this animal. Some
of this the Indian made for himself, substituting his nati,-e materials
for foreign ones. Perhaps the most interesting item here is the
saddle bag. For many years Apaches made an attractive buckskin
bag, cutting out patterns and inserting colored material, often red,
under the designed areas. As time wore on and buckskin became
less abundant, cotton cloth was substituted for the native material,
and applique designs replaced the cut-out schemes.
Papago girls Papago basket weaver
A native product which is still popular among the Apaches is
the cradle board. This de,-ice, which so greatly facilitates caring
for_ an infant by a busy mother, is made of traditional materials,
except for cloth additions, and is of traditional form.
Like other Arizona tribes, then, the Apaches represent an
interesting mixture of their own native life and European traits.
Native type homes linger, touch~s of old style dress appear cere­monially,
some craft arts sun-ive, and certain native customs and
religious beliefs dominate the lives of many of the members of
this tribe. On the other hand, the political order is changing rap­idly,
economy has but a few reminders of the past, daily dress
is Europeanized, and formal education is replacing parent-training.
Withal, there is an indefinable somethjng which pervades the
lives of these people, making of them a distinct and separate tribe
of Indians, the Apaches.
PIMAS and PAPAGOS
"In the beginning there was nothing where now are earth,
sun, moon, stars, and all that we see."
According to the Pimas, Earth Doctor, born of darkness,
created all these things. First he took from his breast some dust,
made it into a little cake, and sajd, "Come forth, some kind of
PAGE TWENTY-SIX • ARIZONA HIGHWAYS • AUGUST 1958
plant," and there was creosote bush! After many intervening inci­dents,
including creations, destructions, and a flood, the earth
was peopled, and THE PEOPLE "oo-tam," were the Pimas.
Getting down to more practical explanations, the Pima are
known as the River Dwellers, as they have lived for centuries
along the Gila lliver. To the South are the Papagos, called Bean
Eaters, or Bean People, perhaps for their meager diet. Tradition
is not explicit as to whether this referred to the mesquite bean
or a cultivated variety. Both were and still are, in some degree,
important in the diet of these people.
Pimas and Papagos are very similar in many ways. Where
their cultures meet in like expressions, they will be discussed to­gether.
Where differences separate them, differing aspects of their
culture will be stressed.
Differences in their cultures are due in good measure to dif­ferences
in environment. The Gila River has provided the Pimas
with a substantial living for centuries. It has given them water,
food, materials with which to build their homes and of which to
weave baskets. Desert lands of the Papago provided a leaner liveli­hood,
food enough to keep flesh and bone together, sometimes
enough water, often little else.
Although the chief concern of this story is the present day
H UIlERT A. LOWMAN
Papago ceremonial
Papago farmer Papago grinding corn Papago girl
life of these tribes, nonetheless flashbacks into the historic past
will present interesting contrast. Past and present often meet in
the everyday lives of the Indian. Among the Pimas this is illus­trated
in the small dwelling in which they live, looking as though
it had popped out of the earth itself, with a TV aerial projecting
from the dirt covered roof!
Not all Pimas and Papagos reside in the traditional, simple,
earth structures, for many have learned to make adobe bricks.
Some may use commercial brick or stone in their home construc­tion.
The oval form of the single room of the past is replaced by
a rectangular room, and some homes are two or three roomed.
Dirt floors linger in some communities, but wood or concrete
may replace them. Household furnishings vary with the economic
well-being of individual families. These may range from a single
bench to complete furnishings. Phonographs have long been popu­lar
among people of both of these tribes.
Houses are more scattered in Papago settlements, closer
together in Pima villages. This may be a reminder of the days
when the Pimas were more dependent on agriculture, the Papa­gas
less so. In fact, the latter tribe used to abandon their villages
seasonally in order to augment their larders with produce from
hunting and gathering expeditions into the hills.
Economy has changed more among the Papagos than it has
among the Pimas. The latter still till some of their fields as they
ha,-e for centuries, planting small plots of beans and corn, and
occasional other produce. For a time, chief sources of income came
from leasing their land to white people. More recently, many of
the Pimas have taken back their farming lands. They are learning
to pursue large-scale agriculture, using heavy machinery to till
many acres. Thus tbey are realizing full returns from their lands.
Flash flood farming has been practiced by the Papagos for
centuries. Today it is being replaced, in some measure, by irri­gation
farming. Also stock raising has assumed an important place
in the economy of these people; they have divided their lands
rnto eleven grazing areas which are used for both tribal and indi­vidual
herds. This tribe has a long range program which will
improve resources in these three lines. They are also developing
their mineral resources. Their Reservation is not large enough to
accommodate their population; therefore in this same program
they are seeking ways and means for establishing some of their
numbers off the Reservation.
