Graham has made no secret of her debt to the Indians of the Southwest. Barbara Morgan (known for her book Martha Graham: Sixteen Dances) made the following remarks in a lecture at the University of Wisconsin: "I had just seen one of Marthas concerts. I can't remember whether it was Primitive Mysteries or Frontier, but I was very excited and it aroused memories of my experiences in the Southwest. So I asked Martha very directly, 'By any chance have you been influenced by the Indian and Spanish dance ceremonies in the Southwest?' She said: 'Absolutely, that's one of the greatest inspirations in my entire life.' "
Graham was not the only choreographer to be influenced by the kachina dances of the American Southwest. Erick Hawkins, Lester Horton, Ted Shawn, and Jose Limon also saw and admired Indian rituals, which had an important impact on their work and that of their students. These ancient Indian rites are still performed today almost identically to their presentation hundreds of years before the arrival of Columbus. They are deeply rooted tribal rituals, and not the intentional "art" of choreographers. They predate the personal rites of artists, but they also lend immense influence to contemporary dance.