The Snowflake herald., 1916-11-03

EXHIBITS
BY J. 8. BROWN, supt.

w have very encouraging reports
from ali the agencies winch sent ex-
hIDILs last year and IN addluon expect
TO nave exh4blIs from the White River
agency and from San Carlos. These
nave not been represented heretofore
SO far as | am informed.
we, as you know, expect to have
the Indian SchooI banu at the Fair
each day in addition to our usual
dress parade on Inulan Day expect TO
give lancy drnl by approximately
one hundred girls eIther WILh dumb
bells or Indian cubs. L he purpose of
this department, as | view 1t and am
endeaVorlng TO conduct 1t, is TO make
the white citizens OF the state and ma
ton TO know our Indians better and
to know the better features of their
present day life and industries. We
do not conduct Wild west shows but
we do wish TO make our business men
acquainted with the industries of our
Indian peoples In order that they may
look upon the Indian as an asset
rather than as liability. Arizona is
fortunate that our Indians have al
ways been self-supporring. My ex-
perlence covering some 22 years in the
Indian School work has been with q
considerable number of tribes in diff
ferent sections of the United States
and | have nowhere seen Indians
eQualling these living in Arizona in
the matter of industry and general
deslrabillty as future citizens.
We shall hope to show from the
northern reservations, particularly the
Navajo, samples of blanket weaving,
sl.Versmithlng and other native indus
tries, also a fine exhibit of vegetables
and crops from the higher attitudes.
From the Cataract Canyon the Supai
Indians will again send samples of
their native food products such as it
is possible to transport from their
trail to the railroad. 1t should be re-
membered that all supplies for the
Supai agency have to be transported
gy wagon approximately So miles
from Seligman or Grand Canyon to
the rim of Cataract Canyon, from
which point they must be carried on
pack animals about seven miles to
the location of the small agency down
on the river bank. Many interesting
stories might be told of the difficult
ties encountered in conducting an In
dian Agency and day school at this
place. For example, a small cottage
organ, the only instrument of this
kind in this canyon, was carried from
the rim to the location of the agency
by four Indian women on foot. Wagons
have been taken down in pieces and
all lumber for the agency buildings
made the same tortuous passage over
the difficult trail.
We hope to have samples of Navajo
and Hopi corn brought from Ft. De-
fiance and Keams Canyon. These ex-
hlbits must be carried from 80 to over
100 miles before reaching the rail
road. The Hopi are the original dry
farmers and while their crop yield is
small compared with their crop acre
age, they have perhaps done better
than any white men under similar
circumstances.
On Indian Day we shall have many
indian visitors who come primarily
10 see the fair rather than to be the
snow. They will, | assume, have the
usual freedom of the race track and
enclosure and should be interesting
TO visitors because they will appear
as they are actually living and dress
ing at present. They will not wear
paint and feathers because they are
not wearing them in their homes. The
men will appear in overalls, bandanas
and chaps, while the women will wear
their bright colored shawls as a dis
tinguishing feature.