The history of American Indian arts is marked by Native reaction to and acceptance of judging, particularly by non-Natives. In the Southwest, this started as early as the 1920s, when the Santa Fe Indian Market and Gallup Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial were established. In Santa Fe, the first judges were anthropologists and non-Native Indian arts patrons. In Gallup, non-Native Indian traders were the judges. Many Natives, especially those from the Pueblos, were embarrassed and discomfited by judging events. Competitive activities like prize awards didn’t always sit well with Indian neighbors; others, however, claimed that getting awards helped their careers.

Occasionally, the best attempts backfired. A friend of ours, a man in his sixties, speaks of a time when he discovered evidence that one particular award event had been “rigged.” He carried on, didn’t complain, and later when his career was solidly established, he pulled out of that competition for good.