Knott’s to Feature Indian Village : Amusement park: $2-million exhibit will highlight tribal culture, customs and crafts, and provide 50 jobs.

BUENA PARK —  Diverging from the usual summer debut of a new roller coaster or parades, Knott’s Berry Farm plans to open a permanent, $2-million Indian village in June that will highlight American Indian cultures, customs and crafts.

Capitalizing on the recent up surge of interest in American Indians after the enormous success of the movie “Dances With Wolves,” the Buena Park theme park is taking pains to make sure it has the approval of the Indian community.

“The opening of Indian Trails gives us an unprecedented opportunity to portray the creativity and artfulness of Native American culture with dignity and respect,” said Knott’s President Terry E. Van Gorder.

Both Knott’s in Buena Park and nearby Disneyland have had Indian exhibits in the past, but both have suffered from a stereotypical, cowboys-versus-Indians bias. Indian activists say they expect the Knott’s exhibit will be, as promised, a realistic presentation of their culture free of past stereotypes.

Although activists praised the concept, they want to make sure it is authentic.

“Indian people are not just beads and feathers,” said John Castillo, executive director of the Southern California Indian Center in Garden Grove. “Since (Indian heritage) is kind of trendy now, this is an avenue that can increase attendance at the park. At the same time, if it is done with integrity, it can raise understanding of Native American culture. It can be a balance.”

The exhibit will feature the habitats and handiwork of tribes from the Northwest, Great Plains, Southwest and West. Artisans will demonstrate crafts including basket weaving, mask carving and the work of silversmiths. Children will be able to have their faces painted Indian-style, Knott’s officials say. Indian foods will be sold, from fry bread to roasted corn.

Castillo and members of the Indian Center met with Knott’s officials Friday to discuss employment opportunities at the new attraction.

About 50 American Indians will be hired for Indian Trails. Most will be from Southern California, which has a large Indian population, while specialists such as canoe carvers may be hired from elsewhere, said Knott’s spokesman Stuart Zanville.

“Knott’s Berry Farm has always presented the heritage of the West,” he said. “It’s only fitting that we recognize the contributions of the Native Americans.”

Knott’s has hired Paul Apodaca, curator of Native American Art at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and a professor at Chapman University in Orange, as a consultant for the project. Apodaca, who is of Navajo and Mexican descent, called the project one of “the most hopeful things I’ve seen in Southern California in 25 years” to promote awareness of Indian culture.

Knott’s, he said, is a perfect setting because even though it is a theme park, it “represents a tradition and heritage rather than fantasy.”

As a popular theme park, the exhibit would both educate and entertain the estimated 4 million annual visitors to the park who otherwise would not have been exposed to American Indian life. “It’s a serious thing they are trying to do.”

Little Crow, the executive director of the American Indian Unity Church in Garden Grove, said that he supported any effort that would educate people about Indian culture. But he, too, had concerns over what would be presented.

“We are more than just dancing and crafts,” he said, pointing to a host of present-day issues, such as Indian reservation-run gambling to sovereignty of Indian territory.

“I would like to see things that have the capacity to educate rather than just pleasing to the eye,” said Little Crow, who is also a professor of American Indian studies at Cal State Long Beach. “We have to focus on that and get off the horse, and talk about those issues that are really helpful for today.”

He pointed to amusement parks such as Disneyland, which have presented Indians in attractions such as the Burning Settler’s Cabin that perpetrate the image of Indians as savage.

“It’s more insulting than entertaining,” he said, “it doesn’t do anything to really help educate people on the differences of the cultures.”

A Disneyland spokesman said that the park will be placing more emphasis on Indian heritage as part of its renovation of Tom Sawyer’s Island. Included in the renovations are new Indian figures and more emphasis on Indian heritage.

The Knott’s attraction, Little Crow said, comes at a time when Indians are “a hot item.”

“At the same time it’s what you call ‘predatory self-interest,’ ” Little Crow said. “They take what’s hot and what’s been a proven winner from movies to books to TV.”

Little Crow said that unless the park donated a share of the proceeds from the attraction to Indian welfare, “I don’t see how it’s going to help all that much.”

How the Berry Farm Grew

The evolution of Knott’s Berry Farm began when the Knott family arrived in Buena Park in 1920 to grow rhubarb and berries on 20 acres of land. Today the theme park covers 150 acres.

1934--Cordelia Knott serves her first chicken dinners on her wedding china at 65 cents each.

1940--The Old Trails Hotel--relocated from Prescott, Ariz.--is the first building in Ghost Town, and Knott’s Berry Farm opens as the county’s first amusement park.

1968--The amusement park is fenced in and a general admission of $2 is charged for the first time.

1975--The Roaring ‘20s theme area opens, along with Corkscrew, the world’s first 360-degree roller coaster.

1988--The $10-million Wild Water Wilderness area opens, featuring Bigfoot Rapids, a white-water rafting trip ride.

1990--The upside-down roller coaster, Boomerang, opens, replacing Corkscrew.

1992--Indian Trails will open in June.

Source: Knott’s Berry Farm

Researched by DALLAS M. JACKSON / Los Angeles Times

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