Sun dance (1:32) -- Love song (0:57) -- Crazy Dog song (1:41) -- Buffalo dance song (1:03) -- Man's love song (0:54) -- Hand game song (1:42) -- Prisoner's song (2:20) -- World War II song (1:36) -- Warrior death song for Sitting Bull (2:00) -- Canvas dance song (1:40) -- Funeral song (1:37) -- Suguaro song (1:58) -- Peyote song : first song cycle (1:26) -- Moonlight song (2:09) -- Eagle dance (2:59) -- Butterfly dance (1:41) -- Lullaby (0:58) -- Rain dance (1:47) -- Night chant (1:43) -- Song of happiness (1:09) -- Silversmith's song (1:09) -- Corn grinding song (0:59) -- Children's songs (1:47) -- Church song (1:03) -- Devil dance, crown dance (2:57). Wolf song (2:05) -- Potlatch song (1:38) -- Hamatsa song (1:12) -- War song for marriage (1:50) -- Rabbit dance song (2:03) -- Cree dance song (2:24) -- Fiddle dance song (1:00) -- Bear hunting song (1:44) -- Inviting-in dance song (0:47) -- His first hunt (2:06) -- Hunting for musk ox (3:33) -- Corn dance (2:08) -- Stomp dance (1:57) -- Song of welcome (1:19) -- Buffalo feast song (1:06) -- Morning song (1:12) -- Song of the unfaithful woman (0:59) -- Hoot owl song (1:09) -- Oh Mary (1:01) -- Catholic hymn (0:42) -- Calusa corn dance song (1:32) -- Song of removal (1:41) -- Fortynine dance (2:00) -- Unidentified track (1:03) -- As long as the grass shall grow (6:03).
Track Information:
101 Sun Dance / Drum,Whistle.
102 Love Song.
103 Crazy Dog Song / Jack Low Horn, Jim Low Horn, Emil, Mrs. Wings. Drum,Rattle (Musical instrument).
106 Hand Game Song / William Peaychew. Sticks (Musical instrument).
104 Buffalo Dance Song / Jack V. Anquoe, Kenneth Anquoe, Nick Webster. Drum.
105 Man's Love Song / Mark Evarts.
107 Prisoner's Song / William Burn Stick. Drum.
108 World War II Song / George Nicotine. Drum. English language.
109 Warrior Death Song for Sitting Bull / Bass drum,Bells.
207 Song of Happiness / Fort Wingate (N.M.) Indian School. Drum,Harmonica. Navajo language.
208 Silversmith's Song / Ambrose Roanhorse. Anvils. Navajo language.
209 Corn Grinding Song / Basket drum. Navajo language.
110 Canvas Dance Song / Baptiste Pichette, Eneas Conko. Drum.
111 Funeral Song.
112 Suguaro Song.
113 Peyote Song: First Song Cycle / Burton John, Roy James. Drum,Rattle (Musical instrument).
201 Moonlight Song.
202 Eagle Dance / Drum.
203 Butterfly Dance / Drum.
204 Lullaby.
205 Rain Dance.
206 Night Chant / Rattle (Musical instrument). Navajo language.
210 Children's Song: Wolf Song / Irene Chalepah Poolaw. Kiowa Apache.
303 Hamatsa Song, Cedar Bark Dance / Mungo Martin.
304 War Song for Marriage / Billy Assu.
305 Rabbit Dance Song.
306 Cree Dance Song.
307 Fiddle Dance Song / Fiddle.
308 Bear Hunting Song / Sebastian McKenzie.
309 Inviting in Dance Song / Otis Ahkivigak.
310 His First Hunt / Kemukserar, Pangatkar.
311 Hunting for Musk Ox / Kemukserar, Pangatkar. Drum.
401 Corn Dance / Thomas Lewis.
402 Stomp Dance / Huron Miller.
403 Song of Welcome / Albert Yellow Thunder, Blow Snake, Winslow White Eagle.
404 Buffalo Feast Song / Albert Yellow Thunder, Blow Snake, Winslow White Eagle.
405 Morning Song / Albert Yellow Thunder, Blow Snake, Winslow White Eagle. Rattle (Musical instrument).
406 Song of the Unfaithful Woman / Albert Yellow Thunder, Blow Snake, Winslow White Eagle. Flute.
407 Hoot Owl Song / David, Oshawenimiki Kenosha.
408 Oh Mary / Fred Lacasse.
409 Catholic Hymn / Thomas Shalifoe.
410 Calusa Corn Dance Song / Billy, Gatcayehola Stewart.
411 Song of Removal / Billie Stewart, Susie Tiger.
412 Fortynine Dance / Fred Lacasse. English language.
413 The Seneca: As Long As the Grass Shall Grow / Peter La Farge.
Local Numbers:
FW-COMM-LP-04541
Folkways.4541
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
New York Folkways 1973
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, Onondaga Indian Reservation (N.Y.), Chesterfield (Alaska), Barrow, Point (Alaska), Alaska, Schefferville (Québec), Québec (Province), Montana, Fort Wingate (N.M.), New Mexico, Fort Qu'appelle (Sask.), Canada, Saskatchewan, New York (N.Y.), United States, New York.
General:
Commercial
Songs and dance music from many tribes including Sioux, Cree, Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, Apache, Kwakiutl-Nootka, Slavey, Iroquoian, Winnebago, Ojibwa, Seminole, and others. Compiled and edited by Michael I. Asch. Originally compiled principally from material previously released on several Folkways and Asch recordings. Program notes in English by Michael I. Asch and others, and Native American vocal texts with English translations and English vocal texts (10 p.)
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
The collection comprises Edward S. Curtis original and copy negatives, prints, and photogravures relating to the Harriman Alaska Expedition and Curtis's 20 volume publication, the North American Indian (NAI), as well as ephemera and one gold-tone of Fort Lapawi.
Scope and Contents:
The Christopher Cardozo collection of Edward S. Curtis papers and photographs primarily relate to Curtis's opus, the North American Indian, and also the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition. Papers in the collection include promotional ephemera for the NAI as well as articles by Curtis and others. Photographic material includes original and copy negatives, prints, two Harriman Alaska Expedition souvenir albums, and one gold-tone of Fort Lapawi.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in two series: 1. Papers; and 2. Photographs and photogravures.
