We are faced with at least four kinds of art, which differ in terms of the artists' self-evaluation of their producer-consumer relationship and their function, meaning, and place in society. In current usage, the distinction between tribal, ethnic, pan-Indian, and Indian mainstream art is generally neglected although it deserves to be made.
 

Tribal art was (and is) produced by members of tribal societies primarily for their own or their fellow members use. In most tribes there were more or less gifted craftsmen working in one or more of the several traditional techniques; but as a rule there was no professional specialization in the arts beyond the sexual division of labor. Everybody was a potential artist, except in cases where religious paraphernalia was exclusively fashioned by ritual specialists, and in the Pacific Northwest-Coast area, where professional artists worked for the tribal aristocracy. Tribal art was not made for its own sake, but to satisfy the material or spiritual needs of the tribesmen. Functionality had to be the overriding criterion for any product. This influenced not only the shape of an object but often its decoration as well. The aesthetic component was not seen in isolation from the whole, much as religion in tribal societies was not a separable part of the total way of life (significantly, most native American languages seem to lack a word for religion as well). Forms and designs were executed according to the cumulative experience of generations, which left only limited freedom for individual expression.

Ethnicart was (and is) produced by members of tribal societies primarily for the use of members of other groups, in the case of North America mainly for White Americans. It is generally not thought of as art by its makers, who still live in a social context that does not recognize art as something separate. The technology of manufacture is largely traditional, though new kinds of tools and raw materials received from the buyers' group may be used, in some cases substantially changing the form the art takes; specialization begins to be the rule. The maker of ethnic art often does not know why his products are being bought and what possible use the buyer may make of them. For himself they are first of all a source of income; in the long run they may become an important symbol of the maker's ethnic identity. Forms and decoration in ethnic art tend to be a mixture of native traditions and foreign expectations, sufficiently native to be recognized as exotic and sufficiently foreign to be acceptable to the buyer. There are only a few transitional cases where tribal art has continued to be made, without changes, for an outside market.

Pan-Indian art is produced by native Americans who feel themselves no longer exclusively bound to the values and customs of their original tribal societies. They work for the art market of the dominant White society and consequently regard themselves as artists. While still drawing on the experience of their specific cultural background, their style is no longer unique to the tribe, but is largely shaped by White expectations about 'Indian style'. Non-traditional media are the rule. This art is Pan-Indian because artists from widely different tribes produce remarkably similar works. It is ethnic art based on White definitions of ethnic boundaries.

Indian-Mainstreamart is produced by artists who happen to be Indians. Like all other artists, they each have their personal heritage, which may or may not find expression in their art. While the subject matter of their art is sometimes related to their ancestry or ethnic classification, their style is not.

Today we most often think of tourism as a way for an economically depressed area to improve its livelihood. Without debating the question of whether this can be pursued endlessly or if there is a saturation point (that is: Is there a finite supply of tourists?) we must recognize that tourism will by necessity change whatever it is that the tourists want to see. Physicists assure us that this is true of the parts of the atom. Observation changes the observed. Shoddy goods produced for ready sale is evident but sometimes the transformation is subtler. The Kachina dolls are a good example of a very subtle change. The dolls were originally made as a reminder for members of the community of the Kachinas. The dolls were of a portable and collectable size. The question centers on the issue of whether the intent of the audience makes them something new? Do the final causes eventually change the formal causes? As a background on the use of the Kachinas, we have David Campbell's comments in his Native American Art and Folklore.

"There are many ways to approach the native arts of North America. One of the most common questions when facing tribal arts in particular is that of meaning. The question is perfectly legitimate, but makes sense only when one is dealing with works originating from a specific tribe. Since there is no general 'Indian' culture, there can be no universal explanation of meaning. For a full understanding of the meaning of a particular tribe's art, a highly detailed analysis of the ethnographic data is necessary, but this cannot be supplied in a brief survey of the vast field of native American art such as this. Moreover, vitally important information is today often impossible to recover. This is true of both prehistoric and early historic art. (It should be borne in mind that American prehistory ended only with first European contact, which began in the early sixteenth century.)

