Bookshelf

Inquiries about any of these titles should be directed to the book publisher not ARIZONA HIGHWAYS.

OF EARTH AND LITTLE RAIN: THE PAPAGO INDIANS.

By Bernard L. Fontana, with photographs by John P. Schaefer. Northland Press, P.O. Box N, Flagstaff, AZ 86002. 1981. 140 p. $27.50, hardcover.

For more than 25 years, the author, a University of Arizona ethnologist, has lived within a few feet of the San Xavier Indian Reservation and has had many close ties with the Papago. Little wonder, then, that he can present so skillfully the history from Spanish contact to today of these friendly, unassuming, adaptable residents of an arid region that straddles the U.S.Mexican border. Just as eloquently, photographer and former University of Arizona president John Schaefer interprets the Papaguería in color and black and white with magnificent depth and clarity. Together, this team, who also produced Tarahumara, published by Northland, gives us an unsurpassed insight into the Papago world, past and present.

THE DESERT SMELLS LIKE RAIN: A NATURALIST IN PAPAGO INDIAN COUNTRY.

By Gary Paul Nabhan. North Point Press, 850 Talbot Ave., Berkeley, CA 94706. 1982. 148 p. $12.50, hardcover.

The title reminds us of the regenerative qualities of the Sonoran Desert after a rain. No one knows this better than the author, an ethnobiologist and plant ecologist. In his often humorous, always perceptive view of the land of the Papago Indians, he shares with his readers the traditional Papago way of life - that of utilizing desert plants and floodwater farming to sustain a modest yet quite adequate existence in a fragile, arid land. Nabhan reflects upon some of the Papago legends and the difficulties of a tribe living on both sides of the international border. Forays of the author and his Papago associates into the desert take us to a saguaro wineand rain-making ceremony and to the home of the mythical l'itoi, creator of the Papago people. Notes provide supplementary data and additional reading, and Black-and-white photos provide glimpses of an admirable people in a harsh but beautiful environment.

PAPAGOS AND POLITICS.

By Peter Blaine, Sr., as told to Michael S. Adams. Arizona Historical Society, 949 E. Second St., Tucson, AZ 85719. 1981. 145 p. $15.00, hardcover; $10.00, softcover.

Handsome, articulate Peter Blaine, Sr., now is in his 80s. Born in Tucson and educated off the reservation, he held a variety of jobs while assuming increasingly more important positions in Papago tribal affairs. His was the generation that saw the influx of Anglo occupation in the Gadsden Purchase, and with it, a myriad of changes and adjustments for the Papago. Michael Adams, a teacher on the reservation, sensed the significance of Blaine's many activities and his views as an elder. This autobiographical account evolved from Adams' oral history taping sessions with Blaine. Many black-and-white photos, notes, an index, and three maps by Don Bufkin support the narrative of a knowledgeable, caring man telling in his own words his interesting associations and educational, work, and political experiences in a cultural milieu few of us can visualize.

WHEN IT RAINS: PAPAGO AND PIMA POETRY.

Ofelia Zapeda, Editor. University of Arizona Press, Sunnyside Bldg., 250 E. Valencia, Tucson, AZ 85706. 1982. 82 p. $8.95, hardcover; $4.50 softcover.

For generations the Pima and Papago Indians have had an oral tradition that encompasses their heritage, culture, important events, and outlook. Only recently have written languages been developed, thanks to the aid and encouragement of linguists such as the editor of this publication and Professor Ken Hale of M.I.T., who wrote the afterword. Their labors have borne fine fruit - in this instance in the form of short bilingual "thoughts," or poems, about everyday life and occurrences, expressed simply, beautifully, with sensitivity by a number of Pima and Papago students and teachers. Readers of this seventh volume in the Sun Tracks American Indian Literary Series will enjoy these evocative verses and share in the excitement of experiencing two new Native American written languages.

A PIMA REMEMBERS.

By George Webb. University of Arizona Press, Sunnyside Bldg., 250 E. Valencia, Tucson, AZ 85706. 1982 reprint. 126 p. $7.50, softcover.

George Webb's gentle recollections of his childhood and Pima Indian lifeways and legends will doubtless endure forever. Now in its fifth printing since its initial publication in 1959, this deeply moving autobiography is the perfect introduction for younger Pimas to their culture and history and for those seeking to understand a transitional period for the Pimas after early Anglo occupation of the Southwest. Charmingly illustrated with animated rock art designs, this softcover edition contains a new introduction by anthropologist Edward Spicer.

THE PIMA AND HIS BASKET.

By J. F Breazeale. The Fur Press, Box 604, Chadron, ΝΕ 69337. 1982 reprint. 146 p. $6.00, softcover, plus $1.00 postage.

Originally published in 1923 by the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society, this highly personal, somewhat romantic discussion of Pima basketry and culture is still considered as an excellent source of data. Materials, techniques, designs, and evaluation and selection of baskets are treated in great detail. The author mentions the work of a number of the best basket makers of that era, many of whom he knew. The small black-and-white photos of Pima baskets, their makers, and their land of origin and the illustrations by Breazeale's two children are a vital part of this early study.

ADOBE SINGS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF POEMS BY PIMA INDIAN CHILDREN.

Edited by Mick Fedullo; Translated into Pima by Henrietta Pablo. Sacaton School District No. 18, P.O. Box 98, Sacaton, AZ 85247. 1981. 78 p. No charge, softcover.

Here is a handsome volume studded with illustrations of potsherds from Hohokam vessels excavated at nearby Snaketown Indian ruins. It is a bilingual gathering of poetry written by Pima teenage students in Mr. Fedullo's creative writing program. The diversity, imagination, and substance of these poems is quite impressive. Such creativity merits recognition; such fine work needs to be read and appreciated.

HOHOKAM INDIANS OF THE TUCSON BASIN.

By Linda M. Gregonis and Karl J. Reinhard. University of Arizona Press, Sunnyside Bldg., 250 E. Valencia, Tucson, AZ 85706. 1979. 48 p. $1.95, softcover.

Archeologists and ethnologists generally agree that the Hohokam Indians were ancestral to the Pima and Papago. In a brief summary of Tucson Basin archeology, the authors mention predecessors of the Hohokam, then discuss the Hohokam lifeway: crafts, technology, social organization, trade patterns, agriculture, and influences on the Southwest. Using the Hardy site in northeast Tucson as a model, Gregonis and Reinhard interpret the significance of archeological survey, excavation, and research. All of this explanation is carried out in an easily read, well-illustrated paperback complete with glossary and bibliography.