Biographical / Historical:
Edward Sherriff Curtis (1868-1952) was an American photographer famous for his photographs of the indigenous peoples of North America. His work was highly influential in shaping a sympathetic yet romantic view of cultures that he and many others believed to be "vanishing." Over the course of 30 years, Curtis visited more than 80 Native American communities and published his photographs and ethnographies in the twenty-volume North American Indian (NAI) (1907-1930).
Curtis was born in Whitewater, Wisconsin, to Ellen and Johnson Curtis in 1868. In about 1874, his family moved to a farm in Cordova, Minnesota. At a young age, Curtis built a camera, and it is possible that he may have worked in a Minneapolis photography studio for a time. In 1887, Curtis and his father moved West and settled on a plot near what is now Port Orchard, Washington, with the rest of the family joining them the following year. When Johnson Curtis died within a month of the family's arrival, 20-year-old Curtis became the head of the family.
In 1891, Curtis moved to Seattle and bought into a photo studio with Rasmus Rothi. Less than a year later, he and Thomas Guptill formed "Curtis and Guptill, Photographers and Photoengravers." The endeavor became a premier portrait studio for Seattle society and found success in photoengraving for many local publications. In 1892, Curtis married Clara Phillips (1874-1932) and in 1893 their son Harold was born (1893-1988), followed by Elizabeth (Beth) (1896-1973), Florence (1899-1987) and Katherine (Billy) (1909-?). Around 1895, Curtis made his first photographs of local Native people, including the daughter of Duwamish chief Seattle: Kickisomlo or "Princess Angeline." Curtis submitted a series of his Native American photographs to the National Photographic Convention, and received an award in the category of "genre studies" for Homeward (later published in volume 9 of the NAI). In 1896, the entire Curtis family moved to Seattle, which included Curtis's mother, his siblings Eva and Asahel, Clara's sisters Susie and Nellie Phillips, and their cousin William Phillips. Most of the household worked in Curtis's studio along with other employees. Curtis became sole proprietor of the studio in 1897, which remained a popular portrait studio but also sold his scenic landscapes and views of the Seattle Area. Curtis also sent his brother Asahel to Alaska and the Yukon to photograph the Klondike Gold Rush, and sold those views as well. Asahel went on to become a well-known photographer in his own right, primarily working in the American Northwest.
Curtis was an avid outdoorsman and joined the Mazamas Club after his first of many climbs of Mount Rainier. On a climb in 1898, Curtis evidently met a group of scientists, including C. Hart Merriam, George Bird Grinnell, and Gifford Pinchot, who had lost their way on the mountain, and led them to safety. This encounter led to an invitation from Merriam for Curtis to accompany a group of over 30 well-known scientists, naturalists, and artists as the official photographer on a maritime expedition to the Alaskan coast. Funded by railroad magnate Edward Harriman, the Harriman Alaska Expedition left Seattle in May of 1899, and returned at the end of July. Curtis made around 5000 photographs during the trip, including photographs of the indigenous peoples they met as well as views of mountains, glaciers, and other natural features. Many of the photographs appeared in the expedition's 14 published volumes of their findings.
In 1900, Curtis accompanied Grinnell to Montana for a Blackfoot Sundance. Here, Curtis made numerous photographs and became interested in the idea of a larger project to document the Native peoples of North America. Almost immediately upon returning from the Sundance, Curtis set off for the Southwest to photograph Puebloan communities. By 1904, Curtis had already held at least one exhibit of his "Indian pictures" and his project to "form a comprehensive and permanent record of all the important tribes of the United States and Alaska that still retain to a considerable degree their primitive customs and traditions" (General Introduction, the NAI) had taken shape and already received some press coverage. With his fieldwork now increasing his absences from home, Curtis hired Adolph Muhr, former assistant to Omaha photographer Frank Rinehart, to help manage the Seattle studio.
In 1904, Curtis was a winner in the Ladies Home Journal "Prettiest Children In America" portrait contest. His photograph of Marie Fischer was selected as one of 112 that would be published and Fischer was one of 12 children selected from the photographs who would have their portrait painted by Walter Russell. Russell and Curtis made an acquaintance while Russell was in Seattle to paint Fischer's portrait, and not long afterwards, Russell contacted Curtis to make photographic studies of Theodore Roosevelt's children for portraits he would paint. Curtis subsequently photographed the entire Roosevelt family, and developed a social connection with the President. Several important outcomes came of this new friendship, including Roosevelt eventually writing the foreword to the NAI, as well as making introductions to influential people.
Key among these introductions was one to wealthy financier John Pierpont Morgan, in 1906. After a brief meeting with Curtis during which he viewed several of Curtis's photographs of Native Americans, Morgan agreed to finance the fieldwork for the NAI project for five years, at $15,000.00 per year. It was up to Curtis to cover publishing and promotion costs, with the publication being sold as a subscription. In return, Morgan would receive 25 sets of the 20-volume publication. The ambitious publication plan outlined 20 volumes of ethnological text, each to be illustrated with 75 photogravure prints made from acid-etched copper plates. Each volume would be accompanied by a companion portfolio of 35 large photogravures. With high-quality papers and fine binding, a set would cost $3000.00. 500 sets were planned. Under Morgan, the North American Indian, Inc. formed as body to administer the monies. Also around this time, Frederick Webb Hodge, Director of the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology, agreed to edit the publications.
Curtis then began more systematic fieldwork, accompanied by a team of research assistants and Native interpreters. In 1906, Curtis hired William E. Myers, a former journalist, as a field assistant and stenographer. Over the years, Myers became the lead researcher on the project, making enormous contributions in collecting data and possibly doing the bulk of the writing for the first 18 volumes. Upon meeting a new community, Curtis and his team would work on gathering data dealing with all aspects of the community's life, including language, social and political organization, religion, food ways, measures and values, and many other topics. (See box 2 folder 1 in this collection for Curtis's list of topics.) Curtis and his assistants, especially Myers, brought books and papers to the field relating to the tribes they were currently concerned with, and often wrote from the field to anthropologists at the Bureau of American Ethnology and other institutions for information or publications. In addition to fieldnotes and photographs, the team also employed sound recording equipment, making thousands of recordings on wax cylinders. Curtis also often brought a motion picture camera, although few of his films have survived.
