Indian Dance Circle, November 1958
Just when I think I've seen enough photos of the old Indian Dance Circle to last me a lifetime, I happen upon the photo below. What a beautiful, colorful image! Bright and sunshiny. Part of its beauty is the fact that we can also see the Rivers of America, including Fort Wilderness on Tom Sawyer Island. Scary wooden masks glare at us from that pole. Waaaaay in the distance Chief Wavy waits for the next passing boat. Even his posse can be spotted up on the hillside.
I can't say enough good things about this photo.
And... now for the more standard view, we've seen lots of these!
10 comments:
Major-
That first image is pretty unique, indeed. And to think all of that 'wilderness' goodness is smack dab in the middle of Anaheim-!
Thanks, Major.
Yes, that first image is quite nice. I think we can see a young Arthur Fonzarelli in his leather jacket on the far left. And I think that "posse" on the hill might actually be a band of Ewoks, who are just biding their time.
I was reading a comment somewhere from a Disneyland fan who was commenting about the good ol' days of Disneyland when they had the "Country Bear Jamboree". That made me feel older than dirt. I could remember before those "good ol' days" when they had the "Indian Village and Dance Circle". Sadly, I was too young to comprehend and appreciate it at the time.
Really beautiful images of the this area of the park. The colors of the Native American clothing really show off nicely. This was when Frontierland had a more naturalistic and authentic feel to it. Walt's original ideas will always be the standout for me. Thanks, Major.
Just gorgeous. Warms my frozen bones.
I agree, best Dance Circle photo so far. If it had the Mark Twain chugging by it would be even better. I see a peek of the fort, too.
Thanks, Major
dz
I'm thinking this first photo may be the best ever of the Indian Dance Circle.
Looking for any sign of the short-lived graveyard on the trail below Fort Bewilderment, but it must be out of frame to the right.
Interesting to see that Chief Wavy and his advance survey band of Ewoks are visible from the Village, a tie-in that makes the distant figures more believable.
A few years ago, we visited the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque NM. This center showcases several of the Pueblo tribes cultures, with museum exhibits, live events, ancient and modern art, and even food.
Authentic dance ceremonies we saw there were reminiscent of the Disney Village, although my memory of the Disney events are pretty faint. I would urge anyone interested in the Native cultures of America to visit that museum, very much worthwhile and informative. As usual, much of the popular culture images of these peoples are just flat wrong, and unsurprisingly, the real stories are far more interesting and often very sad. Few places now to learn these stories.
I think Disney was ahead of the times with this attraction, and it's too bad it's gone.
Thank you, Major.
JG
Major, Major, don't you know by now, you can never have too many friends, too many hundred dollar bills, or too many pics of Frontierland? The Dance Circle was a cultural masterpiece. Walt didn't have a bunch of Italian actors jumping around in a parody of Native dances. To his credit he wanted the Circle to be authentic, fun and educational. Imagine that. I am liking both of these photos and long for some of that SoCal weather as we are thigh deep in snow here. Thanks Major.
That first photo is amazing. I'd never thought about being able to see Chief Wavy and the Ewoks (I have all of their albums) from the Indian Village. I wonder how the genuine Native Americans who worked there felt about being able to look down the river and see a stock Hollywood presentation of movie Indians?
As JG said, popular culture so often gets it wrong. I'm stuck at home today due to weather and watching the 1936 Universal serial Jungle Jim. While it's fun in an old Hollywood serial kind of way and makes some clever - if rather far-fetched - re-use of some standing Universal sets (Dracula's Castle in the middle of the African jungle is by far my favorite), there's also a lot of the standard, rather cavalier mish-mashing of "exotic" flora, fauna, and cultures. I'm talking lions fighting tigers, orangutans in the trees in Africa, or audio of a Native American dance dubbed over African villagers dancing. On the positive side, at least all of the African characters are played by actual African-Americans rather than whites in blackface.
Any mention of traditional dance
Is an excuse to watch Nakotah Larance
Nanook, it really is astonishing to see what those Disney Imagineers created!
TokyoMagic!, I’ll bet even the Native Americans thought the Fonz was cool. They knew that he was sympathetic and respectful, and liked the way he could start a juke box just by hitting it.
K. Martinez, ha ha, yes, it is amazing that attractions that I remember fondly have been relegated to the category of “long-extinct attractions”. My family never made it over to the Dance Circle for some reason, maybe they didn’t want to walk that far. I’m sure Frontierland would have continued to evolve if Walt had lived another 10 years, it’s impossible to know of course.
Melissa, you should also try some hot tomato soup!
David Zacher, it’s a goodie, for sure. I agree, the Mark Twain would have improved it, but I like being able to see into the distance too.
JG, I would not be surprised if Daveland has some pretty spectacular pix of the Dance Circle, but I will take the compliment! “Fort Bewilderment”, ha ha! I recently heard a podcast referring to the old Indian Village as “politically incorrect”; for the 50’s and 60’s, I’d say they made a real effort to be respectful of Native Americans and their traditions, crafts, and culture. Could it have been better? Sure. But I don’t like the assumption that, because it was Disneyland, it was automatically racist and incorrect.
Jonathan, see my comment to JG! I thought the same thing about the use of Italians for Indians in movies. I have some slides for a place called “Stone Mountain”, and they have an “Indian” attacking the train. You can see that he has poorly-applied red makeup on his face, which is akin to blackface these days. Walt got real people from various tribes and had them describe the dances to folks. “Jungle Jim” sounds awesome, I do like the idea of Dracula’s castle in the African jungle. Old movies can be hard to watch in their treatment of minorities, but at least some people tried (like John Ford) sometimes.
Melissa, thank you for the link!
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