Papago Fairs of recent years bring to mind the utilization of
native plants which was much more important in the past than
today. Among the exhibits have been displayed dried cholla cactus
Hopi farmer at River Reservation
buds, dried mesquite beans, sahuaro fruit jam and balls of the seed
and pulp, and other nati,"e plant foods. Unquestionab)y these
sustained the Papagos in the lean years when their planted crops
did not mature.
Although Pi mas and Papagos culti,"ated cotton in the past,
and wo,"e it into a fair variety of fabrics, there is not the slightest
vestige of this industry among them today. All of them wear
"store clothing," or reasonable facsimiles thereof. Women's dress
has been influenced by varied styles ranging from the early 1900'S
to the present; the men wear cowboy or modern casual clothes.
Little or nothing was worn in the past; climate and a meager
economy took care of that'
Basketry is the one craft art which has been perpctuated
among these people, with few weavers today among the Pi mas
and a number of them among the Papagos. Traditionally the two
tribes made coiled willow baskets of a rather fine weave. The
Papagos gradually dropped this material and substituted yucca.
There was logic to this change, for the willow had to be obtaincd
beyond the homeland of the Papagos, primarily through trade with
the Pimas. Yucca, on the other hand, grew in considerable abun­dance
on their own Reservation.
The change in basketry materials among the Papagos first
in e,"idence early in the 20th century, might be attributcd t~ pro­duction
for commercial purposes. Whatever the reason, yucca
baskets almost completely supplanted the older typc in time.
The yucca basket is made in many forms and sizes, seldom follow­ing
nati,"e specifications in these matters. Design, too, changed
greatly, with the increased use of this material, becoming simpler,
adding more life themes, and appearing in a spotty distribution.
The willow basket, on the other hand, was a much better product.
It was more tightly wo,"en, of simpler and more limited, but
more refined form, and designs were more elaborate and greatly
unified. E,"en though quantities of yucca baskets ha,"e been pro­duced
by the Papago to sell to white people, many of the women
continued to make the willow type for their own usc.
Some years ago these two tribes produced a largc storage
basket in a loose coil, making the foundation of wheat straw and
sewing at wide intervals with mesquite bark. Although these are
museum pieces now, at one time they scn"ed these folk well for
the storage of their farm produce. The Papagos ha,·e adapted this
idea to a small commercial basket, often in pleasing shapes for
"trinket" uses. These are effecti,"ely sewed at intervals with
stitches which are e,"cnly and diagonally placed. A split stitch
adds to their artistry.
Another wea,"e which wa·s extensi,"ely de,"eloped in the past
by both tribes was plaiting. This, too, has disappeared among the
Pi mas, but Papagos still make some plaited baskets. Formerly mats,
medicine "boxes," utility baskets, and miscellancous items were
made in this weave. Mats served almost all of the Arizona Indians
for bed, table, and chair as well as for a dozen other smaller uses.
Ob,"iously contact with white man remO\"ed the need for this
type of basketry in a majority of cases.
Another craft art which has changed greatly among the
Pi mas and Papagos is that of pottery making. Formcrly the major­ity
of their household warcs consistcd of clay ycsscls; now a lim­ited
number is used, the most important being the "olla," for
drinking water. This jar hangs under the open ramad~, and it is
made of fairly porous clay, c,"aporation aids in keeping it cool.
1\ lost of thc pottery made today consists of small curio items.
Vari-shaped, the typical warcs are plain red , and highly polishcd;
somctimes they carry a simplc dccoration in black.
Another craft formerly practiced by these cwo tribes was
working in mcsquite and occasional other woods. Mortars, oblong
brcad dishes, spoons, and a few other pieces were produced. 1\1es­quite
is an cxtremcly hard wood, but the paticnce and perse,"er­ancc
of these folk rcsulted in somc cxquisi tc products. ,\ fcw
Papagos still pursue this craft.
Change is perhaps most significantly illustratcd in the 1"calms
of political and social organization. In place of the moiety or two­fold
di\'lsion (Red Ants and White Ants) in each autonomous
village, there is now an all-O\"er tribal council for both Pimas
and Papagos. Pimas wcrc organizcd with a constitution and by-laws
in 1938, and \\ ·ith a gO\·erning body of sc,"entccn rcprescntati ve
members. The Council has "jurisdiction over all matters pcrtain­ing
to the managcmcnt of tribal property, conduct of Indians and
non-Indians on thc Resen"ation, tribal busincss enterprises, and
thc \\"clfare of tribal membcrs."
The Papago Tribal Council, which includes reprcsentation
frol11 all thrcc Rescn"ations, wa urganizcd undcr a constitution
and by-laws in 1937. The twCnty-two membcrs sen·e for two
years. Each of the elc,"en Districts is se lf-gO\·crning in local
matters.
