Indian Village - Expo Brussels 1935
This set of buildings, of a rigorous and colourful authenticity, had been realized by the "Associated American Indian Group", with the participation of several organisms, such as the Museums of Natural History, of Folklore, etc.
In a setting of red rocks, there were buildings representative of the various American regions: there were low houses, like those found in all the villages of the North. Again, a blockhouse, similar to those where the first settlers defended themselves against the incursions of the Redskins; a tavern, similar to those where the gold diggers gambled away their earnings, to those that so many films, including "The Gold Rush", have shown us with their strange and yet endearing customers. A little further on, a restaurant evoked the buildings of New Mexico; and brown leather tents, decorated with brightly coloured patterns, sheltered authentic redskins who had come to Brussels after a long and arduous journey.
There was a whole tribe there, from the great chief who, during his stay in the United States, had decorated General Balbo, commander-in-chief of the Italian Air Force; from the venerable "Squaws", who were in charge of preparing the family meals; from the valiant warriors; from the delightful kids, as high as three apples and who were already wearing the national costume, the moccasins, the leather trousers, the embroidered jacket, the feathered headdress, with a sense of pride...
In a neighbouring circus, the redskins were showing off their various talents. One threw the lasso with astonishing virtuosity; the other, a skilled marksman, hit every shot. The "doctor" of the tribe showed how, in America, the sick are cured by lulling them with nostalgic songs, by performing magical dances around them. Riders introduced the public to the mysteries of training wild horses; and one day, His Excellency the Ambassador of the United States received, from the hands of the Great Chief, a solemn investiture, symbolized by a tomahawk wrapped in the colours of the Star Republic.
© Le Livre d'Or de l'Exposition Universelle de Bruxelles 1935