The U.S. government spent $1.5 million to import 1,300 indigenous Filipinos from different tribes to show the Americans the backward ways of the natives. Fairgoers were both shocked and fascinated at the cultural practice of the Igorots of eating dog meat. In the words of then U.S. Secretary of War William Howard Taft, their "little brown brothers," were not ready to rule their island nation on their own. They needed guidance, they needed the Americans.
The Igorots soon became one of the most famous displays during the fair. The man in charge of keeping them in check was Truman Hunt, who served as a medical doctor during the war. Hunt stayed in the province after the way and soon became the lieutenant governor of Bontoc Province.
Hunt saw firsthand how the Igorots were a hit among the Americans. This was how he got the idea to bring them back the following year, and this time, for his own financial benefit.
#Igorrotte #StLouis #HumanZoo #Igorot