In thcir proposed long range program, thc Papagos have
considered social development as well as economic problcms.
They are a widely scattered pcople; they ha,"c also 11100"ed off
the Reservation in considerable numbers. A high perccntage of
them are not litcrate-in '9+9 only 40% could speak English and
onl)' 20% could read and writc. Therefore thcy are grcatly inter­ested
in cducation, particularly for the off-Resen"ation membcrs
who will be in direct compctition with whitc peoplc. Construction
of dormitories adjacent to schools, both on and off the Reserva­tion
is but one of thc ,"ery rcal approaches to this problem. Health,"
roads and communication, and other issues ha,·c also reccived
considerable attention.
Religion of both tribes has undergone drastic changes. 1\ lost
of the Pi mas and Papagos are Christianized, with Sonora Catholics
and Presbytcrians counting large numbers among these Indians.
Howe,"er, remnants of the native beliefs appcar in ccrcmonies now
and thcn, as thc Wiikita, a han·est rite, or curing cercmonies by
nati,"e doctors. Formcrly rain ceremonies were vcry important.
Annually the Papagos gather sahuaro fruit, and the preparation and
drinking of a be,"erage made thcrefrom marks the opening of
the native calendar year. lntcrcstingly San Juans' Day approxi­mates
this time, and has thus bccome of considerable significance
among the Papago.
~e,' er as colorful as the northern Pueblo folk in their rituals,
the dcsert tribes, nonetheless, did have somc comparablc clcmcnt,
in thcir nati,"e religious practices. l\lasks of cloth or gourds wcre
worn in some rites. 1\lusical instruments werc used, including
basket drums, flutes, rasping sticks and gomd rattles. In the han"est
ritc crudely madc effigies of game animals, clouds, and food prod­ucts
are carried. And songs are common. In fact, the Papagos in
particular had nUlllcrous nati,"c customs relati,"c to singing for
all things, singing over the new born babe, singing up the corn,
singing im"itations to a ncighboring village to join in a festivity.
It is noteworthy that this tribe, so po,"erty stricken, with so little
in the way of water, food, the necessities of life, should be grate­ful
in song for whate,"er blcssings ther recei,"ed.
Thus there is a song for all things, c,"en for thc stJges of
growing! "Night after night, the planter walks around his field
'singing up the corn.' There is a song for corn as high as his
knee, for corn waist high, and for corn with the tassel forming.
PAGE TWENTY-EIGHT • ARIZONA HIGHWAYS • AUGUST 1958
- - - At last they sing the harvest song, as the corn of different
colors speaks from the harvesters arms:
Truly most comfortably you embrace me:
I am the blue corn.
Truly most comfortably you embrace me:
I am the red corn."
PAIUTES
The Paiute is a language brother of the Hopi Indian, but
there any comparisons must stop. His culture is greatly inferior
to that of the Puebloans.
The Arizona Paiutes live in the far northwestern part of the
state, on the fringe of the Kaibab forest. They have sufficient
timber for Reservation use, to provide a watershed, and for fence
posts and wood. This large Reservation could support enough
cattle to care for this tribe. However, the Paiutes do not run
capacity herds on their lands. Lack of sufficient water seems to
be'"aU rhat limits -rhe development -of the tribal herd. This inad­equacy
may be overcome with the drilling of wells and the build­ing
of reservoirs.
Wage work has been an important source of income for the
Paiutes. Quite a few of these Indians work for white farmers
in the area. Some few do a little farming themselves. Some hunt­ing,
fishing, and gathering of pinon nuts augment their diet.
The Paiute home resembles the Apache wickiup. It is usually
a domed structure, a small rounded hut of tule rushes O\·er a
framework of poles. Sometimes it is an inverted V -shaped affair.
A fireplace in the center of the floor is sometimes the only "fur­nishings"
in the room.
In 1951 the Paiutes organized a Tribal Council. Each of the
six councilmen holds office for three years. The Council func­tions
in the usual tribal welfare and business enterprises, in the
conduct of those on the Reservation, and in the management of
tribal property.
White man's culture is gradually replacing that of the Paiute
Indian, in dress, homes, organization. However, this Indian still
makcs a few baskets which are mindful of a long history. One IS
a small, narrow necked, pointed-bottomed water bottle. It 1S
carefully twined.
A second Paiute basket is made in larger numbers for it is
used by the Navajo Indians as a wedding tray. This is a shallow
bowl, coiled, and stitched in sumac. The wide, evenly sewed coils
are finished off with a fine herringbone stitch around the edge.
The latter detail is, apparently, a requirement of the avajos.
