The decades following the end of the Civil War in 1865 saw the emergence of the United States as the world’s leading industrial power. The railroad became a key symbol of industrialization, particularly in the American West and Southwest. As optimistic and forward thinking as many white Americans were towards their new destiny at the close of the nineteenth century, they longed for a simpler, spiritual place in harmony with nature. Many Americans became interested in patterns of life other than their own, particularly the Native American, who had recently been vanquished in the West in the name of white “civilization.” This is the focus of filmmaker T. C. McLuhan's book Dream Tracks: The Railroad and the American Indian, 1890-1930. Dream Tracks shows the railroads’ commoditization of Native American culture in the Southwest. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway was one of these railroads. In 1896, E. P. Ripley, the Santa Fe’s new president, announced the company’s focus on the natural heritage of America, the wilderness, and Indians in the face of bankruptcy and repairing the railroad’s image as a symbol of the abuses of late 19th century capitalism. During the 1890s the company brought many painters to the Southwest to re-create the picturesque scenery as a way to attract tourists. Painters and writers from all over of the United States traveled to Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico and formed an artist colony there, attracted to the Southwest for its beautiful landscapes and exotic blend of Native American and Hispanic cultures. In 1907 the Santa Fe Railway introduced a calendar alerting the public to a romantic Indian culture in the Southwest. The art portrayed Indians as living in a preindustrial society with freedom and harmony with nature. What is interesting is how famed restaurateur and businessman Fred Harvey (of the Fred Harvey Company) worked closely with the Santa Fe Railway. Harvey’s relationship with the company began in 1876, when he opened Harvey House, his first hotel, at Florence, Kansas, on the railroad line. Harvey opened restaurants along the railroad and was not charged rent and started a number of hotels, including the La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe and the El Tovar at the Grand Canyon. In these ways, Harvey (in conjunction with the Santa Fe Railway) helped “brand the Southwest.” The greatest strength of McLuhan's book is its extensive collection of art and photography of Native Americans from the William E. Kopplin Collection. Artists distorted photos by the use of hand-coloring. By adding color to the monochrome image, the picture looked more real, heightening the viewer’s perception. Until modern color photography became available for the general public in the late 1930s, hand-colorists satisfied the demand for colored photos (many artists were portrait painters who were out of work as a result of photography). These photographers captured many Southwest Native American customs, including the Hopi Snake Dance ceremony. Interestingly, many Hopi Indians refused to be photographed, believing that it would bring bad luck, shorten their lives, and ultimately lead to certain death. Her book’s images are excellent historical sources that display not only Native American life in the Southwest but how white Americans distorted Indian culture to reflect their own romantic views. McLuhan, T. C., Dream Tracks: The Railroad and the American Indian, 1890-1930. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1985.
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CategoriesAuthorTom Schmidt lives in Prescott Valley, AZ. Archives
October 2018
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October 2018
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