1904: The imitation Red Man seemed to elicit a stronger interest [than "real Indians]. Probably it was due to the entertainment human nature finds in drawing comparisons.

At a time when the Order of the Red Men was a popular fraternity - and playing Indian was a popular pastime - "Five thousand Red Men made Indians of themselves" and "thousands of men, women and children applauded their antics." 

These "Red Men" were often prestigious white men - doctors, lawyers, self-proclaimed Indian chiefs - and they decided that they were to preserve the ways of the vanishing and dying Native Americans. They had been imitating indigenous people since before the Boston Tea Party, and it was a part of popular culture for more than a hundred years - with it peaking from about 1890's through the 1930's. 

A June 17th, 1904, newspaper reported on an event with as many as ten thousand visitors. The 55th annual Order of the Red Men convention was in town, and they paraded - in costume - through Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

The article read:
"Harrisburg had not seen such a parade in fifteen years. It was an innovation. "Wild West" shows with their real Indians couldn't hold a candle to it. The imitation Red Man seemed to elicit a stronger interest. Probably it was due to the entertainment human nature finds in drawing comparisons. If bona fide warriors had seen some of the specimens in yesterday's novel parade they would have turned green with envy. The majority of the members of the Independent Order of Red Men knew how to produce greater effects with rouge, pigments, feathers and blankets than the natives of the plains ever dreamed of. 

          "There were braves who executed the war dance with unusual vigor and vim, no doubt to the stimulating effect of "fire water." The presence of a number of these over-zealous and ultra-enthusiastic Red Men somewhat marred the orderly precision of the line of march at times.

          "There were imitation Indians in line who, with their hideously-painted faces and their gaudy costumes presented anything but a peaceful and harmless picture even as they walked along silently. "Sitting Bull," compared to some of them was a fascinating figure, and "Geronimo," who is reputed to be the ugliest Indian in the country, could enter the lists at a beauty show with them and carry off first prize. 

          "Many of the "warriors" rushed in the crowds along the route, yelling and brandishing their weapons, it was done thoughtlessly, no doubt, but it frightened many children and mothers with babes in their arms who took them away to escape the dangers of having them go into convulsions." 

1904, June 17  The Courier 

Just two years before, the US government issued an order that called for male Indians "to cut their hair" and for both sexes "to stop painting" themselves. Their dances were prohibited and if they did not comply, they could be confined and forced to hard labor, and/or rations withheld. 

See the next post for more information: 

1904, June 17  The Courier