By Goodie Berquist, PhD

In the archives at the Smoki Museum in Prescott, there is an unusual document: a copy of a letter addressed to the "Captain and Crew of the Smoki Bomber." It has no date or address given. Did such an airplane actually exist? If so, what role did the City of Prescott play in its creation? Did such an airplane see action in wartime?

To find the answers to these questions we must first define who the Smoki People were. In 1921, Prescott’s principal tourist attraction was its annual rodeo. In the aftermath of World War I, the Prescott rodeo was flat broke. Despite hard times, community leaders were determined to save it. Their solution was to stage a "Way out West" show at the fairgrounds as a money raiser. A variety of cowboy and Indian burlesque acts were scheduled, plus an event described simply as "The Smoki Snake Dance."

A group of civic-minded men at the Yavapai Club agreed to contribute their time and talents to the proceedings. They decided to stage their version of the "Hopi snake dance" using Indian costumes and live bull snakes. Their performance was the hit of the day and thus began the history of the Smoki People.

In 1923, the Smoki organization shifted their focus from rodeo support to preservation of native customs. At the time, the federal government pursued a policy of "assimilation" toward Native Americans. The Bureau of Indian Affairs mounted a campaign to "Christianize and civilize" Indian tribes and a host of restrictions were enforced. Indian children were forcibly removed from their families at an early age and sent to distant "government schools." The youngsters received immediate punishment if they used their native tongue. Indian men were prohibited from wearing long hair or using body paint and were required to dress as the majority of white males. A tribe could practice its own religious ceremonies, but only in daylight and only if no natives below the age of fifty attended. The government was pursuing a policy of cultural genocide.

In the sleepy little mountain town of Prescott, 5,000 strong, the people thought otherwise. They thought various native customs should be preserved and so they supported the new goal of the Smoki People. At one point there were as many as 800 members. Smoki funded scholarships for Native Americans at the University of Arizona and Yavapai College. They contributed food to the Hopis during the Great Depression. They supported native artists and formed a museum dedicated to educating the public about the indigenous people of central Arizona.

Grace Sparkes, the executive secretary of the Yavapai Chamber of Commerce, had no doubts about the value of the Smoki dances. She herself became a member of the Smoki People And, in 1925, she went personally to Washington, D.C. to make President Coolidge an honorary member of the Smoki. Barry Goldwater was also a member.

In the 1930s, a "Welcome to Prescott" arch was erected at the junction of White Spar and Copper Basin Roads. It advertised the two main tourist attractions: The Oldest Rodeo and the Smoki Ceremonials. They both drew thousands of summer visitors. The Smoki continued their dances yearly until 1990 and formally disbanded in 2001.

According to the Evening Courier, on July 7th, 1944, Prescott’s "E" bond sales were $70,000 short of the $250,000 goal for purchasing a new B-24 bomber for the war effort to be named for the Smoki People. By July 27th, three weeks later, the goal was topped! Widespread community support of the Smoki People at that time is beyond question.

The airplane Prescott purchased was a B-24 Liberator emblazoned with "Smoki People, Prescott, AZ" on its side. It was based in New Guinea. In "The Wild Blue," historian Stephen Ambrose vividly described this plane’s features: "It could carry a heavy load far and fast but it had no refinements." The B-24 was hard to steer, had no windshield wipers, no heat, no bathroom, no kitchen facility, no pressurization and "oxygen masks that froze to your face above 10,000 feet." According to Ambrose, an eight-inch-wide catwalk, connecting forward and aft, hung between the bombs on either side over the bomb-bay doors. The seats were not padded, could not be reclined and were cramped into so small a space that a man had almost no chance to stretch and none whatsoever to relax. Absolutely nothing was done to make it comfortable for the pilot, co-pilot or the eight men in the crew, even though most flights lasted eight hours, sometimes ten or more and seldom less than six. The B-24 had four 1,200 hp engines and carried 2,750 gallons of fuel. It could attain a speed of 303 mph. It had ten .50-caliber machine guns and could carry 8,800 pounds of bombs. This plane, Ambrose concluded, "existed and was flown for one purpose only, to carry 500 and 1,000 pound bombs and drop them accurately over enemy targets."

(Goodie Berquist is a volunteer at both the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Smoki Museum.)

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(courtesy photo) Reuse only bypermission.

This B-24 Liberator is the type bomber that Prescottonians paid for in July 1944 with "E" bonds and sent it into battle in the South Pacific to honor the Smoki People of Prescott. Total cost of the bomber was $250,000 (3 million in today’s dollars!).

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(pb062f9i1) Reuse only bypermission.

Smoki Snake Dance, c.1920s.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(s102pe) Reuse only by permission.

Smoki Ceremonials at the rodeo grounds, c.1920s.