The first volume of the NAI was published towards the end of 1907. Already, Curtis was encountering difficulty in finding subscribers to the publication despite great praise in the press and among those who could afford the volumes. Curtis spent progressively more of his time outside the field season promoting the project through lectures and in 1911, presenting his "Picture Musicale"—a lecture illustrated with lantern slides and accompanied by an original musical score—in major cities. After the initial five funded years, only eight of the twenty volumes had been completed. However, Morgan agreed to continue support for the fieldwork and publication continued.
Starting in 1910, Curtis and his team worked among the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nation on Vancouver Island, and in 1913 began to develop a documentary film project featuring the community in Alert Bay. In 1914, Curtis produced the feature-length film, In the Land of the Headhunters. The film showcased an all-indigenous cast and included an original musical score. Screened in New York and Seattle, it received high praise. However after this initial success, it did not receive the attention Curtis had hoped for, and resulted in financial loss.
Meanwhile, Curtis's prolonged absences from home had taken a toll on his marriage and in 1919 Clara and Edward divorced. The Seattle studio was awarded to Clara, and Curtis moved to Los Angeles, opening a photography studio with his daughter Beth and her husband Manford "Mag" Magnuson. Daughters Florence and Katherine came to Los Angeles sometime later. Curtis continued with fieldwork and promotion of the project, and in 1922 volume 12 of the NAI was published. Also in 1922, Curtis was accompanied during the field season in California by his daughter Florence Curtis Graybill, the first time a family member had gone to the field with him since the Curtis children were very small.
Curtis continued to push the project and publications along, yet never without financial struggle and he picked up work in Hollywood as both a still and motion picture photographer. John Pierpont Morgan, Jr., continued to provide funding for the fieldwork in memory of his father, but with the various financial upsets of the 1910s and 1920s, Curtis had a difficult time getting subscribers on board. In 1926, Myers, feeling the strain, regretfully resigned after the completion of volume 18. Anthropologist Frank Speck recommended Stewart Eastwood, a recent graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, to replace Myers as ethnologist for the final two volumes.
In 1927, Curtis and his team, along with his daughter Beth Curtis Magnuson, headed north from Seattle to Alaska and Canada on a final field season. Harsh weather and a hip injury made the trip difficult for Curtis, but he was very satisfied with the season's work. The party returned to Seattle, and upon arrival Curtis was arrested for unpaid alimony. He returned exhausted to Los Angeles, and in 1930 the final two volumes of NAI were published without fanfare. Curtis spent the next two years recovering from physical and mental exhaustion. Beth and Mag continued to run the Curtis studio in LA, but for the most part, Curtis had set down his camera for good. With the NAI behind him and his health recovered, Curtis pursued various interests and employment, eventually, settling down on a farm outside Los Angeles. he later moved in with Beth and Mag. Curtis died at home in 1952.
Sources Cited Davis, Barbara. Edward S. Curtis: the life and times of a shadowcatcher. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1984. Gidley, Mick. The North American Indian, Incorporated. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Christopher Cardozo (1948-2021) was a major collector and dealer in Edward S. Curtis photography.
Related Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds additional Curtis papers and photographs in the Edward S. Curtis papers and photographs, "MS 2000-18, the Edward Curtis investigation of the battle of Little Bighorn"
The Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University holds Curtis's wax cylinder audio recordings from 1907-1913.
The Braun Research Library at the Autry Museum of the American West holds the Frederick Webb Hodge papers (1888-1931), which contain substantial correspondence from Curtis. The Braun also holds a small amount of Curtis papers and photographs, including some of Curtis's cyanotypes.
The Getty Research Institute holds the Edward S. Curtis papers (1900-1978), which include the original manuscript scores for the Curtis Picture Musicale and film In the Land of the Headhunters.
The Palace of the Governors at the New Mexico History Museum holds original Curtis negatives pertaining to the southwest.
The Pierpont Morgan Library holds the Edward S. Curtis papers (1906-1947), which contain the records of the North American Indian, Inc., as well as Curtis's correspondence to librarian, and later library director, Belle Da Costa Greene. The library also holds a large collection of Curtis's lantern slides, used in his Picture Musicale.
The Seattle Public Library holds correspondence of Curtis to Librarian Harriet Leitch (1948-1951), pertaining to his career.
The Seaver Center for Western History Research at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History holds collection GC 1143, which contains Curtis's field notes as well as manuscript drafts for the North American Indian.
The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian holds NMAI.AC.080, the Edward S. Curtis photogravure plates and proofs, as well as NMAI.AC.053, the Mary Harriman Rumsey collection of Harriman Alaska Expedition photographs.
The University of Washington Libraries Special Collections holds the Edward S. Curtis papers (1893-1983). Additionally, the Burke Museum holds papers and photographs of Edmund Schwinke, which relate to Curtis's work with the Kwakwaka'wakw community.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Julie Cardozo in 2022.
Restrictions:
Viewing of the photographic negatives requires advance notice and the permission of the Photo Archivist.
