1984, July "It's entertainment.." "When the drum and chanted started I reverted to an Indian." (Said a non-Indian)

A. Smoki, (not his real name) runs a successful business in Prescott. He also plays Indian. ... He belongs to the Smoki "tribe" which each year presents a program of Indian rites to "preserve, perpetuate and interpret ancient Indian folklore." The Smoki People have claimed the Smoki Snake Dance as their own, ever since they performed a burlesque on the Hopi Snake Dance during a 1921 community fund raiser.

The Snake ceremony is the identity and duty of the Hopi snake clan, dating back to prehistoric times. 

....  (The Smoki) research old Smithsonian Institution enthnology reports which, they state in their program, qualifies them to produce next-to-authentic re-creations of age-old Indian ceremonies in a widely-advertised pageant which has become a Prescott tourist attraction. ...

The Hopi Snake dance is the climax of the sacredness of a 16-day secret ceremony performed by Snake priests for life-giving rain. It is the only part viewed by the public.... 

This year the Smoki will present their 64th Annual Ceremonies... in defiance of the expressed wishes of the Hopis and other Indians.

"The Smoki cause a great deal of misunderstanding in doing this charade," says Don Decker, a San Carlos Apache Indian asd past coordinator of Indian Affairs at Yavapai Community College in Prescott. "The ceremonials perpetuate misinformation. You would never find for example, a Navajo playing a pueblo drum, thumping to the cadence of a Hollywood war chant while an Apache "maiden" dances for her puberty rite."

This year's Smoki Ceremonials will include a presentation of the Yaquis' sacred Deer Dance performed by Mexicans from Prescott's sister city of Caborca, a pictograph sequence, an Indian Hoop Dance, a Smoki Water Spirit Dance and the Smoki Snake Dance.

Yaqui Anselmo Valencia has issued the following statement: "As spiritual leader of the Yaqui tribe, I strongly object to anyone not being Yaqui representing us in a Yaqui dance."

But it is the Hopi people who have voiced the most complaints. They must fulfill their sacred Snake rite knowing that it is being annually copied in the Smoki Ceremonials. They live, too, with the knowledge that a Smoki museum houses replicas of Hopi culture that according to the Hopis should not be displayed. Abbott Sekaquaptewa, former chairman of the Hopi Tribal Council, explains: "The Hopis believe the authority to conduct these sacred ritual ceremonies is divinely granted. If it is done, it is a violation of the purpose and sacred nature of the ceremony, which is to provide for the well-being of all people."

The Smokis deny any wrongdoing. They feel they are preserving Indian customs by giving non-Indians a chance to see a glimpse of an Indian ritual. For the Smokis, the Ceremonials are a stage; playing Indian is their part. "It's no different than playing Hamlet," says Smoki Stand Lehman, a Prescott attorney, "I'm not making fun of anyone's religion."

1984, July 15 Arizona Republic 

"It's entertainment," agrees Gail Gardner, the Smokis only living charter member, "but," he adds, "when I was outfitted in my Snake costume it was serious business. When the drum and chanting started I reverted to an Indian. I was making rain." ....

"It's hurtful to the Hopi people when others, without regard for the Hopi people's feelings, and their religious beliefs, just pick out these ritual performances and then use them for their own non-religious purposes," says Abbott Sekaquaptewa.

"We don't try to understand the Indian's religion," admits Lehman. "We are more interested in the execution of the dances."

Senator Barry Goldwater.. is perhaps the Smoki's most well known member. He was initiated in the late 1930's, danced in several ceremonials (he narrated performances and had the Smoki tattoo. He said:) "...unless they registered extreme displeasure, we could keep on doing it." 

But the Hopis HAVE registered extreme displeasure in the form of written and oral complaints. Frustrated, they wonder what more they can do that does not conflict with their own non-aggressive standards of proper conduct.....

Within the last six years the Hopis have met directly with the Smokis, once in Prescott in 1978 and twice at Second Mesa in 1980. ..... After hearing the Hopis' requests that the Smokis stop imitating their Snake dance, the Smokis explained that their Snake dance was "a dance the Smoki does with snakes, and so far as that is concerned, that is the only similarity between the Smoki and the Hop dances."

... College professor Vernon Taylor sums up the problem as he sees it"

"Whites have stopped their black-face minstral shows because it was offensive to Black people. Whites have stopped their Charlie Chan portrayals of Orientals because it was offensive to Oriental peoples. Whites may not understand why it is so offensive to play Indian, but Indian peoples have asked them to stop. Isn't that reason enough?"