"The question of function poses lesser problems, but adds little to an appreciation of forms, styles, and aesthetics in general. While both meaning and function impose certain limitations on the development of form and design, they do not determine it.

 "If forms are the visible embodiment of a group^'s aesthetic standards, it may be worthwhile simply to look. Unfamiliar styles can be absorbed without reference to meaning and function, in exactly the same way in which children assimilate the aesthetic standards of their own culture. A less subjective approach to the same goal consists of analyzing the formal principles defining a style. Although successful attempts along these lines have shown the practicability and ultimate benefit of such analyses, all too few attempts have tried.

"Nearly all Pueblo tribes believe in Kachinas, or supernatural spirits. It is popularly believed that Kachinas are intermediaries between gods and men, but a controversy among experts still surrounds this point. Spirits are impersonated in ceremonial dances by human beings. The word Kachina refers to the spirits themselves, to the masked dancers who impersonate the spirits and to the small wooden dolls carved to look like the masked dancers. The Kachina cult is strongest among the Hopi and Zuni. The Hopi Kachinas live on high mountains during half of the year, from July to January, and spend the remaining months with the Hopi tribes, living in their nine villages on the high plateaus of northeast Arizona.

 
"The Kachinas of Zuni live at the bottom of a nearby lake, from which they come at different times to visit Zuni. The dancers wear costumes and masks, which are looked upon as the embodiments of supernatural power. While the dancer is participating in the dance the god controls him. That fact gives an element of danger to human beings, and the masks are treated with respect. They must be appeased by regular offerings of nourishment and through silent prayer before the beginning of the ceremonies.

"There are two types of Zuni mask. The tribes own permanent or priests' masks, which are descended from the gods. Individual masks are privately owned, made especially for the owner. Zuni masks are made of leather. They show a great variety chiefly because variations can be obtained by wrapping fur collars or pine wreaths around the neck, or by attaching beards, or by appending feathers, or by projecting mouths, snouts and horns. Eyes are slits emphasized by rectangular, triangular or circular painted decorations. Each variation expresses a particular Kachina and yet all conform to a pattern. There are helmet masks, bucket-shaped, that rest on the shoulders, and face masks, covering the upper part of the face, with an attached beard of horsehair to cover the lower part. Permanent masks are of the helmet type. Only the leather part of the mask is preserved; all paint and feathers are removed after each dance and the mask is painted and renovated every time it is worn. The mask is associated with an individual Kachina but does not attempt to express the character, which may be benevolent or hostile. Only one set of masks (those of the Koyemci) is individually characterized. As new Kachinas were created, new masks were invented. Once each detail had been decided upon, the character of the mask for that particular Kachina became fixed and permitted only minor variations in style.

"The making of a mask is highly formalized. All tasks that go into the preparation of the pigments used on the mask as well as those used on the bodies of the wearers are performed according to prescribed ritual by persons traditionally assigned to each task. Once a mask has been completed it is given life by the kiva chief in a special ceremony. It is rubbed with chewed seeds of corn, bean, squash and other plants while the chief speaks prescribed words of blessing, requesting the spirit to call the rains when the time comes. After that the mask is painted first white and then blue. The mask has become "valuable and a person."

"When the Kachinas leave, the people make little figures in imitation of the real Kachinas to teach the children what they represent. In Zuni, Kachina dolls have movable arms and garments of real cloth, while the Hopi dolls have only painted clothing.

"A general characteristic of all Kachina masks is the abstract, nonrealistic design. Even a mask that is supposed to be fear inspiring, according to the myth it represents, is as formal as every other aspect of Zuni culture."

Jemes Kachina, late nineteenth century

Kunin Mana Kachina,late nineteenth century

Palhik Mana Kachina, late nineteenth century

Hemis Kachina, 1972

Honan (Badler) Kachina, early twentieth century

Dewa Reggie Kachina, undated

Masau Kachina, undated