The design in this wedding basket is one of the few in the South­west
with true symbolism. An outer, serrated black band stands
for the upper world, a central plain red band symbolizes the earth,
and the inner, serrated, black band represents the under world. At
one point, an opening is left in this pattern. In the wedding rite,
the opening will be tmned to the north so that all evil will
disappear.
All Paiutes speak English. This, too, indicates change in their
culture in the direction of that of the white man.
CHEMEHUEVIS
Less is known about the Chemehuevi Indians than any other
Arizona tribe. Anciently they were nomadic or semi-nomadic hunt­ers
and gatherers in the eastern part of the Mohave Desert, and
into the Western Colorado River Valley. With the coming of
white man's civilization, they changed their habits, eventually
scttling entirely in the Colorado River Valley. In some early
historic references the Chemehuevis were referred to as the
"Paiutes of the South."
Today the Chemehuevis are located largely on the Colorado
River Reservation. Before the building of Parker Dam, some of
them lived with the Mohave on this Reservation while others lived
on their own Reservation a little to the north, in California.
The construction of the dam, however, flooded many of their
homes at the latter location. Consequently, quite a few more
Chemehuevis have joined their tribesmen in Arizona.
The Chemehuevis are now included in the membership of
the Colorado River Tribes, on the Colorado River Reservation.
It is stated that, "Membership includes Mohave and Chemehuevi
Indians who have occupied the Colorado River Valley since pre­historic
times." In the functioning of the larger group, tribesn1"e11
from the former Chemehuevi Reservation have thcir own repre­sentation
in the form of a business committee.
Chemehue,"i Indians participate in the general life of the
Colorado River Reservation as described for the Mohave. Like
other Indians, they have lost most of their own tribal coloring, in
material and non-material traits alike. Their children attend the
Indian Service day school south of Parker, or the public school
near-by, or they may go to off-Reservation Federal Boarding
Schools. Education, plus the fact that practically all of thcm
speak English, will further the process of acculturation.
One craft art for which the Chemehuevis haye been justly
famous is basketry. No member of the tribe produces baskets
today. A recent report indicates that there are two women who
know how to weave, but the younger one is too busy and the
hands of the older are too gnarled to allow her to use them.
But this craft is deserving of mention.
Chemehuevi baskets are coiled. A small, round coil, enclosed
by fine stieching, -is usoo" in the creatiffll- af- simple bewl" or"" jar
furms, both large and small. Design is essentially simple, with
emphaSIS on parallel bands of geometric themes. Some patterns
run from near-center to the edge in equal, simple arrangements.
Black is the usual patterning color, although occasional touches
of dark red are employed for emphasis.
YUMAN TRIBES
Along the Colorado River thcrc li,"ed for a number of cen­turies
scattered groups of peoples speaking a cummon tongue.
At some unknown time in their history, onc of these groups
mo,"ed away from the River into the interior of Arizona. Some
of them allied with the Apache during later historic years. These
,,,cre the Yavapai. Another group severed connections with ri,"er
life se,"eral centuries ago. Eyentually they mo,"cd into the area
of present day Phoenix, close to the Pimas. These are the con­temporary
Maricopas. The rest of the Yuman language groups
remained on or near the Colorado; today they include the Cocopa,
Yuma, Mohave, Walapai, and Havasupai.
There are some common denominators in the culture of
all these people. On the other hand, some have changed greatly.
For example, the pottery of the Maricopas has taken on many
aspects of Pima wares. Too, ccrtain Yavapais reveal more
Apachean than Yuman traits, for cxample in dress and basketry.
All groups have had contact with white men and reveal fewer
or more evidences of these historical incidents. A brief summary
of some of the aspects of the culture of each group will illusu"ate
their history and background.
One of the most poverty-stricken of the Arizona Indian tribes
both culturally and economically, is the small group on the lower
Colorado, the Cocopa. Numbering less than a hundred in Ari-
Hopi store at River Rpervation
zona, with a few more in Mexico and Lower California, they
barely eke out an existence in their desert habitat. Crude brush
shelters protect them but partially from the rigors of their environ­ment.
Although most of their lands come under the Yuma Valley
canal system, they have never been properly developed to profit
by this situation. As a consequence, most of this tribe in Arizona
makes a living by working for wages on farms of white men.
Their culture might well be described as lacking in native survivals
and as "poor white" in its adaptations.
The Yuma Indian Reservation is in CaliforfJia, therefore this
tribe does not properly come into this discussion. However, it
may be said that some of this group live in the town of Yuma;
they make their !i"ing largely through wage labor. Some of the
women make a poor grade of curio pottery, buff in color with
simple and crude line and dot decoration in red. It may be just
as well that this ware is disappearing, for through their early
contacts with whites they not only bought paints at white man's
stores, but also copied such forms as tea kettles' Also, some of
them create equally crude curio items in vari-colored beads.
