Through the advertising mechanisms of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Corp. the United States and by extension, a large part of the world, gained much of its awareness of Native American life and the wilderness of the Southwest and West. By appropriating the "Noble American Savage" and Native American culture the railway established for itself a meaningful emblem that would capture the American imagination and entice people to come from all over the world to see for themselves the attractions of the region: the ancient ruins, the Indians, the Grand Canyon, and the desert landscapes. Travel lectures and kits prepared by the railroad using a magic lantern slide show and often accompanied by a short movie displaying some aspect of the culture or land through which the Santa Fe traveled were popular all over the country. On August 20, 1925 the Santa Fe Railway announced their new tourist experience, the Indian Detour in the Albuquerque morning journal. The first tour took place May 15, 1926. Indian Detours, which were a joint venture with the Fred Harvey Corporation, were designed to "sell" the southwest. They put all of northern and central New Mexico, the Hopi villages, Canyon de Chelly and the Grand Canyon in Arizona within easy reach of the insatiable tourist for the first time. The slides and their accompanying lecture booklets were designed by the Santa Fe Railway Advertising Department to promote their Indian Detours. Tourism was a lucrative business and the slides were used to lure people to the Southwest. The Santa Fe Railway hired hundreds of photographers to take scenic views along its routes. Unfortunately, the names of only a few o these photographers are know; authorship of the images often go "lost" in the turmoil of mass production. Additionally, the railway felt free to modify or alter the photographs in whatever way was necessary so that the images fit the advertising departments requirements of their artistic plans and the 3" x 4" lantern slide format. Accompanying scripts were written by the Santa Fe Railway Advertising Department.
