1930 - It took nearly 6 years of touring, but 5 Hopi men saved their Snake Dance.. and the right to host it themselves.
1929 Smoki
1929, May 19 Oakland Tribune |
1929, June 2 Arizona Republic |
1929, July 7 St Louis Post Dispatch |
1930 - The Hopi Indian Show Troupe is finally returning home. Here they are (below) with Vice President Charles Curtis of the Kaw Nation (our first and only US Vice President American Indian).
The article states that the quintet --- Kashwarzra, Setalla, Lomahaftewa, Chief Kolchovtewa, Soloftouche ---- performed in front of five million people, traveling more than 56,000 miles. They left March, 1924, and "were successful in saving for the Hopi tribe the right to dance the snake dance, which is a prayer for rain."
1930, Jan 5 Arizona Republic |
So, in 1930, Kashwarzra, Setalla, Lomahaftewa, Chief Kolchovtewa, and Soloftouche saved their dance. The Hopi were able to perform without obstruction. And still, the Smoki continued. They once claimed they were preserving the dance FOR the Hopi... but this reason is no longer valid. Would they stop?
NO. In 1931 the dance was just too profitable for these business men.
1931, Aug 2 The Ogden Standard Examiner |
1931, Aug 16 The Philadelphia Inquirer |
1932 - The Hopi start preparing for their August Snake Dance.
1932, July 16 Clovis News Journal |
1934, April 15 Arizona Republic |
Kate T Cory - early 1900s - around the time she lived with the Hopis and was gathering their sacred ceremonies. |
June 3, 1934. Arizona Republic.
Notice how the ads sell the savagery and barbarism of the Hopi (Smoki) people
The caption says A "REAL SNAKE DANCE."
Total cultural appropriation.
1934, June 24 The Des Moines Register |