Life, 1928-07-19 · page 29 of 40
Life — July 19, 1928 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This poem by Henry William Hanemann satirizes the assimilation ideology promoted by mainstream outlets like the *New York Herald Tribune* (quoted at top). The piece mocks the notion that Native Americans must abandon their culture to become "self-supporting" American citizens. The satire works by cataloging what "little Hiawatha" learns from white Americans: not noble virtues, but shallow materialism and vice—gin, jazz, necking, stock manipulation, golf, the "Best-Book-of-the-Month Club," and the false camaraderie of service clubs like Kiwanis. He adopts their slang ("Hiawatha's Chickens," "Hiawatha's Buddies"), treating cultural assimilation as degrading mimicry. The poem suggests that "white civilization" offers only consumerism and empty social performance, not genuine advancement. By juxtaposing a New York Herald Tribune quote endorsing assimilation with a poem showing what assimilation actually entails, Hanemann critiques both the policy and the shallow culture being imposed. The rest of the page contains unrelated advertisements (travel, cigarettes).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
= "i | Hiawatha’s Hia Education | “The American Indian has reached the end | of the trail. His future lies in his adaptation of himself to the ways of the white man and his ahorption into the ranks of the self-supporting and self-respecting citizens of the United States.” —New York Herald Tribune, Tuen the littke Hiawatha Learned the noble ways of white men, Met their dames and learned their secrets, How they socked their braves with ham- mers, . Where they went to meet the boy-friend, Bought them drinks whene’er he met them, Called them “Hiawatha’s Chickens.” Of the men he learned the language, Learned of gin and jazz and necking, Learned of stocks that cleaned up mil- lions, Learned of contact, sales-promotion, What a great thing was Kiwanis, Learned of golf and tire troubles, Joined the Best-Book-of-the-Month Club, Learned to be a hearty mixer, Why George Babbitt was a salesman, How Joe Gonnick built his bridges, Slapped their backs whene’er he met them, Called them “Hiawatha’s Buddies.” Henry William Hanemann. Moorks version: “Who was that lady 1 ‘oping across the Atlantic Ocean with To PARIS & ITALY Marseilles, Vienna, Trieste, Italy and Central Europe For a change—try this de luxe Southern Service to Paris, via Mar- seilles. World’s fastest. motor-ships to Paris, Vienna, Trieste, Rome, the Riviera and Central Europe. The last word in luxurious accom- modations and cuisine. Motor ferry service—drive on here, drive off at destination—no crating or packing; surprisingly economical rates. Send for brochure of interiors, descrip- tions, rates, and sailing dates. Any Steamship Agent, or Direct to PHELPS & CO., General Agents Cosulich Line 19 Battery Place, New York Sail on World’s Fastest Motor Ships The tobaccometer rates them, .. Bulb draws smoke from cigarette through the apparatus. A sensitive thermometer registers temperature of the smoke. The tobaccometer TELLS You! Let the tobaccometer tell you what's what in cigarettes. This near-human little apparatus re- cently took 10,000 “puffs” in one day! It puffed on two dozen lead- ing brands... high-brow and low-brow, Turkish and Burley, thirty-five and fifteen cent vari- eties. It was blind to their claims and slogans. It could rate them only by cold, scientific figures. Which brand did the Tobac- cometer find coolest? Spud...coolest by 16.3% [cent.]. “Whew,” said the attending chemist. “What Spud claims is true. Ie és actually and notice- ably cooler.” So go ahead, you cigarette enthusiasts! There’s no exceed- ing the Spud limit! Two packs a day, if you want to... because there’s no “smoked out feeling” in Spud... just lusty, lasting tobacco enjoyment, unhamp- ered by any so-many-a-day dis- cipline. Ic all starts with Spud’s first puff—an indescribably delight- ful little shock of coolness that has an unending follow through. You owe your throat and your senses a Spud experience. Read of Spud’s overnight success in the entertaining pages of "Wel- come, Little Stranger”. Free. Also send $1 for Presentation Tin of 100. THE AXTON-FISHER TOBACCO COMPANY, INC., Louisville, Ky. MENTHOL COOLED Ci garettes..20 for 20¢ SATURNIA VULCANIA 24000 Gross Tons— 34000 Gross Tons — No Smoke or Cinders No Smoke or Cinders PRESIDENTE Famous for Her Superior Service to Italy comicbooks.com