Albert Einstein at Hopi House

Albert Einstein at Hopi HouseAlbert Einstein made his second trip to the United States in the period between December 1930 and March 1931 to spend some time at California Institute of Technology, one of the institutions that was courting him to join their staff. It was on the return trip across the U.S. by train that the above photograph was taken. There are several striking things about this photograph that deserve mention. It is clear that the headdress that has been placed on Professor Einstein's head and the pipe he has been given to hold have no relationship to the Indians in this photograph. These Indians are Hopis from the relatively nearby Hopi pueblos while the headdress and pipe belong to the Plains Indian culture. The actual location of the photograph is Hopi House, a part of the Fred Harvey concession at the Grand Canyon.



Another posting suggests what Einstein thought about Indians:



But a Google search shows up only one instance of this quote. That suggests it's not real.