Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-01-21

Warrington, D. c., Jan. w.
Should the Pueblo Indians Of the
southwest, tho only Indians in the
United States who live Is their
forefathers did. be converted into
good American farmers, cowboys,
cooks and housemaids, or should
they be allowed to 60 their own
picturesque way. so that their ma
tive arts and customs will be pre-
served unchanged?
This question threatens to be-
come an issue, with earnest sup
porters on both sides. Never, since
we got done fighting the Indians
has there been SO much interest in
them as today. This interest orig
mates and centers in artistic and
scientific circles, but is shared to q
great extent by the general public,
which shows an increased tendency
to patronize Indian art and to buy
pictures of Indians and books about
them.
All of the American Indians ex-
cept the Pueblos are either civil
ICED, on the road to civilization, ex-
tinct or on the road to extinction.
Intermarriage with the whites or
with Mexicans is rapidly wiping
them out as distinct race in the
United States. But the Pueblos are
in different case. There are seven
or eight thousand of them, and they
live in some twenty-odd towns,
called Pueblos, in New Mexico and
Arizona. Moreover, they have been
living in these same towns, or in
towns just like them, for centuries.
During all those centuries, they
have lived much as they live today.
The Spaniards conquered them
and made them accept the Christian
faith. But they retained also their
heather faith unimpaired. They
are perhaps the only people on
earth which processes two religions
without any difficulty or embarrass.
ment. And their lives are to an
amazing extent unchanged. MOI
only are their houses similar tt
those they lived in when Coronado
came to Taos in the 18th century;
they are often the very same
houses. Their clothing has beer
+, modified a little in material, bu,
not much in color scheme or gen.
eral appearance. They still pre-.
serve all of their tribal customs as
, to marriage, burial and tribal rule
Although they never 60 to war
they still dance a war dance, an6
although the buffalo and the ante
| lope have vanished, they still have
dances in honor Of these creatures
at which buffalo and antelope robes
many decades old are used. The,
are the greatest conservatives OF
earth. When it comes to resisting
change. the standpat Republican,
might take lessons from them.
Naturally, they are very pic
turesque. They are of immense in
terest to artists and scientists an,
writer's. A large colony Of sucl
persons has been formed at SAINT.
Fe, New Mexico, which is in tn,
heart of the Pueblo country, an,
another one has been formed "a
Taos. Pictures of the Pueblo
painted in these places are now Il
be seen in all of the principa
eastern galleries, and many of tn
great eastern museums have repre-
sehtatives in the southwest.
These scientists and artists hat
to see anything done which tend
to impair the picturesqueness .
the Indian. Not only do they wis
to keep him unspoiled as subjec
for study and art, but they asser
that he has an art of his own whicI
is we'll worth preserving, and whicl
will be lost if he is civilized. Tn
Indians make pottery, baskets an
blankets, which are beautiful an
are now to be seen in all parts @
the country. Authorities say tina
some OF this art, especially the pot
terry and the blankets. is the best @
its kind that is being done in tn
United States today. They say it
wrong and foolish to convert tn
Indian to our civilization, when h
has a civilization of his own whic
is capable of producing more beau
tiful objects Of art than ours.
Furthermore, they argue that tn
Indian has right to his own lif'
II the rights of small nations an
of oppressed people, for which "
are supposed to have gone to wa
mean anything at all, they me.
that Pueblo should be allowed
live his own life. That is what h
wants to do. He does not welcom
change and does not pretend t.
He is extremely peaceful and wi
not fight with anybody. He is goof
natured and obliging, and is alway
willing to pose for an artist, or I
let linguist explore the inside ,
> his mouth to see how he talks. Fc
| a tactful archaelogist he will To