Traveling across Arizona, one is bound to encounter kachina dolls as souvenirs in gift shops. These figures made from cottonwood roots, however, are not playthings but rather representations of Indigenous Puebloan spirits known as katsinam (singular: katsina). They are in charge of elements of nature and connect the world of humans with that of spirits. The figures instructed young Puebloans about this central part of their religion. As the United States subjugated Native Americans and disrupted their ways of life, many Puebloans turned to tourism to make a living. This…
