Baptism
in Gila River, circa September 1943. Photograph by O.L. Hinger.
Courtesy of Silver City Museum.
There
are few major cities along the Colorado River. It is one of
the last American landscapes to be discovered and still appreciated
by many of the region's citizens.
The river has been an inspiration to Native
Americans, early explorers, and environmentalists, and it inspires
today. Painters, photographers, storytellers, explorers, and writers
shaped the public's understanding of the river. In many ways it
stands for the notion of journey, wilderness, the inaccessible,
the road less traveled.
Day Moon. Chuck Forsman, 1992, 55" x 45", oil
on masonite. Forsman's paintings often depict how technology
impacts western landscapes. Here we see an "arrested" Gila River.
Courtesy of the artist.
"A
river traverses time as well as topography, it runs not only
through country but through mankind."
Wallace
Stegner's foreword in The Grand Colorado by T.H.
Watkins, 1969
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"Matavilya
the Creator was born from the union of Earth and Sky. Mastamho,
Matavilyaís brother, had to finish Matavilya's work by giving shape
and form to the land. Plunging a willow stick into the earth, he
drew out the waters that became the Colorado River; with the river
came fish and ducks. Mastamho used the mud of its banks to make
the mountains on both sides of the river and planted seeds of melon,
corn, pumpkin, and beans in the fertile floodplains so that people
would have food to eat. He taught them about the foods they grew
and showed them how to make pottery vessels in which they could
cook and store the food. He showed the people how to build fire
when they were cold and a ramada for shade when they were hot. He
taught them how to know day from night and how to count. Mastamho
conferred upon unborn souls the powers of which they would later
dream, giving them direction in life."
Yuman
creation story. Trudy Griffin-Pierce from Native Peoples of
the Southwest, University of New Mexico Press, 2000. Used
by permission.
Mojave/Quechan Hand-strung beaded necklace (from
Argus), c. 1900. According to Mojave elder Louise Patch, the main
design motif represents a turtle shell while the diamond shapes
represent the Colorado River as it irregularly erodes its bank.
The small lines near the neck represent tributaries of the Colorado
like the Bill Williams River. Photo courtesy of Fred Harvey Fine
Arts Collection, Heard Museum.
"The origin of mountain
streams is like the origin of tears, patent to the understanding
but mysterious to the sense."
Mary
Austin, Land of Little Rain, 1903 Used by permission.
Azure Cliffs. Painting by Thomas Moran. Moran's
paintings depicted the sublime in western landscapes. His images
were widely distributed by railroad companies to promote scenic
wonders available on western routes.
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