The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-02-03

WASHINGTON. y. c., Feb. B.
should the Pueblo Indians of the SCUM,
vest the only Indians In the - thuyI
states who live as their toteIaIii,el :,
did. be converted into, good A'', raIael
farmers. cowboys, cooks and mouse
maids or should they be allowed 70 10
their own picturesque way, so that tl,ulr
native arts and customs VIII pc pre-
served unchanged?
This question threatens to become az
issue. with earnest supporters On pptl
sides Never, since we got done llEhL
ing the Indians has there been SO niuG.
interest in them as today. inns .t tt1ii
EST originates and centers IN arustlc
and scientific circles, but is shared 10
y great extent by the general pupllc,
which shows an increased TENDENCY "
patroniZe Indian art and TO puy piG
lures Of Indians ana DOCKS Ka aoOu' o S
All of the American INDIANS eAcept
the Pueblos are either civilized, on the
road TO civilization, extinct or on ine
road to extinction. 1ntermarrlage WIN
the whites or with Mexicans IS raploiy
wiping them out as a distinct race III
the limited states But the Pueblos are
in different case, There are sever, OF
eight thousand of them. and they I'VE
in some 20-odd towns, called pueoloS'
in New Mexico and Arizona. More
over, they have been living IN th ,eS
same towns, or in towns JuSt Ik te
centuries they have lived much as
thev live today. The Spaniards con-
ouered them, and made them accept the
Christian faith. But they retained also
their heather faith unimpaired. Ihey
are perhaps the only people on eartn
which processes two religions Wllhout
any difficulty or embarrassment Alq
their lives are to an amazing extent
unchanged Not only are their houses
similar to those they lived in when
| Coronado came to Taos in the sixteenth
century; they are often the very same
houses, Their clothing has been modl-
! fled little in material but not much
| in color scheme or general appearance;
| They still preserve all of their tribal
! customs as to marriage, burial and
| tribal rule. Although they never go to
war. they still dance war dance, ana
although the buffalo and the antelope
| have vanished. they still have dances
! in honor of these creatures. at which
! buffalo and antelope robes many de-
| cades old are used They are the
greatest conservatives on earth. When
it comes to resisting change. the
stand pat Republicans might take les
Naturally, they are very2 pictures
| que They are Of immense interest to
artists and scientists and writer's. A
! large colony of such persons has been
formed at Santa Fe, New Mexico,
|
country, and another one has been
| formed at Taos. Pictures of the Fueb-
| los painted in these places are now to
be seen in all of the principal Eastern
galleries, and many of the great East
ern museums have representatives In
the Southwest.
These scientists and artists hate to
see any thing done which tends to i'm
pair the picturesQueness of the Indian
Not only do they wish to keep him
unspoiled as a subject for study and
art but they assert that he has an art
of his own which Is well worth pre-
serving, and Which will be lost if he is
civilized The Indians make pottery
baskets, and blankets. which are beau
tiful and are now to be seen in al
parts Of the country. Authorities say
that some of this art especially The
pottery and the blankets. is the bes
of its kind that is being done in the
United States today. They say it |,
wrong and foolish to convert the In
dian to our civilization. when he has {
, civilization of his own which Is capabl,
Of producing more beautiful objects o
, art than ours.
Furthermore, they argue that the In
dian has right to his own life.
= the rights of small nations and OF CD
pressed people, for which we are sup
posed to have gone to war mean any
thing at all they mean that tn
-
4 own life. That is what he wants to dc
e He does not welcome change and doe
= not pretend to. He is extremely peace
full and will not fight with anybody II
I is good natured and obliging, and
S always willing to pose for an artist. 3
[ 20 let a linCuist explore the inside o
e his mouth to see how he talks. For
g taCtful arCheologist, he will tell owe
the folk tales which have come down I
him from his forefathers. But he doe
not care for modern agricultural meth
DDS, He does not want to give up hi
4 ancient ways. nor does he like to Sc
N his sons and daughters lured away fror
= the ancestral pueblo to become ser
Il wants in towns.
:, Each Of these Indian villages, argu
u the advocates Of the leave them alon
policy il. a little nation, with a life c
0 its own 70 which it has Just as good
$ right as any other little nation. Tn
c Pueblos are a distinctive people, an
:. | have a right to remain so II the
- choose. which they do.
e The negative in this debate is take
(. by Cato Sells commissioner of India
c affairs, and by most If not all of hi
. agents In the field. who have charg
r Of the work OF educating the Indians
II Mr.. Sells does not pretend to be pr
Il | MARTY student of Indian art or arch
5 eology, but he does claim 10 be
true friend OF the Indian And u mul