Show misconceptions concerning INDIANS REFUTED from the files of the utah writers project the american indian has been much praised and much damned in ithe the odd years of white exploitation of north america and many I 1 misconceptions concerning his true aspect have artsen arisen A general misconception has been to assume that an indian was an indian and consequently just like any other indian from coast to coast yet indians in different localities cali ties and from unrelated tribes vary as much in custom and appearance pe arance as do the native macauslan Cac auslan races of europe the tall strai straight ht natures nobleman of james fennimore coopers argosy was not a typical indian his type was sometimes found among on the warlike war like iroquois of coopers legend but an average indian is a 3 much shorter and bl broader bader individual short stocky characteristics are especially noticeable am cai ang the pueblo and navaho of the su southwest thweat while northwestern tribes possess long narrow heads and more fragile body lines culturally the tribes differed considerably some ving living sedentary i t ary agricultural lives others rs being nomadic hunters weapons also lt differed considerably in different localities as did other utensils and pottery religiously it has been popular to assume that all indians wor shipped the great spirit when ahert as a matter of fact indian religion differs perhaps more than any 1 other characteristic A given tribe 1 I 1 is much more likely to have a dozen ir r so gods than a single great spirit indian dances are as variable as other customs with some tribes emphasizing pha sizing the war and the sun dances while other tribes have none of these at all |