101 Cuentos: Stories from the Rio Grande Valley / Paulette Atencio.
102 Drums of the Mountain Spirit Dancers / Abraham Chee, Joseph Geronimo.
103 Rural Life and Environment / Consuelo Martinez, Maria Varela, Samuel Henio.
104 Gospel Traditions / Rodney Jones, Vodra Dorn, William Dorn.
Local Numbers:
FP-1992-CT-0137
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, June 27, 1992.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
101 Pan Festival Workshop: Expressions of Faith / Floyd Trujillo, J.B. Dreadfulwater, William Dorn.
102 Micaceous Pottery / Carolina Paz, Felipe V. Ortega, Priscilla Vigil.
103 Fernando Cellicion- Zuni Flute / Fernando Cellcion. Flute.
Local Numbers:
FP-1992-CT-0142
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, June 28, 1992.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
The Edward S. Curtis papers and photographs, circa 1895-2001 (bulk 1898-1951) primarily relate to Curtis's work on his opus, the North American Indian (NAI), although other subjects are documented as well. The papers relate closely to the Edward S. Curtis papers at the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections (UW), as that collection was donated by Curtis's daughter Florence Graybill and appears to be part of the same body of materials that was maintained by Curtis, and after his death, by Florence. Occasionally a correspondence exchange or manuscript draft is divided between the National Anthropological Archives and UW. Also found in both collections are notes, mostly dated 1951, in Curtis's handwriting on slips of paper or the document itself that gives an explanation of the document.
The collection includes correspondence, research notes, NAI files and promotional material, writings and memoirs, a small amount of material relating to a complaint regarding his reporting in NAI of certain Pueblo ceremonies, and correspondence and other documents relating to his gold mining interests. Also included are papers of Florence Graybill, who published on Curtis after his death and maintained contacts with various individuals and entities involved in Curtis exhibits, publications, and sales.
The correspondence exchanges are almost exclusively NAI related and document the relationships Curtis had with various influential people, including Gifford Pinchot, Joseph Blethen, Jacob Riis, William Farabee, Smithsonian scholars Frederick Webb Hodge and Matilda Coxe Stevenson, and the immediate and extended family of Theodore Roosevelt. Included are letters of introduction for Curtis as he sought to promote his work.
The research notes consist of a small mixture of writings on field experiences as well as maps used during his fieldwork (the bulk of Curtis's fieldnotes and NAI manuscripts are at the Seaver Center in the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History). The NAI files chiefly contain material promoting the work, such as published reviews, articles, and ephemera, but there are a few North American Indian Inc. business records (the bulk of the business records are maintained at the Pierpont Morgan Library). Of note is a lengthy annual report for the North American Indian, Inc., in which Curtis explains difficulties encountered in the fieldwork and volume publication. Related to his NAI work are letters and other materials documenting a 1934 complaint from Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior on Curtis's reporting of certain Pueblo ceremonies, as well as Curtis's response.
The writings comprise manuscript drafts on various topics. Most are short, stand-alone stories relating to his NAI work, often relaying a story about his own experiences. Similar stories can be found in Florence Graybill's papers, as she published some of them after his death. Also part of the writings are drafts for several chapters of Curtis's unpublished memoir, "As it Was."
Curtis's interest in gold mining is represented in correspondence and other material dating from 1938-1950. Most of the letters are between Curtis and his son Harold. Curtis's invention of a concentrator for separating fine gold from placer tailings is also documented in photographs and drawings.
Florence Graybill's papers pertain to writings, talks, and projects relating to Curtis after his death. Included are publication files for Graybill's biography of Curtis written with Victor Boesen, Visions of a Vanishing Race, as well as other of her articles and book reviews. Graybill's correspondence reveals her commitment to assist scholars and others interested in researching and exhibiting Curtis material, as well as her communication with individuals having a commercial interest in Curtis. Also present are Graybill's lecture notes for talks given, and articles and newspaper features on Curtis written by others.
The photographs in this collection primarily relate to Curtis's NAI work (1898-1927) and are a mix of original and working copy negatives, prints, and transparencies. The original negatives are remarkable in that they reveal some of Curtis's working methods in crafting his images through pencil and other enhancements, as well as showing removal of unwanted items from the image. Also of note are two original logbooks used for recording negatives from approximately 1895-1916. The majority of the prints appear to be silver gelatin prints made for reference; however, there are a fair number of platinum prints as well as several blue-toned silver prints in the collection. There are only a few cyanotypes.
Among the photographs is a deerskin-bound photograph album containing Harriman Alaska Expedition and NAI photographs, representing some of Curtis's earliest Native American subjects. These include images of people from the Puget Sound area as well as from his 1900 trip to the Blackfoot reservation. There are no annotations in the album; however, tucked among the pages are a few small notes of identification in Curtis's handwriting.
Photographs documenting other subjects are also present to a lesser degree. Among these are photographs of Curtis's Seattle photography studio, a 1915 Grand Canyon trip, hop field workers in the Puget Sound area, and Curtis's illustrations for Marah Ryan's book Flute of the Gods. Additionally, the collection contains a number of photographs of Curtis, his children, and portraits of various individuals including Theodore Roosevelt and actor Anna May Wong.
Arrangement:
The Edward S. Curtis papers and photographs are arranged into the following 10 series:
Series 1: Biographical information, 1919-1952
Series 2: Correspondence, 1904-1951
Series 3: Research notes, 1900-1930, undated
Series 4: North American Indian, circa 1906-1920
Series 5: Writings, 1906, 1948, undated
Series 6: Complaint regarding Curtis's reporting of Pueblo ceremonies, 1924-1935
Series 7: Gold mining, 1938-1950
Series 8. Florence Curtis Graybill papers, 1948-2001
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1896-1927
Series 10: Duplicate material, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Edward Sherriff Curtis (1868-1952) was an American photographer famous for his photographs of the indigenous peoples of North America. His work was highly influential in shaping a sympathetic yet romantic view of cultures that he and many others believed to be "vanishing." Over the course of 30 years, Curtis visited more than 80 Native American communities and published his photographs and ethnographies in the twenty-volume North American Indian (NAI) (1907-1930).
Curtis was born in Whitewater, Wisconsin, to Ellen and Johnson Curtis in 1868. In about 1874, his family moved to a farm in Cordova, Minnesota. At a young age, Curtis built a camera, and it is possible that he may have worked in a Minneapolis photography studio for a time. In 1887, Curtis and his father moved West and settled on a plot near what is now Port Orchard, Washington, with the rest of the family joining them the following year. When Johnson Curtis died within a month of the family's arrival, 20-year-old Curtis became the head of the family.
