The Coconino sun., 1923-08-17
To the Editor Coconino Sun,
Iala..n4nf. 4 ,.iun,nn

To the Editor Coconino Sun,
Flagstaff, Arizona.
Dear Sir: / was much interested IN
letter from Otto Lomavito, relative
/ to the recent action of The Bureau OF
! Indian Affairs in ruling against or
/ rather tending to discourage Indian
ceremonial dances.
AS q member of the executive COM
i mittee of the Indian Welfare league
Of Los Angeles, composed of such men
and women as Edward S. Curtis, Ma
rah Ellis Ryan, Stewart Edward
4 White, William S. Hart, William Jen-
nings Bryan, Jr., and Ida May Adams,
and as executive secretary Of the
National Association to Help the In
dian, composed of James Willard
4 Schultz, Eugene Manlove Rhodes and
other ladies and gentlemen interested
in things Indian, and as member, by
adoption, by Chief Tewaquaptewa OF
\ Oraibi, Of the Hopis, / have given con-
siderable thought to the condition Of
our American Indians and to the. Ho-
pis in particular May | take the
liberty of stating conditions on the
Hopi reservation as / see them?
The situation on the Hopi reserva-
tion is rather unique. The Hopis are
net in danger of losing their lands
as have many other tribes. They are
not in danger of being slowly starved
to deaths as are the Blaclfeet, but they
are. in danger of losing their souls.
The policy of the bureau Of Indian
affairs as lar as the Hopis are con-
cerned is to in every possible way
break up the old tribal relationships.
! In this the bureau has the hearty sup
port of the reservation missionaries,
For centuries the H0pis have been as
sailed by the missionaries without any
Improbable success. The number .of
Christian Indians is very small indeed.
One of the first plans was to scat
ter the Hopis off the mesa tops and
out on the plain among their corn
paintings If this scheme had worked
it would have most effectively broken
up all tribal relationships and would
have made it much easier for the mis-
sionaries to make converts, for the
tribal religion would have lost much
Of its hold. None of the old ceremon-
ial dsalces could have been carried
out. However, the Hopis stuck to the
mesa tops and the scheme was aban-
doned. However, every once in while
we hear OF, it again as some new agent
gets on the job. One effective argu-
ment against this plan is that the
Hopis are continually shifting their
corn paintings to take advantage Of
moist spots suitable for corn growing
Al more successful plan has been
working slowly during the past few
!. years and has caused a great dealIof
unhappiness and strife among the H0-
pis. This is the scheme .to. .encUurage
the mesa dwellers to move down from
the mesa tops and live in the houses
snrroaMIjng tine school and other
/. agency buildings.
The families that have moved down
have bee@nqgSt diligent IN criticism
and poking fun at the more conserVa-
tive Indians living the old villages
. above. By showing favoTitiSm iT
fawa7fsing contracts, etc, it has been
s easgffor the Indian agents to show
!. fagsfitism to the below-the-mesa Ho-
PTS and in StElis way bring pressure te
bear against the conservatives of the
mesa tops to move down and give 8ur
their old customs and ceremonies.
!. The unfortunate H0pis who have
rnoyeds down are far from happy. They
try to ape the white man in every
possible way without having either the
aptitude or the wherewithal to do it
The sanitary condition of the hopes
/. of the below-the-nlesa dwelIers is very
bad indeed in comparison with the
houses on the mesa top where there is
. more sunshine and where the dry
winds keep the villages free from
plaques.
The Hopi should be encouraged te
live his own life in his own way--a
way evolved by him through centuries
Of adaptation to environment. A Hop
can never be a white man. His whole
background too effectively bars him
. from assimilating the latter's methods
. of life and thought The fact thai
|. there are few, a very few, more o.
. less parasitical individuals who.super-
. ficiallv try to disprove this state
. ment does not affect the truth as fan
as the Hopi people as whole are
concerned.
The bungling OF the Indian bureau
|. in its dealings with scores of other In
. dian tribes is too well known to war.
. rant mention here, but the time is moi
. yet past when the Hopis can be savet
from the fate suffered by these Other
. tribes, many OF which have been bro
. ken up and completely wiped out.
The Hopi has practical system Of
. government that will work effec'
. lively and we'll without any white
. mans interference. He has religion
. that he can comprehend and that suits
I his religious needs; he is self-support
ing, a good citizen of his village; ht
makes a good parent and il left alone
would be happy and contented. i
certain Of the younger Hopis desire <
become Christians let them do so. w
: Americans are proud Of our country :;
title, "The Land OF Liberty" Let Us
give liberty to the only real Amer
cans, the American Indian.
{ The reservation system as worked
under the bureau OF. Indian affairs j.
blot on the record Of our country
II we heard of such treatment in an!
other country, we would be terribly
concerned but as is often said, "famil
iarity breeds contempt and the fac
that right here in northern Arizons
there is a people kept under such au
49, II. A. IL II ID ~