Our Indians

In this issue we bring you our Indians and their land. Material which we have omitted would fill ten volumes. We have only touched pictorially on a few of our tribes Navajos, Hopis, Maricopas, Papagos, Apaches and Havasupais. We leave to some future volume a presentation of the Hualpais, the Mohaves, the Cocopahs, the Pimas, the Chemehuevis, and later, too, we will tell you of those proud refugees from Mexico, the Yaquis, who for liberty's sake came to our state to live as a little nation within a nation. We have not dipped into the pots of anthropology and archeaology to bring you learned discourse on the Indian as a scientific specimen, as if the mechanism that makes him tick were different from that of the rest of us. We will not hurl at you profound explanations of the Indian and his pagan religion, nor explain in unbeautiful and sententious language the mystery and meaning of his beautiful ceremonies. We scarcely mention the history of these peoples. Where they came from in antiquity is of no concern of ours in this volume of pictures. Their valiant battle against European civilization that lasted nearly three centuries we mention merely in passing. Good books could be written on the contributions of Indian civilization to ours, and whole volumes could be filled on the effects of our civilization on the Indian. We could, perhaps, submerge you in a discussion of the Indian policy of the U. S. government how it is weak and how it is strong. And we might hazard a few opinions on what will eventually happen to the Indian but your opinion is as good as ours. We concern ourselves only with a few pictures of an interesting people living in an interesting land, in the hope that when you follow your trails westward you will play the gypsy role and visit another people, another land, another century. In many ways the Indians have changed since the days of Coronado. Yet in other ways the dreamy centuries have scarcely left a mark. Of all things, perhaps that is the greatest charm of our Indians their simplicity, their utter changelessness. When you travel the trails into their lonely lands, approach them as you would approach any friendly people, because you will find them hospitable, always interesting, and you will find their land colorful and different from any lands you have ever seen. We invite you to visit our Indians and their land. The great, modern highways of Arizona touch almost all of the reservations and many miles of the Arizona highway system roll serenely through picturesque Indian land like ribbons of modern travel taking you into Yesterdays that have never changed and apparently never will.... R. C.