In 1891, Curtis moved to Seattle and bought into a photo studio with Rasmus Rothi. Less than a year later, he and Thomas Guptill formed "Curtis and Guptill, Photographers and Photoengravers." The endeavor became a premier portrait studio for Seattle society and found success in photoengraving for many local publications. In 1892, Curtis married Clara Phillips (1874-1932) and in 1893 their son Harold was born (1893-1988), followed by Elizabeth (Beth) (1896-1973), Florence (1899-1987) and Katherine (Billy) (1909-?). Around 1895, Curtis made his first photographs of local Native people, including the daughter of Duwamish chief Seattle: Kickisomlo or "Princess Angeline." Curtis submitted a series of his Native American photographs to the National Photographic Convention, and received an award in the category of "genre studies" for Homeward (later published in volume 9 of the NAI). In 1896, the entire Curtis family moved to Seattle, which included Curtis's mother, his siblings Eva and Asahel, Clara's sisters Susie and Nellie Phillips, and their cousin William Phillips. Most of the household worked in Curtis's studio along with other employees. Curtis became sole proprietor of the studio in 1897, which remained a popular portrait studio but also sold his scenic landscapes and views of the Seattle Area. Curtis also sent his brother Asahel to Alaska and the Yukon to photograph the Klondike Gold Rush, and sold those views as well. Asahel went on to become a well-known photographer in his own right, primarily working in the American Northwest.
Curtis was an avid outdoorsman and joined the Mazamas Club after his first of many climbs of Mount Rainier. On a climb in 1898, Curtis evidently met a group of scientists, including C. Hart Merriam, George Bird Grinnell, and Gifford Pinchot, who had lost their way on the mountain, and led them to safety. This encounter led to an invitation from Merriam for Curtis to accompany a group of over 30 well-known scientists, naturalists, and artists as the official photographer on a maritime expedition to the Alaskan coast. Funded by railroad magnate Edward Harriman, the Harriman Alaska Expedition left Seattle in May of 1899, and returned at the end of July. Curtis made around 5000 photographs during the trip, including photographs of the indigenous peoples they met as well as views of mountains, glaciers, and other natural features. Many of the photographs appeared in the expedition's 14 published volumes of their findings.
In 1900, Curtis accompanied Grinnell to Montana for a Blackfoot Sundance. Here, Curtis made numerous photographs and became interested in the idea of a larger project to document the Native peoples of North America. Almost immediately upon returning from the Sundance, Curtis set off for the Southwest to photograph Puebloan communities. By 1904, Curtis had already held at least one exhibit of his "Indian pictures" and his project to "form a comprehensive and permanent record of all the important tribes of the United States and Alaska that still retain to a considerable degree their primitive customs and traditions" (General Introduction, the NAI) had taken shape and already received some press coverage. With his fieldwork now increasing his absences from home, Curtis hired Adolph Muhr, former assistant to Omaha photographer Frank Rinehart, to help manage the Seattle studio.
In 1904, Curtis was a winner in the Ladies Home Journal "Prettiest Children In America" portrait contest. His photograph of Marie Fischer was selected as one of 112 that would be published and Fischer was one of 12 children selected from the photographs who would have their portrait painted by Walter Russell. Russell and Curtis made an acquaintance while Russell was in Seattle to paint Fischer's portrait, and not long afterwards, Russell contacted Curtis to make photographic studies of Theodore Roosevelt's children for portraits he would paint. Curtis subsequently photographed the entire Roosevelt family, and developed a social connection with the President. Several important outcomes came of this new friendship, including Roosevelt eventually writing the foreword to the NAI, as well as making introductions to influential people.
Key among these introductions was one to wealthy financier John Pierpont Morgan, in 1906. After a brief meeting with Curtis during which he viewed several of Curtis's photographs of Native Americans, Morgan agreed to finance the fieldwork for the NAI project for five years, at $15,000.00 per year. It was up to Curtis to cover publishing and promotion costs, with the publication being sold as a subscription. In return, Morgan would receive 25 sets of the 20-volume publication. The ambitious publication plan outlined 20 volumes of ethnological text, each to be illustrated with 75 photogravure prints made from acid-etched copper plates. Each volume would be accompanied by a companion portfolio of 35 large photogravures. With high-quality papers and fine binding, a set would cost $3000.00. 500 sets were planned. Under Morgan, the North American Indian, Inc. formed as body to administer the monies. Also around this time, Frederick Webb Hodge, Director of the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology, agreed to edit the publications.
Curtis then began more systematic fieldwork, accompanied by a team of research assistants and Native interpreters. In 1906, Curtis hired William E. Myers, a former journalist, as a field assistant and stenographer. Over the years, Myers became the lead researcher on the project, making enormous contributions in collecting data and possibly doing the bulk of the writing for the first 18 volumes. Upon meeting a new community, Curtis and his team would work on gathering data dealing with all aspects of the community's life, including language, social and political organization, religion, food ways, measures and values, and many other topics. (See box 2 folder 1 in this collection for Curtis's list of topics.) Curtis and his assistants, especially Myers, brought books and papers to the field relating to the tribes they were currently concerned with, and often wrote from the field to anthropologists at the Bureau of American Ethnology and other institutions for information or publications. In addition to fieldnotes and photographs, the team also employed sound recording equipment, making thousands of recordings on wax cylinders. Curtis also often brought a motion picture camera, although few of his films have survived.
The first volume of the NAI was published towards the end of 1907. Already, Curtis was encountering difficulty in finding subscribers to the publication despite great praise in the press and among those who could afford the volumes. Curtis spent progressively more of his time outside the field season promoting the project through lectures and in 1911, presenting his "Picture Musicale"—a lecture illustrated with lantern slides and accompanied by an original musical score—in major cities. After the initial five funded years, only eight of the twenty volumes had been completed. However, Morgan agreed to continue support for the fieldwork and publication continued.
Starting in 1910, Curtis and his team worked among the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nation on Vancouver Island, and in 1913 began to develop a documentary film project featuring the community in Alert Bay. In 1914, Curtis produced the feature-length film, In the Land of the Headhunters. The film showcased an all-indigenous cast and included an original musical score. Screened in New York and Seattle, it received high praise. However after this initial success, it did not receive the attention Curtis had hoped for, and resulted in financial loss.
