THE HOPI SNAKE-DANCE 75 



make it in such fashion that when the change 

 is accompHshed we shall find that the original 

 and valuable elements in the Indian culture 

 have been retained, so that the new citizens 

 come with full hands into the great field of 

 American life, and contribute to that life some- 

 thing of marked value to all of us, something 

 which it would be a misfortune to all of us to 

 have destroyed. 



As an example, take the case of these Hopi 

 mesa towns, perched in such boldly picturesque 

 fashion on high, sheer-walled rock ridges. Many 

 good people wish to force the Hopis to desert 

 these towns, and live in isolated families in nice 

 tin-roofed houses on the plains below. I be- 

 Heve that this would be a mistake from the 

 standpoint of the Indians — not to mention de- 

 priving our country of something as notable and 

 as attractive as the castles that have helped 

 make the Rhine beautiful and famous. Let the 

 effort be to insist on cleanHness and sanitation 

 in the villages as they are, and especially to 

 train the Indians themselves to insist thereon; 

 and to make it easier for them to get water. 

 In insisting on cleanliness, remember that we 

 preach a realizable ideal; our own ancestors 

 lived in villages as filthy not three centuries 

 ago. The breezy coolness of the rocky mesa 



