The "eager gaze of the tourist" meets "our grandfathers guns": producing and contesting the land of enchantment in Gallup, New Mexico

In this paper I explore connections between representational and material space as expressed in conflicts over ethnic tourism in the American Southwest. Using the case of Gallup, New Mexico, I first examine how a specific regional discourse was embodied in a plan to create a National Indian Memorial Park. In this discourse, space is rendered a quaint ʹLand of Enchantmentʹ. In the remainder of the paper, I discuss attempts by American Indian activists to challenge this production of space through various material and representational efforts. The outcome of these efforts is reflected in the resulting space produced, and illustrates some of the complex spatial politics around ethnic tourism.