Meanwhile, Curtis's prolonged absences from home had taken a toll on his marriage and in 1919 Clara and Edward divorced. The Seattle studio was awarded to Clara, and Curtis moved to Los Angeles, opening a photography studio with his daughter Beth and her husband Manford "Mag" Magnuson. Daughters Florence and Katherine came to Los Angeles sometime later. Curtis continued with fieldwork and promotion of the project, and in 1922 volume 12 of the NAI was published. Also in 1922, Curtis was accompanied during the field season in California by his daughter Florence Curtis Graybill, the first time a family member had gone to the field with him since the Curtis children were very small.
Curtis continued to push the project and publications along, yet never without financial struggle and he picked up work in Hollywood as both a still and motion picture photographer. John Pierpont Morgan, Jr., continued to provide funding for the fieldwork in memory of his father, but with the various financial upsets of the 1910s and 1920s, Curtis had a difficult time getting subscribers on board. In 1926, Myers, feeling the strain, regretfully resigned after the completion of volume 18. Anthropologist Frank Speck recommended Stewart Eastwood, a recent graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, to replace Myers as ethnologist for the final two volumes.
In 1927, Curtis and his team, along with his daughter Beth Curtis Magnuson, headed north from Seattle to Alaska and Canada on a final field season. Harsh weather and a hip injury made the trip difficult for Curtis, but he was very satisfied with the season's work. The party returned to Seattle, and upon arrival Curtis was arrested for unpaid alimony. He returned exhausted to Los Angeles, and in 1930 the final two volumes of NAI were published without fanfare. Curtis spent the next two years recovering from physical and mental exhaustion. Beth and Mag continued to run the Curtis studio in LA, but for the most part, Curtis had set down his camera for good. With the NAI behind him and his health recovered, Curtis pursued various interests and employment; he continued to do some work in Hollywood, including working on The Plainsman, starring Gary Cooper.
In 1933 Curtis was publicly criticized by John Collier, the Commissioner for Indian Affairs for some of the statements he had made on certain Pueblo ceremonies in the NAI volume 16, published in 1924. In September of 1934 Curtis received a letter from Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior regarding the claims published in volume 16, demanding a printed apology to be distributed among the text of the book as well as removal of the offending text from any undistributed copies of the publication. Curtis spent months writing and compiling supporting documentation in his defense, which he submitted to Ickes in January 1935. Also in 1935, the Morgan estate liquidated the North American Indian, Inc. and sold the remaining sets of the NAI volumes and unbound pages, photogravures, and copper printing plates along with the rights to the material to Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat for $1000.00.
Curtis's interest in gold prospecting took a front seat in the mid-1930s. While he scouted for potentially profitable mines in Northern California, his friend Ted Shell and possibly his son Harold sought investors. However, nothing ever fully panned out, though Curtis did design and build a concentrator for separating fine gold from placer tailings. He later sold the patent for ten dollars. Eventually, Curtis settled down on a farm outside Los Angeles, moving later to live with Beth and Mag, where he stayed until his death. In the mid to late 1940s Curtis began to write his memoirs. His daughter Florence visited him regularly and typed as Curtis dictated his recollections, and at some point he completed a draft of a memoir titled "As it Was." He also went through his papers and annotated or tucked notes among the correspondence and other material giving a brief explanation of the item or its context. Curtis died at home in 1952.
Prior to his death, Curtis had been out of the public eye for some years, and the NAI had slipped into relative obscurity. The Curtis studio in Los Angeles continued to sell Curtis's Native American photographs, and Florence gave occasional talks on her father, but it wasn't until the early 1970s that Curtis's work saw a renewed interest. This renaissance took place largely in the art photography market, but Curtis's biography and the NAI were also getting treatment in publications. Florence Curtis Graybill partnered with Victor Boesen to produce two narrative histories of Curtis and his work, and these were followed by many others. Florence continued to publish short works on her father for many years, and stayed in touch with numerous people involved in projects both scholarly and commercial that related to Curtis's work.
Sources Cited
Davis, Barbara. Edward S. Curtis: the life and times of a shadowcatcher. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1984.
Gidley, Mick. The North American Indian, Incorporated. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Chronology
1868 -- Curtis is born in Whitewater, Wisconsin
circa 1874 -- Curtis family moves to Cordova, Minnesota
1887 -- Moves with his father to Washington territory to be joined by his mother and siblings in 1888
1891 -- With Rasmus Rothi forms Rothi & Curtis photography studio in Seattle
1892 -- Marries Clara Phillips With Thomas Guptill forms Curtis & Guptill Photographers and Photoengravers in Seattle
circa 1895 -- Becomes interested in photographing the indigenous people of the area
1897 -- Guptill leaves, Curtis establishes himself as Edward S. Curtis, Photographer and Photoengraver
1898 -- Meets C. Hart Merriam, George Bird Grinnell, and Gifford Pinchot during climb on Mount Rainier Receives first place award from the National Photographic Convention in the "Genre Studies" for his photographs of Native Americans
1899 -- Joins Harriman Alaska Expedition as official photographer at request of C. Hart Merriam and George Bird Grinnell
1900 -- Accompanies George Bird Grinnell to Blackfoot reservation in Montana for Sundance Becomes interested in a major project to document Native American tribes Travels to Arizona to photograph Hopi communities
circa 1902 -- Travels again to the southwest to photograph Native communities
1903 -- Holds first formal exhibit of Native American photographs in his studio
1904 -- Publicly announces intention to produce major publication on Native Americans Portrait entered in the Ladies Home Journal "Prettiest Children in America" contest is selected for publication and as a result, Curtis is asked to photograph President Theodore Roosevelt's family
circa 1904-1906 -- Conducts fieldwork among Native communities of the southwest
1906 -- Meets with J. P. Morgan, who agrees to finance the fieldwork for Curtis's project Hires William E. Myers as researcher and writer for the project
1907 -- Volume 1 of NAI is published
1908 -- Volumes 2 and 3 of NAI are published
1909 -- Volumes 4 and 5 of NAI are published
1911 -- Volumes 6, 7, and 8 of NAI are published Presents and tours the "Picture Musicale"
1913 -- J. P. Morgan dies, but his son agrees to continue to provide support for NAI Volume 9 of NAI is published
1914 -- Releases film In the Land of the Headhunters
1915 -- Volume 10 of NAI is published
1916 -- Volume 11 of NAI is published
1919 -- Edward and Clara Curtis divorce and the Seattle studio is awarded to Clara Moves to Los Angeles and opens new studio with daughter Beth and her husband, Manford Magnuson
1922 -- Volume 12 of NAI is published Conducts fieldwork in California with daughter Florence Curtis Graybill
1924 -- Volumes 13 and 14 of NAI are published
1926 -- Volumes 15, 16, and 17 of NAI are published William E. Myers resigns as chief writer and ethnologist of NAI
1927 -- Conducts fieldwork in Alaska and Canada for final NAI volume with daughter Beth Curtis Magnuson
1928 -- Volume 18 of NAI is published
1930 -- Volumes 19 and 20 of NAI are published
circa 1930-1950 -- Applies himself to various interests, especially gold mining
1952 -- Dies in Los Angeles at the home of Beth and Manford Magnuson
Related Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds additional Curtis papers and photographs in MS 2000-18, the Edward Curtis investigation of the battle of Little Bighorn and Photo Lot 59, the Library of Congress copyright prints collection.
The Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University holds Curtis's wax cylinder audio recordings from 1907-1913.
The Braun Research Library at the Autry Museum of the American West holds the Frederick Webb Hodge papers (1888-1931), which contain substantial correspondence from Curtis. The Braun also holds a small amount of Curtis papers and photographs, including some of Curtis's cyanotypes.
The Getty Research Institute holds the Edward S. Curtis papers (1900-1978), which include the original manuscript scores for the Curtis Picture Musicale and film In the Land of the Headhunters.
The Palace of the Governors at the New Mexico History Museum holds original Curtis negatives pertaining to the southwest.
The Pierpont Morgan Library holds the Edward S. Curtis papers (1906-1947), which contain the records of the North American Indian, Inc., as well as Curtis's correspondence to librarian, and later library director, Belle Da Costa Greene. The library also holds a large collection of Curtis's lantern slides, used in his Picture Musicale.
The Seattle Public Library holds correspondence of Curtis to Librarian Harriet Leitch (1948-1951), pertaining to his career.
The Seaver Center for Western History Research at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History holds collection GC 1143, which contains Curtis's field notes as well as manuscript drafts for the North American Indian.
The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian holds NMAI.AC.080, the Edward S. Curtis photogravure plates and proofs, as well as NMAI.AC.053, the Mary Harriman Rumsey collection of Harriman Alaska Expedition photographs.
The University of Washington Libraries Special Collections holds the Edward S. Curtis papers (1893-1983). Additionally, the Burke Museum holds papers and photographs of Edmund Schwinke, which relate to Curtis's work with the Kwakwaka'wakw community.
Separated Materials:
Artifacts collected by Curtis that were a part of this donation comprise Accession No. 2058745 in the collections of the Department of Anthropology in the National Museum of Natural History.
Provenance:
The papers and photographs were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Jim Graybill, grandson of Edward S. Curtis, in 2010 and 2011.
Restrictions:
Viewing of the photographic negatives and transparencies requires advance notice and the permission of the Photo Archivist.
Access to the Edward S. Curtis papers and photographs requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Sponsor:
Processing and digitization of parts of this collection was supported by funding from the Smithsonian Women's Committee and the Small Research Grants program of the National Museum of Natural History.
Although this colletion includes a few items concerning the American Indians (especially the Kiowa, Pamunkey, Nansemond and other Virginia Indians) it is notable because it includes biographical material and material concerning Mooney's non-Indian interests, particularly his interest in the Irish. Incorporated in the papers are material relating to Mooney's death and to biographies of Mooney.
The series of letters includes letters from Mooney's grandmother in Ireland to his father. Most of the correspondence is made up of incoming letters. Correspondents include Jeremiah Curtin, Natalie Curtis, Hamlin Garland, M.C. Knowles, Sister Mary Agnes Mooney, Thomas J. Shahan, Vilhjalmar Stefansson, H.C. ten Kate, C.C. Uhlenbeck, and Henry Voth.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Biographical Note:
James Mooney (1861-1921) was an ethnographer with the Bureau of American Ethnology from 1885 to 1921. Mooney is a well-known author of works on the Cherokee and other Southeast tribes, the ghost-dance religion, the Kiowa, and other Plains tribes. He also researched in the Southwest among the Pueblos and the northern plains tribes.
James Mooney's formal education was limited to the public schools of Richmond, Indiana. In his knowledge of American Indians, he was self-taught in an endeavor that begun early in life. He read widely and began a compilation of tribal names. After working as a teacher and newspaperman, he sought employment with John Wesley Powell, Director of the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology, who engaged him in 1885. At the BAE Mooney developed such a breadth and depth of knowledge that he came to be recognized as one of the most outstanding authorities on American Indians.
Mooney advocated meticulous field study and sought long association with his subjects. His work with the Cherokee began in 1887 and continued for the rest of his life. His other chief concern was the Kiowa tribes. He also spent considerable amounts of time studying and collecting among the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Apache, Dakota, Kiowa-Apache, Wichita, and Comanche and lesser amounts with the Hopi, Paiute, Shoshoni, Caddo, and small groups in northern Mexico and in the Southeast. His publications and field work also reveal interest in southern mountain people, the Irish, Florida aborigines and missionary efforts among the Indians.
Mooney's investigations led him to several cross-cultural studies, including most notably an investigation of the Ghost Dance Religion and the use of peyote. His study of the American population at the time that contact with Europeans was published posthumously. He also wrote many articles for Frederick W. Hodge's Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico (BAE Bulletin 30, 1907 and 1910) and prepared several exhibits for international expositions.
Related Materials:
Most of Mooney's papers are among the National Anthropological Archives's series of Numbered Manuscripts.
