Adams] SHONTO: ROLE OF NAVAHO TRADER 247 



as in many other Navaho areas, so that its future potential may be 

 considerable. Television is absent throughout the area, and will have 

 to await the development of an inexpensive battery-powered receiving 

 set. 



The influence of Navahos themselves m introducing American cul- 

 ture into the community is difficult to assess. Use of alcoholic bev- 

 erages may be pointed out as a widespread American-derived trait 

 which has been introduced and spread by Navahos themselves in the 

 face of articulate disapproval by all Wliite contact institutions. On 

 the other hand Navaho drinking is American only in its ultimate 

 inspiration ; the actual behavior involved is in sharp contrast to Ameri- 

 can drinking habits (see "Recreation and Play," pp. 75-Y7). 



On the whole it seems likely that indirect cultural influence, trans- 

 mitted to the community from outside White institutions tlirough 

 Navahos, plays only a small part in the structure of culture contacts 

 at Shonto. None of the neighboring Navaho communities with which 

 it has frequent contact (see "Geography," pp. 32-33) have gone notice- 

 ably further than Shonto itself in the acceptance of White man's ways, 

 so that they do not furnish any sort of example. In sum, virtually 

 all of the cross-cultural influences which are exerted upon Shonto's 

 Navahos are exerted directly by the White contact institutions which 

 they encounter. 



The days are long past when Shonto Trading Post was the only 

 White institution in the community and its only effective contact with 

 the outside world. Modern Navahos have a wide variety of potential 

 points of culture contact both within and outside the community. The 

 most important of these are shown on map 2, page 31. Within the 

 actual boundaries of Shonto community were, in 1955, the trading 

 post, the school, a missionary, the tribal councilman, and the Navajo 

 National Monument (see "White Society at Shonto," pp. 165-167). 

 Within 50 miles of the community boundaries were a dozen more 

 trading posts, three missions, three community schools, two trailer 

 schools, and the administrative subagency at Tuba City with its vari- 

 ous administrative offices, court, hospital, and boarding school. Be- 

 yond, 132 miles to the southwest, lie Flagstaff and the railroad — gate- 

 ways to the outside world. 



For Shonto people most of these institutions are points of culture 

 contact in theory only. For functional reasons as well as considera- 

 tions of accessibility there is no basis for recourse to them in actual 

 practice. Trading posts, community schools, tribal councilmen and 

 missions are all essentially community-level institutions ; few Navahos 

 have any reason to contact other than those in their own area. Even 

 within Shonto community, Navajo National Monument is a facility 

 set up and operated for the benefit of Wliite tourists and has no 