More numerous and far more active than the abOl'e two tribes
are thc Moha"e who are divided in residence betwcen the Fort
Moha"e and the Colorado Ri"er Reservations. The latter Reser­vation,
which is largely in Arizona but with a small acreage in
California, is shared with the Chemehuevi Indians. These two
tribes have lived in the immediate or nearby vicinity for centurics.
There are nine members of a Council dirccting the act~"ities
of the Colorado River Reservation, each sen'ing for a period of
four years. Morc recently Fort Moha"e Reservation has organized
a combination tribal council-business committec. Despite economic
resources of grazing and undeveloped but potentially good farm­ing
lands, about 90% of these people earn a li"ing through wage
,~ork in Needles, California.
Actllally most of the Ft. Mohave population li"es in a village
on the California side of the Reservation in Needles. Their resi­dence
here may account for the fact that thcy ha"e no Indian
Service nor any tribal law enforcemcnt machinery. This is in
rathcr vivid contrast to the Colorado River sitllation wherc the
Tribal Council has jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to the
management of tribal property, to the welfare of the tribe, and
the conduct of Indians and non-Indians on the Reservation.
The Colorado River Reservation is potentially one of the
wealthiest in Arizona, for it has thousands of acres of land which
have been or can be cultivated. In 1945, an agreement was rcached
between thc Council of this tribe and the Indian Service that
certain parts of the Reservation should become accessible to any
Indians living within the Colorado drainage, and that those who
availed themselves of these lands should bccome members of the
Moha,'e Tribe. Se', eral groups, particularly Tavajos and Hopis,
\'entured into this new set-up, but apparently not to the satisfac­tion
of all concerned, for in 19P the Moha,'es rescinded the
agreement. It is · held that they could not do this without the
consent of both parties; the issue is still unsettled, Cash crops on
the Colorado River Reservation are alfalfa and cotton, Most of
the Mohave Reservation families support themselves through wage
work in Needles, despite potentially good farming and grazing
lands of their own.
Again it will be seen that contact with white people has im­po,'
erished their craft arts. The children attend public or Indian
Sen'ice schools, and most of the Mohave speak English. Formerly
the Mohave made more elabo'rately decorated pottery than the
Yuma or Cocopa but of the same type, red designs on an unslipped
buff ground. In fact, they made the best ware of all the Yuman
tribes with the possible exception of the very recent developments
of the Maricopas. Few Mohave women know how to make pottery
today, for most of them have tlIrned to the production of knick­knacks
of glass beads. Formerly the Mohaves made well wo,'en
and designed coiled baskets.
The Yuman speaking Havasupai Indians li,'e in one of the
most colorful parts of the Southwest, Cataract Canyon, just west
of Grand Canyon. Here, on a small Reservation of little OI'er 500
a.eres, they have adapted themselves to a simple but self-sustaining
life. Formerly they left the canyon in winters to hunt and
gather wild foods on the mesa tops above; now they live the
year around on the canyon ·f1oor. .'
In 1939 the Havasupai orga!lized a Tribal Council; member-
In picturesque canY017
ship on this Council is an interesting combination of nati,'e and
introduced ideas. There are four regularly elected members who
sen'e for two years, and there are three members who are tribal
chiefs who sen'e for life. Tradition controls and sanctions beha,'ior
for there is neither Federal, nor State law enforcement bodies t~
deal with these folk.
Agriculture is the basis of the economy of this tribe, although
they have becn granted the use of much land for grazing. Se"cral
families are supported by accommodating tourists down the trail
(the only entrancc) to beautiful Cataract Canyon. Others arc
wage workers. There is a school at Supai which takes children
through the fifth grade. After this, they must Ica"e thc Canyon
and go to schools elsewhere. The isolation of these people might
best be illustrated in the fact that when se"eral largc items wcrc
taken into the canyon, they were dismantlcd and either packed
111 by animal or flown in by hclicopter.
Ha"asupai Indians live in earth co,'ercd lodges or plank houses;
the latter of more recent style. Gone are their native colorful skin
clothing and rabbit fur robes. And almost gone are their native
crafts, although they do makc some baskets. A few Havasupai
women sttll produce beautiful conical burden baskets in a twined
weave, with simple but attractivc banded patterns. Infants are
In Supailand
carricd on baby boards of basketry. Coiled baskets with more
varied patterns were formerly made.
These peoplc, like most Indians exhibit a keen scnse of humor.
The story is told of one fellow who went hunting and after
five or six shots at a dccr, with no hit, decided, "Maybe so I go
to camp and put on dress." Too, like most native Amcricans they
have a passion for gambling, displaying equal gusto whether it be
a nickel or a dollar they arc betting!
