Cultural Persistence in Plain Sight, 1898-Present

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF INDIANNESS: CULTURAL PERSISTENCE IN PLAIN SIGHT, 1898-PRESENT A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By JOSH CLOUGH Norman, Oklahoma 2012 PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF INDIANNESS: CULTURAL PERSISTENCE IN PLAIN SIGHT, 1898-PRESENT A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE GRADUATE COLLEGE BY ______________________________ Dr. Joe Watkins, Chair ______________________________ Dr. Paula Conlon ______________________________ Dr. Joshua Piker ______________________________ Dr. Gus Palmer, Jr. ______________________________ Dr. Mary Jo Watson © Copyright by JOSH CLOUGH 2012 All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………..........1 CHAPTER ONE: Presenting Culture on an International Stage: The 1898 Omaha World’s Fair…………………………………………………………..16 CHAPTER TWO: An Assimilationist Policy Gone Awry: Perpetuating Culture at the Cheyenne-Arapaho Indians Fairs, 1910-1913…………............50 CHAPTER THREE: Presenting Ourselves: The Growth of the American Indian Exposition from a Local to a National Event, 1933-1937…………….86 CHAPTER FOUR: Beauty and Cultural Knowledge to Boot: The Miss Indian America Pageant and the Persistence of Native Identity……………………119 CHAPTER FIVE: Living Like It Was 1699: Recreating and Inhabiting an Ancient Cherokee Village in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, 1960-1985…………...141 CHAPTER SIX: Carrying the Torch for His People . Well, Almost: Amazing But True Tales of a Professional Indian Dancer………………….181 CHAPTER SEVEN: Conclusions…….…………………………..………...212 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………...223 NOTES…...………………………………………………………………….237 iv ABSTRACT This work examines the ways in which various American Indian groups and individuals have presented aspects of their cultures publicly over the last century, especially at events and venues considered to be non-Indian in origin. The intersection of American popular culture and Indigenous cultural representation presents unique opportunities to explore important issues that Native American people have faced over the last hundred years—assimilation policies of the federal government, retention of traditional cultural practices, and combating stereotypes of Indians created by the dominant society, to name just a few. Exhibits of Indian products (and Indians themselves) at fairs and expositions are beginning to receive the scholarly attention they deserve because of the copious coverage of them by the press and the window into contemporary Native life that they offer. For this study, the involvement of Indian people in three distinct fairs—the 1898 Omaha Exposition, the Cheyenne-Arapaho Indian Fair, and the American Indian Exposition—is explored to demonstrate the degree to which the Native participants both shaped and were shaped by these events. The latter chapters of the dissertation focus on the issues of Indigenous representation in Indian princess pageants, tourist villages, and dance exhibitions. It is safe to say that many Americans, to the extent that they have any concept of Native Americans at all, have formed their views of American Indians to a great extent on how they have encountered them on vacation, at v school, or at some public place outside of a Native community. How “authentic” is this image, though, given the out-of-context performances that are being presented? Issues of cultural concessions and cultural revitalization, as well as Native control of their own image, are examined to better understand the notion of representation from the representatives themselves. I conclude the dissertation with a description of how Indian tribes and individuals today are using public dance performances to perpetuate, reinvigorate, and/or recreate aspects of their cultures. As well, the use of performance to reintroduce culture to individuals detached from their respective tribes will be discussed to demonstrate that dance can and does have the power to heal. vi INTRODUCTION American Indians have been “on display” for non-Indian viewers since the time Europeans first encountered them more than five centuries ago. Taken captive and brought back to European seats of power, these Indigenous “trophies” represented ocular evidence of discoveries of new and exotic lands and made Europeans feels more certain about their own level of civilization vis-à-vis that of the apparently backward children of nature. Non-Indian entrepreneurs soon began capitalizing on the widespread fascination with Indians by importing them to Italy, France, England, Germany, Spain, and Portugal for show purposes. Some of these early Native showpersons came willingly, while others were coerced or duped into going. By the late 1800s, the stream of Indian performers had become a veritable torrent as large-scale circuses and Wild West shows hired them in droves to re-enact historical episodes from the passing of the West and to sing, dance, and live in tipi villages as audiences assumed all Native Americans did. Native people also began, in the latter half of the nineteenth century, to carve out a performance niche for themselves that did not require lengthy tours abroad. In addition to joining numerous domestic traveling shows, they became de rigueur attractions at fairs of all sizes, non-Indian civic celebrations, and at amusement parks. Not coincidently, this homegrown demand for Indigenous talent coincided with the placing of tribes on reservations where 1 their military threat was, at least theoretically, contained. Once whites no longer feared Indian attacks, a pressure valve was released in their collective psyche that allowed them to enjoy Native Americans as sources of entertainment and curiosity on a more intimate level than had heretofore been possible. As historian Clyde Ellis explains, “It was rather like seeing animals at the circus: encountering the same animals in the wild would have been cause for panic; displaying them as exhibits under the control of white masters, however, released audiences from their fears and allowed them to trade their apprehension for a voyeuristic gaze.”1 As nostalgia for the Old West grew, so too did the opportunities for Indian entertainers. The rise of the motion picture industry and transportation advances in the first-quarter of the twentieth century made Indians more accessible than ever before, both on the screen and closer to home at public events. Some of the first Native cultural performers, such as Te Ata Fisher and Molly Spotted Elk, emerged at this time and made careers out of teaching Native ways to primarily non-Indian audiences. Teams of Native American baseball, basketball, and football players; musical bands made up entirely of Indians; and even Indigenous magicians and roller skaters crisscrossed the country to capitalize on the public’s seemingly insatiable appetite for Indians in any and all forms. As paved roads and automobiles became part of the American landscape, so too did the ubiquitous tourist trap. Many of these attractions were either Indian themed and/or employed actual Indians to entice 2 weary travelers to stop, rest, and enjoy what the First Americans had to offer. Over time, these tourist villages, with substantial modifications, became the tribal cultural centers of the 1950s and 1960s and which have proliferated recently among Indigenous peoples across the country. The Great Depression and then World War II landed dual blows to Indian entertainers as traveling shows by the hundreds ceased operation. Some performers struck out on their own and a few found jobs at large-scale amusement parks that blossomed during the Cold War era, but most novelty acts simply faded away. Both individuals and groups, veterans of the increasingly visible and widespread intertribal powwow circuit, though, began to earn money by making appearances at schools, parks, and governmental institutions, performing Indian dances and explaining Indian cultures to a new generation of both Native and non-Native viewers. Venues such as fairs and civic celebrations continued to be viable options for Indian performers; the fact that tribes themselves began operating rodeos and fairs demonstrated a conscious effort to assume greater control over their image and to keep more of the financial rewards for themselves. Many of the aforementioned cultural performance forms and venues continue to be viable today, albeit with alterations born of increased Indian control over their own presentation, changes in both Native and non-Indian performance mediums over time, and the commitment of tribal monies to cultural retention and cultural tourism programs. Remaining constant, 3 however, seems to be the core reasons why Indian performers choose to present aspects of their cultures publicly: to educate and break down stereotypes, to meet new people and travel, to act as spokespersons for their tribes and families, and, to a lesser degree, to earn money. Few of these cultural conduits, either historically or today, have been able to make a living at “being Indian,” but that has not stopped them from doing what they love to do. The state of Oklahoma, the nation, and even other countries have been the beneficiaries of this rich performance tradition, and the way things look, there is every reason to believe that public Indian entertainers will continue to enlighten and entertain for the foreseeable future. The manner in which Native people have navigated the often murky waters of American popular culture forms the underpinning of this work. While

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