How the World Moves

August 10, 2015
In 1928, Edward Proctor Hunt, a Pueblo Indian, recounted to Smithsonian Institution scholars the previously secret origin story of his community. This volume, published in tandem with Nabokov’s new edition of Hunt’s account, places Hunt’s narrative in the context of his family’s travels throughout the U.S. and Europe as performers in “Wild West” shows and as participants in the development of a growing fascination with the indigenous cultures of the American Southwest. Nabokov (Where the Lightning Strikes) produces a vibrant and heartrending picture of traditional Pueblo Indian life, which at Hunt’s birth in 1861 seemed to be “timeless and reliable,” though would soon suffer irrevocable changes as a result of warfare and white expansionism. More poignant is Nabokov’s depiction of Hunt’s multiple estrangements from his culture: first as a student at Duranes Indian Training School in Albuquerque, then as a struggling farmer and as a “fantasy of a native potentate from the golden West,” and finally as an anthropologist’s informant and “popularizer of native wisdom” and “Indian Lore.” Nabokov’s painstaking yet irregular narration may alienate some readers, but others will be fascinated by his story of a man who saw his culture drastically altered by its encounters with the forces of scholarship and tourism. Illus. Agent: Susan Bergholz, Susan Bergholz Literary Services.

Starred review from August 1, 2015
In the story of Edward Proctor Hunt's family, Nabokov (World Arts and Cultures, American Indian Studies/Univ. of California, Los Angeles; Where the Lightning Strikes: The Lives of American Indian Sacred Places, 2006, etc.) reveals the history of the Pueblo Indians.Named "Day Break" when he was born into the Acoma Pueblo, a "mesa-top village...in western New Mexico," in 1861, Hunt lived the self-sufficient life common to the communal, insulated Pueblo. He was initiated into the Pueblo's religious rites and, after a near-death experience, the secret Fire Society. Eventually, he became a shaman. Despite not including details "best left alone," the author vividly explores the different ceremonies. Hunt spent three years being re-educated at the Indian Training School and there found his Anglo name in a Bible. He also became a Koshare, or sacred clown spirit whose laughter represented detachment and, thus, freedom. Hunt "knew something about himself," making him one of the strongest members of the community. He also remained a closeted Christian. Nabokov's deep feeling for this civilization is obvious in his descriptions of the land and the Pueblo's strong ties. Hunt's entrepreneurial spirit, his ease with outsiders, and his financial success eventually led to his departure from the Pueblo. With the help of his wife and sons, he dictated the Acoma creation myth at the Smithsonian Institute over nine weeks in 1928. They explained the myths, legends, and history through the genres of prayer, chant, tale, myth, legend, and song. His family made a life selling tribal art and pottery and as "show Indians" touring Europe and the United States. The pull of the Pueblo was always powerful, and the familial ties and love of ceremony and song were sufficient to bring them back often. The lure of the Land of Enchantment is irresistible, as Nabokov draws us into the simple, cooperative life of the Pueblo Indians and their magnificent territory. A great choice for lovers of the Southwest.

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Starred review from September 1, 2015

Numerous works have documented the lives of cultural brokers east of the Mississippi River, such as Pocahontas and Mary Musgrove, who bridged the divide between American Indians and Euro-Americans. Comparatively few volumes have addressed similarly controversial individuals in the West. Nabokov (American Indian studies, Univ. of California, Los Angeles; A Forest of Time) addresses this niche by producing an illuminating account on the life of Edward Proctor Hunt and his sons. Hunt was born an Acoma Pueblo but abandoned tribal traditions by becoming an entrepreneur in American society. Ironically, what he sold to America was a stereotyped version of Indians through Wild West Shows. Through his family, one also gets a captivating picture of how native peoples dealt with modernization from the era of the Civil War to the years following World War I. VERDICT This superb title as well as Edward Proctor Hunt's The Origin Myth of Acoma Pueblo, which should be regarded as a companion volume, are highly recommended for a general audience. Readers should also consider Helen C. Rountree's Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough and Steven C. Hahn's The Life and Times of Mary Musgrove. [See Prepub Alert, 2/23/15.]--John R. Burch, Campbellsville Univ. Lib., KY

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Starred review from September 15, 2015
This is a story of a man who told a story. So begins Nabokov's (Where the Lightning Strikes, 2006) meticulously researched account of the life of Edward Proctor Hunt, born Day Break in New Mexico's Acoma Pueblo in 1861. Raised in a traditional family, Day Break joined the Katsina Society at an early age and later was initiated into the mystics of medicine men. Against his parents' wishes, he enrolled at an Indian boarding school in Albuquerque and received a heavy dose of the Protestant work ethic. He returned to Acoma when his father died and was pressured to return to the old ways. He married and opened his own trading post, thus becoming a bridge between Native and white worlds. Hunt and two sons later joined a Wild West show touring Europe. Then Hunt spent two months in Washington, D.C., in 1928, recounting the Acoma creation myth to scholars from the Smithsonian. Fourteen years later, it was printed in an obscure government bulletin; now it is considered a classic story of not only Acoma creation but also of the migration of Pueblo peoples from the Four Corners region. A new edition of Hunt's The Origin Myth of Acoma Pueblo, with notes by Nabokov, is being published simultaneously with this enlightening history of Hunt and his remarkable family.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)