Revisiting Paul Kanes Wanderings of an Artist Among the Indians of North America

Paul Kanes paintings and sketches which form the basis of Wanderings of an Artist, were made with the aim of presenting an “extensive series of illustrations of the characteristics, habits and scenery of the country and its inhabitants.” However, a careful and detailed reading of his paintings and writings show that he actually violated the trust that the American Indians placed in him by depicting false images. Working in the background of Lasswells theory of propaganda this study seeks to demonstrate how the images and writings that he created, fulfilled no purpose, other than that of propaganda. The essay takes as its base the short fiction of Sherman Alexies Scalp Dance by Spokane Indians and attempts to show through the text how Kane, in reality, violated the trust that the American Indian tribes placed in him, by allowing him to photograph them in various poses and at various times of the day and year.

Correlates of Length of Urban Residence among the Spokane Indians

Previous research has considered factors associated with the decision by Indian people to migrate to an urban environment. Rather than focus on the initial decision, this paper examines the percentage of the person's adult life that has been lived in an urban environment. Six hypotheses relating employment, income, education, housing, acceptance of white culture, and Indian ancestry to continued urban residence are tested. The data were collected in 1967 from interviews with a sample of 100 adult Spokane Indians living both in Spokane city (50 respondents) and on the Spokane reservation (50 respondents). The analysis included calculation of bivariate correlation coefficients and a multivariate stepwise multiple regression analysis. The most significant finding to emerge is the eminence of noneconomic factors—Indian ancestry and Indian self identification—in explaining Spokane Indian people's migration to and continued residence in an urban setting. Approximately 25% of the variance in urban residence is accounted for by a combination of the independent variables in multiple regression analysis.