Close ncighbors of the Havasupai are the Hualapais who live
in thc higher country abo,'c the canyons of this area. This tribe
dcpcnds primarily on timber and cattle for their income. Very
little farming is done as the soil is poor and water practically
unavailable. This group has an organized Tribal Council of eight
elected members and one hereditary chief; the latter, like those
of the Havasupai, is appointed by the band subchicfs and scrves
for life.
Hualapai craft arts ha\'e tended to disappear or change some­what
since contact with white men. Basketry is the only survivor,
and this craft has changed quite a bit to suit the tastes of tourists.
Like the Havasupai, this tribe formerly made burden baskets,
water bottles, and trays in a diagonal twined weave, but with
little or no patterninJ on them. Now they make a tourist product
One of falls in Havasu Canyon
,,·ith straight sides and flat bottom, and they have added horizontal
bands woven in commercial red and green dyed elements in
simple zigzags, chevrons, fringed lines and diagonal stripes. Both
Havasupais and Walapais formerly made coiled baskets of a type
\"ery similar to Western or Arizona Apache except that the
designs were gcometric and simpler.
Anothcr Yuman spcaking tribe which is ,-ery different from
the last thrce described groups is the Yavapai. Perhaps they, too,
were former ri,-er dwellers. For some reason when they mo,'ed
into the interior of Arizona they became more nomadic than the
others. Some of them threw in with Apache bands and bccame
"cry like this tribe, for example, in ccrtain aspects of their nati"e
organization. One group of mixed Apache-Yavapai bands li,'cs
on the Camp Verde Reservation. They have a Council, with
cight members sen'ing two years each. Actually there arc two
Reservations here, with the members of onc finding occupation in
industry and with other farmers, whilc thc occupants of the second
area do farming and cattle raising on their own.
A separate Yavapai group functions with no formal council
on the Yavapai Resen·ation. Their lands are so limited that thcy do
little stock raising and no farming, earning an income through
wage work. A third and quite small group of this tribc is to bc
found on the Ft. McDowell Rcservation.
Thc only craft that has survived among the Yavapai is baskct
making, and this to a limited extcnt. A well made coiled basket,
in tray and storage forms, is designed in black with geomctric
and life themes. So like the Apaches are these baskets that the
expert only can distinguish between them.
The last group of Yuman speaking people is the Maricopa.
This tribc is distributed between the Gila River and Salt Rivcr
Reservations. Tribal organization and economy arc tied in with
the Pima, as described above. Although the i\iaricopa werc still
doing a little weaving in the early twentieth century, particularly
of bclts, currently they do none. After they mOl'ed into their
prescnt location, which was some hundred and fifty or more years
ago, they used Pima baskets rather than make their own. One
basket they did continue to make for a fcw ycars, however, and
that was a burdcn type. This they no longer weave. If the i\lari­copas
made the usual Yuman pottery of the red on buff variety
when they arrived among the Pima, they ceased to makc it in
time. Then they borrowed ceramic ideas from thc Pimas. Now
they produce an attractive red ware, highly polishcd and occasion­ally
with a simple black decoration. Although thc)' have concen­trated
on "curio" shapes, several of the potters have individually
pcrfected these or have developed forms of their own choosing.
One odd shape is a small, round-bodied vessel with an extrcmely
long neck. The beautiful, high polish on these ,-essels is out­standing.
Although the majority of the Yuman-speaking tribes have
become quite thoroughly acculturated, some have retained a little,
others more, of their past ways of life. This is particularly true of
religion. By degrees they ha"e dropped facc painting and tatooing.
Gonc are most of the masked dances. A thing of the past is the
elaborate mourning rite which formerly accompanied cremation.
Fcw native songs are known today, songs which were received
in a dream in the "old days." And but a memory in the minds
of few older tribesmen are the legends of these people. Their
can'ed and painted cane flutes, painted gourd rattles, and othcr
ritual paraphernalia are seldom to be seen and then usually in
museums.
So passes the culture of additional Arizona Indian tribes.
SUMMARY
The fourteen tribes of Indians in Arizona present varying
stages of change from their own culture to the ways of white men.
Were it not for his color, a Papago or Mohave might be taken for
another farmer or rancher in town for the day. But there would
be no confusion as to the identity of the Navajo with his long hair
done in a queue at the back of his head, topped with a Stetson hat,
with moccasined feet showing below his blue jeans, and with heavy
strands of coral, shell, and turquoise decorating his "store" shirt.
Some Arizona Indians have achieved a happy balance between
their own culture ' and that of the conqueror. Others have been
badly bent, but not qujte broken, under the burden of the meeting
of such greatly diffcrent civilizations. Some have preserved parts
PAGE THIRTY-ONE • AIUZONA HICH"VAYS • AUCUS.;r.· 1958
of the old and accepted what they wished of the new. Despite the
inroads of a new people, some tribes have increased in numbers, as
the Tavajo. Others have fallen under disease and other pressures
from the invader, but no tribe has been completely decimated.
