Briefly described below are some of the events of 100 years ago—in 1922—relating to American Indian art, sports, and education.
Art
The concept of a discrete category called American Indian Art is a western concept which was refined during the twentieth century. Traditionally, American Indians had improved the aesthetics of the things they made, but they did not conceptualize art as something separate from function. In his book Native Arts of North America, Christian Feest writes:
“None of the native languages of North America seem to contain a word that can be regarded as synonymous with the Western concept of art, which is usually seen as something separable from the rest of daily life.”
As non-Indians encountered Indians, they often acquired (through purchase, trade, gifting, or theft) some of the artifacts that Indians had made. These were then displayed in cabinets of curiosities in homes, offices, and natural history museums. Neither Indians nor non-Indians classified these objects as art, and most non-Indian collectors simply considered them to be examples of Indian crafts. The items displayed in these cabinets of curiosities were items that Indian people had made for their own use and today’s art historians would classify them as examples of tribal art.
By 1922, the increase in tourism, particularly in New Mexico, had an impact on Indian art. As tourists encountered Indians, they wanted to buy souvenirs. The Indians, in response to market demand, began to make traditional items not for tribal use, but for sale to the tourists. As with any entrepreneurial enterprise, the Indian craftspeople paid attention to what sold and what did not and thus began to make more of the items which sold well. In addition, non-Indian traders who sold Indian crafts often made suggestions to the craftspeople regarding designs, styles, and colors. Thus, the non-Indian tourist stereotypes of what was Indian and what was not began to shape the Indian art market.
The Santa Fe, New Mexico, Indian Market was established which provided a market for Indian arts and crafts. According to historian Carter Jones Meyer, in her chapter in Selling the Indian: Commercializing and Appropriating American Indian Cultures:
“This new venture aimed to bolster the Indians’ economies through the exhibition and sale of their best arts and crafts.”
She goes on to note:
“Competition was a foreign concept to the Indians, but organizers of the fair either disregarded this fact or believed it was an important first step in modernizing the Pueblos’ economies.”
In Gallup, New Mexico, the first Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial was held. The celebration, called an Indian Pageant and Exposition, was intended to pay tribute to Indian peoples as well as serving as a tourist attraction.
American Indian art in 1922 was generally considered to be a form of craft, rather than “fine” art, and was often ignored by art museums. This was, however, beginning to change due to the influence of cubism and surrealism art movements. Some art museums began to display American Indian pieces as works of art.
The Milwaukee Public Museum placed a Haida totem pole on the lawn in front of the renaissance-style building which it shared with the public library. Many opposed the pole, and one non-Indian sculptor felt that Indian art should not be placed before a classically inspired building. One city alderman called the totem pole a “hideous object,” but after much debate and discussion, the pole stayed.
Education
The policies guiding the education of Indian children in 1922 focused primarily on assimilation—destroying all vestiges of Indian culture and forcing Indian children into the mold of what educators believed to be the model of “Americanism.” To do this, schools prohibited the speaking of Indian languages, wearing Indian clothing, long hair on boys, and symbols of Indian culture.
In New Mexico, a circular sent to all Indian day schools by C.J. Crandall, the head of the Northern Pueblo Agency, said:
“I recommend and trust that this freehand and uninstructed drawing be abolished and that no pictures of Indian dances, Indian customs, warriors, etc., be permitted to be encouraged.”
In Montana, 35 girls ran away from the Fort Peck Boarding school due to the actions of the head matron. In his chapter in The History of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana, 1800-2000, Joseph McGeshick writes:
“She acted extremely sickly and also referred to the girls as ‘devils’ and ‘tramps.’”
Joseph McGeshick describes that matron as “a Chippewa who proved to be narrow-minded and hot-tempered.”
Sports
During the early twentieth century, Indian boarding schools, such as the Carlisle Indian School, encouraged sports as a mechanism of assimilation. In the 1912 Olympics, Sauk and Fox athlete Jim Thorpe (1887-1953) had obtained fame by winning the pentathlon and decathlon. President William H. Taft proclaimed:
“Your victory will serve as an incentive to all to improve those qualities which characterize the best type of American citizenship.”
Jim Thorpe was probably the most famous Indian athlete in the United States. He attended Carlisle Indian School where he played football and participated in track. He played professional football and was the first president of the American Professional Football Association, which later became the National Football League.
In 1922 he helped establish the first all-Indian professional football team, the Oorang Indians. The team was a promotional vehicle for Walter Lingo who owned the Oorang Airedale Kennels. According to archaeologist David Hurst Thomas, in his book Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity:
“Throughout their brief and colorful history, the Oorang Indians drew sellout crowds and provided the fledgling National Football League with a badly needed public relations boost.”
Indians 101
This series, posted on Daily Kos on Tuesdays and Thursdays, presents a variety of American Indian topics. More twentieth-century histories from this series:
Indians 101: Indian nations 100 years ago, 1922
Indians 101: American Indian religions 100 years ago, 1922
Indians 101: American Indian art 100 years ago, 1921
Indians 101: Popular culture, stereotypes, crafts 100 years ago, 1920
Indians 101: American Indian Art in 1918
Indians 101: Hopi Indians as tourist attractions in the early 20th century
Indians 101: Indians, Iwo Jima, and the American Flag
Indians 101: California Indians Lose Their Home