Indian Villages, 1960s
Disneyland had at least three Indian Villages - one accessible to guests, and the other two only visible from either the Disneyland Railroad or the river craft (the "Friendly Indian Village" and the "Unfriendly Indian Village").
This first photo shows three performers from the Indian Village that was located where Bear Country (later renamed Critter Country) was built in 1972. One fellow is keeping the rhythm on the drum, while two others might be chanting/singing, or else they are chatting with one another. Castle Rock on Tom Sawyer Island can be seen in the distance.
Next, a familiar view of the "Friendly Indian Village". The village is abuzz with activity! You've got to stay busy if you want to eat regularly on the Frontier. You can still see a somewhat reduced version of the FIV if you take a trip around the Rivers of America.
10 comments:
1) So life-like! Disney had really perfected animatronic figures by this time, with fluid, natural movement! ;-p I like the drummer's t-shirt (K-Mart?) At least it's turquoise colored. (It does actually look good on him.) I wonder if that's another performer on the extreme left, or a guest?
2) I can't remember what name we gave Shiny Boy's dog. The papeeses are displayed prominently, and together; sometimes they are separated at different tepees. They've been working on that dugout canoe for AGES!. And I would think that the KFC smoking over the campfire must be gettin' kinda dry and tough by now. It's actually a nice clear, colorful photo of the FIV.
Is the "unfriendly" Indian Village still on the north end of TSI? I suspect they were driven out by Wookiees a couple of years ago. Thanks, Major.
Is it abuzz with activity, or is that just the sound of faulty wiring?
I don't know the dog's name, but with Disney's eye for detail I bet he has tiny animatronic fleas!
Melissa, I think in the 1970s, we saw Jaime Somers fight flea-bots in Las Vegas!
Interesting view of the performers. I wonder how these gents were recruited and what they may have done after their time with Disney? Were they actors or just folks who went on to normal jobs?
A great shot of the FIV. This tableaux fascinates me, as noted, the level of detail all worked out in advance, complete with gas piping for the campfires etc. Shiny Boy and Stiff the Wonder Dog (because you wonder why he never moves) taking point. I love it.
One of my favorite Disney promo pics is a view of the MT as seen from the FIV.
JB, the UIV was moved out along with the Settlers Cabin. Now we have a static display of a keelboat in their place. I always thought it was brilliant to put the FIV where you couldn’t reach it, and the UIV fenced off from the occupied parts of the Island by “treaty” so you couldn’t go there either.
Thanks for these, Major!
JG
JB, yes, the animatronics are life-like, but you can tell that one of them is just Mr. Lincoln with different clothing. To save money, see? I do like turquoise, but my turquoise suit is all worn out now. Did we give Shiny Boy’s dog a name? I can’t remember. “Stinky”? That one is always good. Plus it’s fun to call for him when he gets out. Yes, the Unfriendly Indian Village is on the north end of TSI, where guests aren’t allowed. I’m honestly not sure if it is still there, I don’t remember seeing it the last time I was there.
Melissa, yes, it’s a 60-cycle hum that you can’t escape. It is maddening! Do animatronic dogs dream of chasing animatronic bunnies?
TokyoMagic!, I remember that one, John Houseman really camped it up!
JB, hm, I never thought about how the performers were recruited. I really have no idea! There were other Indian dancers around the country, perhaps there was a way to get the word out to various tribes (I almost typed “tribbles”)? “Stiff the Wonder Dog”, I love it. With some guests being more adventurous than others, I assume that Tom Sawyer Island had some sort of imposing fence between the “good” side and the “keep out” side. Chain link? Hopefully not.
As I was looking at these impressive boulders and rocks in these photos..I am wondering if Walt was as picky with rocks as he was with trees. I'm thinking that these were not unearthed in the sandy soil of Anaheim, but brought from places further away...there are some great rocks going into Riverside. Is this dirt the dirt that people are collecting in jars and selling on Ebay? I wouldn't mind a Disneyland bolder in my backyard: although I have plenty of them already...a Disneyland one would be nice in the collection. The real live shiny boy looks like he has a proper Disneyland haircut: perhaps he moonlighted in other jobs. The scene is very "tableaux" in nature. It seems that a Indigenous Peoples of the Americas extension of Frontierland would make quite more sense than some other pursuits, but call me crazy. The river is looking a wee Augustus Gloop brown...but authentic nonetheless. Am I missing the mummies? Or is that a memory that isn't true? The pap's are just about 350...nice and crispy...with a chewy center. I spent a few weeks on a reservation in Arizona on a show and it was quite the experience...As with the Jungle Cruise being an amalgamation of many different places, this depiction of life as it was quite a long time ago may ring the same, as tribes/Nations (574 in the US) all have their own customs. This scene looks quite peaceful and seeing it brings me some calm in a sea of stress. Thanks Major!
I notice that you didn't meantion the "Indifferent Indian Village." Instead of saying "How!" they said "So?". It's ok that you skipped them because they wouldn't have included us either...
"Mention." How the heck did that "a" get in there? Happy fingers!
The Tom Sawyer Island “unfriendly Indian village” was gone several years prior to the Disneyland 50th Anniversary …. Almost 20-25 years now. There was a point when gung-Ho Disneyland managers suggested removing ALL Indians from Frontierland. Prior to GALAXYS EDGE There had been proposals for a “boom-town / railroad tent city “ along the DLRR tracks and River and at one time a mining ghost town vignette … also a wrecked riverboat vignette … all ideas to replace the Friendly Indian Village.
The first phase of Shanghai Disneyland still included a WESTERNLAND / FRONTIERLAND and that included a “Native American Island” accessible not by rafts or canoes , but two tunnels under the Rivers of the Far West .
Also the FIV dog “stinky” does animate : his tail wags and his head tilts in perplexity as he watches the fish jumping up from the river . A Indian boy and his pet dog is very much a 1950’s Western TV myth as native Americans didn’t keep pets during the 1800’s … I know sone tribes kept dogs to use as winter food. FRONTIERLAND hard facts are not just for the pioneers .
Melissa, I suspect there is only one electrical outlet to supply the whole FIV with power. So the tribesmen & tribeswomen plug extension cords into extension cords into extension cords to power all their TVs, computers, microwave ovens, wine fridges, and blenders... hence the constant hum and crackle... and the occasional flaming tepee.
Major, and the animatronic bunnies dream of Philip K. Dick..... it all loops around; the circle of life.
I'm pretty sure at least one (several?) GDBers gave the dog a name, over the years. But "Stiff" or "Stinky" sounds good to me. (Didn't Stiff wag his tail?)
Stu, there is also no mention (or meantion) of the Inquisitive Indian Village, who greet you with "Why?"
Mike, Ah, Stinky did wag his tail! I didn't know about the head tilting though. Maybe his name should be "Dinner".
Post a Comment