Charles Elkus' son Ben Elkus wrote many stories of his memories of going down to the southwest during the time of his parents involvement there. These stories offer insight into a time when our native history was still very much unchanged and traveling there was an arduous adventure. Included in Ben's stories are excerpts from the diaries of his mother Ruth Elkus, who also exerted her influence during the crucial decades of the 1930s and 1950s when indians and whites stuggled with the problems arising from the clash of their very different cultures. This is the book my father wanted to write. We are all sorry he did not write it. His idea was to use his experience with the Indians and Government to set forth how government works.
Let me say here that these stories will be concerned mostly with "Government" in the Southwest after 1922, the time when Pop joined the Indian Defense Association.