Looking Beyond Himself: André Breton in the American Southwest

Authors

  • Danielle Moretti-Langholz William & Mary

Abstract

The 1945 visit of André Breton’s to the American Southwest occurred during a period of significant change both regionally in the American Southwest and globally. Imbedded in the rituals that Breton observed and recorded in his “Notebook” were deeply guarded Hopi-centric perspectives about creation and humankind’s role and responsibilities to all living things. Nearly a half century later and at the other end of the continent another ritual took place, this time at the United Nations in New York City. Led by Thomas Banyacya, a Hopi spiritual leader, ancient prophecies were publicly revealed. Breton’s experience and observations in 1945 hint at the prophetic message that would be shared with the world years later.

Author Biography

Danielle Moretti-Langholz, William & Mary

Danielle Moretti-Langholtz is the Thomasina E. Jordan Director of the American Indian Resource Center at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. A Teaching Professor in the Department of Anthropology, she also serves as the curator of Native American Art at the Muscarelle Museum of Art and the Administrator of the Native Studies minor at the university. She teaches courses including Native Sovereignty and a wide range of Indigenous culture and heritage-focused topics. Additionally, she works closely with colleagues on applied and scholarly research topics in collaboration with both regional and national tribal communities. She is the co-editor with Buck Woodard on a reexamination of the history and trans-Atlantic significance of the eighteenth century Brafferton Indian School, The Founding, Funding and Legacy of the Brafferton Indian School, published by the Muscarelle Museum of Art in 2019.

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Published

2024-03-18

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 2 (2023): Journal of Surrealism and the Americas

Section

Feature Articles