How the World Moves
The Odyssey of an American Indian Family
-
- $4.99
-
- $4.99
Publisher Description
A compelling portrait of cultural transition and assimilation via the saga of one Acoma Pueblo Indian family
Born in 1861 in New Mexico’s Acoma Pueblo, Edward Proctor Hunt lived a tribal life almost unchanged for centuries. But after attending government schools he broke with his people’s ancient codes to become a shopkeeper and controversial broker between Indian and white worlds. As a Wild West Show Indian he travelled in Europe with his family, and saw his sons become silversmiths, painters, and consultants on Indian Lore. In 1928, in a life-culminating experience, he recited his version of the origin myth of Acoma Pueblo to Smithsonian Institution scholars.
Nabokov narrates the fascinating story of Hunt’s life within a multicultural and historical context. Chronicling Pueblo Indian life and Anglo/Indian relations over the last century and a half, he explores how this entrepreneurial family capitalized on the nation’s passion for Indian culture. In this rich book, Nabokov dramatizes how the Hunts, like immigrants throughout history, faced anguishing decisions over staying put or striking out for economic independence, and experienced the pivotal passage from tradition to modernity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1928, Edward Proctor Hunt, a Pueblo Indian, recounted to Smithsonian Institution scholars the previously secret origin story of his community. This volume, published in tandem with Nabokov's new edition of Hunt's account, places Hunt's narrative in the context of his family's travels throughout the U.S. and Europe as performers in "Wild West" shows and as participants in the development of a growing fascination with the indigenous cultures of the American Southwest. Nabokov (Where the Lightning Strikes) produces a vibrant and heartrending picture of traditional Pueblo Indian life, which at Hunt's birth in 1861 seemed to be "timeless and reliable," though would soon suffer irrevocable changes as a result of warfare and white expansionism. More poignant is Nabokov's depiction of Hunt's multiple estrangements from his culture: first as a student at Duranes Indian Training School in Albuquerque, then as a struggling farmer and as a "fantasy of a native potentate from the golden West," and finally as an anthropologist's informant and "popularizer of native wisdom" and "Indian Lore." Nabokov's painstaking yet irregular narration may alienate some readers, but others will be fascinated by his story of a man who saw his culture drastically altered by its encounters with the forces of scholarship and tourism. Illus.
