■WHITE] GOVERNMENT 59 



In Still another way the Government is changing the life and belief 

 of the Acomas. New or better seeds, livestock, or machinery is sent 

 out to the reservation and given to them. Compulsory dipping of 

 sheep is another blow at the medicine man. 



To return to the Government farmer and his native policeman: 

 much, of course, depends upon the disposition of the individual who 

 fills this office; one man may be indolent and do as little as possible; 

 another may be very conscientious and energetic. The Government 

 farmer is assisted by a native, called a "policeman," who receives a 

 salary from the Government. The duties of this policeman are to 

 interpret and to perform any task set him by tlie fanuer. 



The farmer collects statistics regarding births, deaths, marriages, 

 etc., among the people. He also gathers data concerning crops and 

 livestock which he sends to the superintendent's office. He keeps 

 the schoolhouse in repair and supplied with fuel and water (pumped 

 to a tank at the schoolhouse by an engine or a windmill). He is the 

 truant officer. He and his police assistant hound the parents and 

 keep the children in school. He takes people to the hospital at old 

 Laguna, either at their own request or upon order from the super- 

 intendent's office. Force is used if necessary. I have known of in- 

 stances where a revolver was displayed rather conspicuously, and the 

 children or patients carried off bodity. The policeman has spanked 

 school children for destroying school property. 



The farmer serves as secretary and adviser for the Indians. He 

 helps them in their transactions with the trading post, in leasing 

 land from the Government, in putting in claims for damages done 

 by the railroad, etc. He frequently discusses matters of dispute 

 among the Acoma people themselves or between them and neighbors, 

 such as the Lagunas, Mexicans, etc. He hires men to do work on 

 the roads, bridges, or for any building that may be undertaken by 

 the Government. He collects pottery for fairs. He has some police 

 authority.'"' He has arrested Mexicans who were selling mula blanca 

 on the reservation, and he has even arrested Indians for disturbing 

 the peace and has deposited them in the jail at Isleta or elsewhere. 



All in all, the Government farmer and his native policeman are 

 verA" important figures in the present-day life of the pueblo. It is 

 through him chiefly that the policies of the United States Govern- 

 ment are being put into operation (without the farmer at Acoma the 

 day-school attendance would be veiy small indeed), and it is unre- 



« Precisely what the legal stalu.s of the Acoma Indian is 1 was never able to learn; I could never find 

 anyone who knew. The extent to which he is subject to civil and criminal law of the Federal, State, and 

 county governments seems to he very uncertain. The farmer may, and often does, act upon his own 

 judgment and initiative, and sometimes upon his own responsibility. 



