White] THE PUEBLO OF SIA, NEW MEXICO 109 
nurses and teachers; and the Hawley, Pijoan, and Elkin survey (1943, 
p. 552) states that “most of the children return” to their homes 
“at lunch time, but many of them eat nothing at this time.” 
Midday lunches were instituted as a part of the day-school pro- 
gram in Sia in 1905, but were discontinued after a time. They were 
reinstituted in 1952, however, and one official at the Pueblos Agency 
told me that for a time at least, Sia received a larger allotment for 
school lunches than nearby pueblos because of its greater poverty. 
Twenty pupils in the Sia day school were given thorough medical 
examinations by the Hawley et al. survey (19438, p. 555) with the 
following results: ‘Twelve had evidence of progressive dental caries 
(60 percent of total), nine had marked upper respiratory infections 
(45 percent), six had pellagra (30 percent), and six had definite stigmata 
of ariboflavinosis (30 percent). Only four or five children were free 
of stigmata of some debilitating process.” 
In 1949 the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico became eligible for 
assistance from the State Welfare Department on programs to which 
the Federal Government contributes funds (this aid is, of course, in 
addition to assistance from the Federal Government obtained through 
the United Pueblos Agency). These State programs are: (1) old age 
assistance; (2) aid to dependent children under 18 years of age; (3) aid 
to the blind (of any age); (4) aid to totally and permanently disabled 
persons between the ages of 18 and 65; and (5) medical treatment for 
crippled defective children. Social workers visit families seeking aid 
and make recommendations.® 
9In 1957 I was told by an official in the State Welfare Department in Santa Fe that some families at San 
Felipe had sought and received financial assistance, but that the pueblo had decided that no one should 
do this. Therefore the governor collected the checks and returned them to the Department. 