On one side of the ledger in this balancing of cultures, the
Indian has retained certain portions of his organization, particularly
in religion, and some of his craft arts. On the other side of the
ledger, traits accepted from the white man would be heal'y in the
areas of education, health facilities, and political organization. Let
us look at several of these in summary of the Arizona Indian
of today.
The lands of the Arizona Indians, in terms of existing Reserva­tions,
have shril"eled. Archaeological evidence points to a wider
area of occupation as compared with present day boundaries for
most of these tribes. Some tribes hal"e been shol'ed into less desir­able
spots. Some have had their basic means of existence disrupted,
a ~ in the case of the Pima when their irrigation waters were
usurped by white men. Some hal"e had their territory depleted by
confinement to a limited area, as the Navajo grazing lands. Only
with the help of the man who shO\'ed him aside can the Indian
better his situation. He needs more education in agriculture and
cattle raising, more dams and reservoirs, more machinery, better
schools for his children, control of the diseases which have been
brought to him.
With the major exceptions of the Navajo, Apache, and Hopi,
homes of most of the Arizona tribes have changed. ?\ew material,
as adobe, brick, and dressed stone hal"e been adopted by some, as
the Pima and Papago. Wooden doors, glazed windows and chim­neys
have been added to many Indian homes. Perhaps the greatest
change has been in the addition of furnishings with beds, chairs,
tables, stoves, and sewing machines of foremost importance.
Dress has changed greatly. The breech cloth, which was the
main item of the Indian man's dress, has disappeared completely
or has survived for ceremonial wear. Cowboy garb, from hats
to boots, is most common. Some Navajo "longhairs" reflect earlier
Spanish or Mexican styles in their dress. A short or long skirt was
often the only garment worn by the busy Pima and Papago woman
of years gone by. TO longer is this so. Buckskin dresses were re­placed
by more concealing blanket dresses among the Navajo; in
time this style gave way to the European-inspired full, tiered skirt
and blouse. With the exception of a few tribes, and not all mem­bers
thereof, most Arizona Indian women wear contemporary
styles of white woman's garb.
The economy of the nati"e Arizonan has changed greatly.
From simple farming he is de,"eloping large scale agriculture, as
in the case of the Pimas and some Mohaves. Pastoral life was un­known
natively. Now t he Apaches are fine cattlemen, the Navajos
own half a million head of stock, largely sheep. Many Indians are
wage earners; some are apprenticing to trades; a few are following
professional life. Cash economy is replacing the age-old subsistence
economy.
Papagos bailing hay
\VESTERN " rAYS
All Arizona Indians ha,"e substituted some type of tribal
council organization for their native orders. This change has been
necessary so that among other things they might deal with the
United States gO\"ernment. These councils are weaker in some
cases, as the Hopi, for here the autonomous village is more im­portant
than the tribe. Or councils are stronger, as among the
Navajo, where a central body is essential to the solving of the
multitudinous problems of this widely scattered tribe.
Indians of Arizona had no type of formal education unless one
might think of the rigid tra ining of a medicine man in this cate­gory.
Therefore the American school system has not been easy to
accept. Not only is it foreign to their way of life, not only has it
interfered with the economic and religious pursuits of their natil'es,
but also in its early years it ga,'e the Indian little of value to his
war of life. Fortunately a change in educational policy has gil'en
the Indian something he can use besides the English language.
Training in agriculture, stock raising, crafts, and for teaching, are
but a few of the skills which the Indian can now acquire and
take back to his natil"e Reservation.
Perhaps the area in which the white man has lost most heavily
in his conquest of the Arizona Indian is in the field of crafts and
arts. The substitution of a tin pail for a wO\'en basket is final.
Thus basketry is rapidly disappearing from most of the Arizona
tribes. The Hopis are an exception, for they make many baskets.
It is easier by far to purchase a bolt of cloth off a trader's shelf
than to weave garments for the whole family, Slight wonder that
the Pimas and Papagos ceased to weal"e many years ago, Hopi
weal'ing has survived only because of the strength of religious
tradition among these people. Navajo weal'ing has survived only
because the blanket could be com'erted into a rug which, in turn,
could be sold to white men.
The refinements of native art are fast disappearing, too.
"Curio" forms in pottery, basketry, and si lver illustrate this point.
