For those traveling in Indian Country this summer, investigations of Indian arts will often uncover objects made for humorous purposes. Native peoples, including those of the Southwest, have long honed an ironic stance toward life. When the Institute of American Indian Arts opened in 1962 in Santa Fe, its most notable young painters expressed their rage, anger, and irony in marvelous compositions. Artists like T.C. Cannon and Fritz Scholder painted young Natives with the American flag draped around their shoulders like a poncho. They depicted Indians at bars wearing bleak faces and quietly roasted the oblivious white patrons who boosted Indian artistic fortunes. Indian “folk art” performs the same role by showing that traditional Indians are more conversant with modern desires than many tourists realize. Just go to any McDonald’s in Four Corners Country and you’ll see this at once.