The Coconino sun., 1927-02-11

III 1NONCH.DGE garment ll%iltIlZ
club was organized at Leupp Indian
school with Mrs. j. E. Balmer, one of
the teachers, as leader, working in
cooperation with Miss Rosa Bouton,
home demonstration agent.
Five Navajo maidens registered as
members and elected Lucille Be Kitty
Begay, one Of their members, pres
ident
On the agents first visit to Leupp,
Superintendent w. o. Roberts asked
for help in adapting the All club work
to the needs Of the Indian young
people, so that when Shey went back
to their life on the reservation they
could take with them something which
would help improve living conditions
among the Navajos. His idea was to
have the girls do actual work in a
hogan under the conditions in which
they will have to live when they go
back to the reservation. The agent
had to confess that the University
extension office had no program Of
work which would adequately meet
this need, but advised that the sewing
work be organized at once and that
the extension service would cooperate
in every possible way in devising plans
to meet the need which he had In
dieated
On February A Miss Bouton again
visited Leupp and to her delight found
that the leader, Mrs. Balmer, with
club girls was working out in ac-
cordance with Superintendent Roberts
idea, new, original and most in
teresting experiment.
On the agency grounds there had
been erected hogan Of cottonwood
logs, mostly covered on the outside
with dirt. This is the same kind
that the Navajos build on the reser-
walton. 1t has. five equal sides plus
one small side for the door, The top
is like a large inverted bowl with a
hole about two feet in diameter at the
top. Directly under this is the fire
place, which is literally a place for
fire and nothing more, as there are
no stoves or bricks, only the ground,
with few ashes left from the last
fire. The hogan is about Is feet in
diameter and perhaps 10 feet above
the ground at the circumference Of
the opening in the roof. Even the
agent had to sto0p to enter the door
1t is the custom OF the Navajos 70
sleep on sheep-szins on the ground
and to eat sitting on the ground floor
around the fire Accordingly, there
were no chairs in this hogan, but there
were benches for seats and a board
18 inches in width covered with oil
cloth and placed on boxes served as
a table. The cooking was done in a
-
the hogan. The most interesting
made of a dry goods box supported by
board was closed like wcmans
writing desk and opened in the same
way providing working surface or
table, supported by two legs which
rested against the front when the cup
board was closed. Plates, bowls, etc.
were on the shelves and all were neat
and clean. This piece Of furniture,
also the benches, and chest in which
the girls sewing materials were kept,
were made by the club girls assisted
by some Of the boys.
Mrs, Balmer said that these girls
helped in the large kitchen Of The !.
school and did mechanically what they
were told 60 do but had no idea OF
how TO carry on simple cooking oper-
atiors by themselves. They were
much pleased when they learned how
easily gravy could be made. They
were surprised and delighted to find
that they could make cookies from
dough dropped in the dutch oven.
Cookies as good as those they bought
at the store for 10 cents and so many
of them.
In teaching the cooking, Mrs. Bal
mer uses chiefly such food materials
rs they use on the reservation ard can
get at the Indian trading posts.
However, she is gradually introducing
such other food stnffs as whole wheat
flour and canned vegetables, which
they have not used, but should have
in their diet, hoping in time to create
demand which the traders will
supply.
The Navaios raise goats, a scrub
variety that give little milk. At the
school there is a herd Of some 200 or
more milk goats. Mrs. Balmer IS
teaching the girls to use this milk IN
their cooking and gradually intro
dueang the use of eggs. The Nava-
jos have d prejudice against the eat
ing of eggs and chickens as they
think there is a possibility of the
spirit of some of their ancestors
being in some of these. However,
this prejudice is not so strong in the
children and perhaps may be over
come
In addition to the five girls who
first registered for the garment
making work five more have enrolled
and all 10 have completed the sewing