Greater production and cheaper items have made the artist careless,
deteriorating his greatly refined accomplishments. Arts and Crafts
Guilds and p,ersonal interests of a few white men have removed
some of the curse of this situation, reviving vegetable dye rugs
among the Navajo, improving his silver, improving the quality of
Papago basketry,
Christianity has completely replaced native belief among many
Pimas and Papagos. On the other hand, most of the Hopis, Tava­jos,
and Apaches have clung to the traditional in religion . Some
hal'e compromised, following the Christian faith in general but
turning to the native medicine man in case of need. It is inevitable
that these religions will pass in time.
And with the passing of native Indian religions goes forever
a phi losophy, a way of life, not to be duplicated elsewhere in the
world. To sing in the face of dire poverty as do the Papagos, to
believe devotedly in harmony between ones fellow men and in the
universe as do the Hopi, to know that all is finished in beauty as do
the Navajo-surely these are philosophies which should not perish.
In the desert land of the Papago
JOSEF MUENCH
From between the fingers of the medicine man
Colored sand flows steadily,
Out of the hand of the Singer, tirelessly chanting,
Flows blue and white and brown, flows yellow and black and red,
Covering the hogan floor with patterns,
Meaningless to unbelievers,
While the sick girl, surrounded by silent watchers,
Sits facing toward the East,
Awaiting, with qu iet confidence, the Sing 's sure end,
"There will be dancing to-night." she tells herself,
"And I shall dance with the othe rs!"
"The re will be feast ing to-night." she says in her heart,
"And laughter and talk around the fires of my people,
And I sholl be a port of it!"
Elizabeth-Ellen long
THE HUBBELL
TRADING POSI
ATGANADO
BY ED ELLINGER
Don Lorenzo
You 'U;eaT out YOllT shoes, you buy anotbeT pail';
TVben the food is all gone, you buy more;
You gather m e/om, a17d 7110re ,,-~'ill grow 077 the vine;
You grind YOUT corn alld make bread, r"u;hiclJ you eat,
and uext year y 01l have plenty more corn.
But my friend L01'en zo is gone, and none to take his place.
The date was NO\'ember 12, 1930; the place-Ganado,
Arizona. Don Lorenzo Hubbell had passed on to the
happy hunting ground. The poem \\'as written by a Nav­ajo
who expressed what was in his heart; a feeling of deep
regret shared by many; some who had kno"vn him for
over half a century. He was their friend and he would
be missed.
0----.. ~ ~ :.'
: --
. - ~~-
on Lorenzo Hubbell, born at Pajarito,
New Mexico, in 1853 was a patriarch
of the old school. His role was impor­tant
in the history of New Spain, later
known as New Mexico and Arizona.
When he died an era came to a close.
There was none to take his place.
Today the old Hubbell Trading Post stands at the
crossroads of yesterday, suspended by time; looking much
the same as when Teddy Roosevelt spent a week in 1912
visiting the hacienda with his friend, Don Lorenzo, a
gracious gentleman, whom he affectionately called "Lo­renzo
The Magnificent."
Turn north at Chambers, Arizona, off speed-happy
Route 66. Drive half a mile along this dirt road and every­thing
changes. The wash-board surface slows you down
to a gentle relaxed pace. You will notice the green rolling
country, perhaps for the first time. It is dotted with cedar,
juniper and low-growing sage. You will wave at a wagon­load
of stern-faced Navajos, wrapped in blankets, bound
for the trading post at Chambers. Seventeen miles to the
north you will pass the trading post at Wide Ruin, known
for its picturesque setting and the locale for a delightful
book, "Spin A Silver Dollar," about a young Indian
artist. A few miles further you will pass the settlement at
Klagetoh and finally after another fifteen miles at a re­duced
speed, you will pull up in front of the lone gas
pump which marks the entrance to the Hubbell Trading
~ost; a. long low stone building neither beautiful nor
1m press I ve.
Push open the screen door. You may expect to be
totally ignored by the shy Navajos leaning on the count­ers,
drinking endless bottles of pop and talking among
themselves in a guttural tongue you won't understand.
Navajo men usually wear tall black cowboy hats-no
dents, just the way they come out of the box. Their thick
black hair is gathered in a long bun, tied with strands of
white wool, behind their necks. The women wear color­ful
satin blouses, brilliant turquoise and silver jewelry and
long flowing pleated skirts which all but hide their saddle
shoes and bobby sox. The little boys wear blue jeans,
coyboy boots and colorful shirts. Their sisters dress in
skirts and blouses just like their mothers.
The store section of the trading post looks like most
of the others located on the reservation, replete with a
wide variety of groceries, soft goods and hardware. The
atmosphere is also about the same, but here the similar­ity
stops.
Toone side of the store are two large rooms from
out of the past, now seldom seen by the public. Rooms
dominated by large over-head beams decorated with
Hopi and Apache baskets. The first, entered from behind
the store counter, is the old office. Mrs. Roman Hubbell,
Don Lorenzo's daughter-in-law, still uses the old desk.