Provenance:
The material in this collection was donated by Mr. John M. (Jack) Scott, a grandson of Mooney's, in 1991.
Restrictions:
The James Mooney papers are open for research.
Access to the James Mooney papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Citation:
James Mooney papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsoian Institution
Photographs made during James Mooney's fieldwork with Apache, Arapaho, Caddo, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Comanche, Dakota/Lakota, Hopi, Kiowa, Navaho, Powhatan, and Wichita communities, as well as in Mexico. Photographs document individuals and families, gatherings, ceremonies and dances, daily activities, games, crafts, landscapes, and burials.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Biographical / Historical:
James Mooney (1861-1921) was an American ethnographer whose research focused on Native North Americans. The son of Irish Catholic immigrants, Mooney was born in Richmond, Indiana. His formal education was limited to the public schools of the city; most of his knowledge of anthropology and ethnography was self-taught, largely through his field experience working with various Native communities.
In 1885, Mooney began working for the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) under John Wesley Powell. There, he carried out ethnographic research for more than 30 years. He was a very early adopter of photography and made thouands of photographs in the course of his fieldwork.
Mooney married Ione Lee Gaut in 1897, and had six children. He died in 1921 in Washington, D.C. from heart disease.
For fuller biographies of Mooney see George Ellison's introduction to the 1992 edition of Mooney's History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, as well as The Indian Man: A Biography of James Mooney by L.G. Moses (2002).
Chronology
February 10, 1861 -- Born
1878 -- Graduated high school, then taught public school for 1 year
1879 -- Joined the staff of The Richmond Palladium
April 1885 -- Joined the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE)
May-June 1885 -- Worked with Cherokee Chief N. J. Smith on Eastern Cherokee grammar
Summer 1886 -- Worked with Chief Smith (in D.C.)
Summer 1887 -- First trip to the Eastern Cherokee of the Great Smokey Mountains to study language, collect material culture, and document activities including the Green Corn Dance and Cherokee ball games (3.5 months)
Winter/Spring 1888 -- Studied Iroquoian and Algonquian synonymies and published articles on the Irish and the Cherokee, collected and studied Cherokee sacred formulae
1889 -- Visit to Cherokee (worked with Swimmer, worked on his maps of place names/mound sites, witnessed ball play and the Green Corn Dance, gathered plants and collected objects for the Smithsonian
December 1890 -- Visited Oklahoma Territory to complete research with Western Cherokee, witnessed the Ghost Dance at the Cheyenne/Arapaho Reservation for the first time
1891 -- "The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee" published Visit to Cherokee in Oklahoma Territory
April 1891 -- Delegated to collect material for Chicago Exposition. Collected for the next 2 years while studying the Ghost Dance
May 1891 -- Photographed Kiowa Mescal (Peyote) Ceremony Headed west for a four month collecting trip for the Chicago exposition, commissioned model tipis and summer houses from the Kiowa
1891-1893 -- Observed/participated in three ghost dances during three seasons of fieldwork among Arapaho, Sioux, Kiowa, and Cheyenne communities
Winter 1892 -- Began intensive field study of Kiowa winter counts and Kiowa heraldry Among the Navajo and Hopi, making collections for Chicago Exposition
Fall 1893 -- Returned to Oklahoma Territory to observe and record Arapaho Sun Dance. Also studied the Hopi Kachina Dance, the Wichita Corn Dance, and possibly also the Arapaho Ghost Dance
May 1895 -- "Siouan Tribes of the East" published
1895 -- Trip to the Southwest, visited Hopi and Navajo communities
1896 -- "The Ghost Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890" published
January 1897 -- At Anadarko
September 28, 1897 -- Married Ione Lee Gaut
Fall 1898 -- Trip to Southwest, visited Hopi and Navajo communities
1898 -- Attended Omaha Fair, helped plan 'Congress of Indians', supervised Frank Rinehart, who photographed many of the Indian delegates to the fair Calendar History of the Kiowa Indians published
Fall 1899 -- For three weeks in the fall traveled with DeLancey Gill to William Co, VA to study and photograph Mattapony and Pamunkey communities; Gill took pictures while Mooney did census work before traveling to the Chickahominy River
1900 -- Myths of the Cherokee published
Spring 1900 -- Studied communities of the Powhatan Confederacy in VA; traveled to VA again with Gill to visit the Pamunkey and Mattapony communities for more pictures and to complete census, then traveled to area south of Portsmouth to find the rural settlement of the Nansemond.
Fall 1901 -- Cooperative agreement with Field Museum and J. Owen Dorsey; Studied Kiowa for BAE, studied Cheyenne for Field Museum (focused on heraldry). This project, with Dorsey working on Arapaho, continued until 1906
1902 -- Fieldwork on heraldry with Kiowa and Apache communities all year except for two brief visits to Washington, D.C. in September and November
July 1903 -- Mooney and Dorsey study Sun Dance on Cheyenne reservation in Oklahoma Territory, brought staff photographer Charles Carpenter. Spent a week attending the Sun Dance and made the first photographs of the skull-dragging ceremony
October 1903 -- Photographed Arapaho Tomahawk Dance
Winter 1903 -- At the Cheyenne-Arapaho agency in Darlington; winter spent with Cheyenne, and finishing Kiowa tipi models for the Bureau's exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
March 1904 -- At Mount Scott with Kiowa
June 1904 -- St. Louis Exposition opens
April 1906 -- Last visit to Cheyenne
Summers, 1911-1916 -- Visits to Cherokee
1918 -- Assisted with charting the Native American Church of Oklahoma (the Secretary of the Interior issued a ban on his research)
June 28, 1918 -- Requested by Fewkes to study peyote cult and Kiowa Heraldry (see Mooney Papers, Box 1, Letters, statement dated 1921)
December 22, 1921 -- Died
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Photo Lot 74, James Mooney photographs, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Volumes
Vocabulary
Date:
1898
Scope and Contents:
Vocabulary listed according to categories in Powellʼs printed outline with added information on culture, customs and religion.
Biographical / Historical:
Informants: Gunʹ -si Vigil, interpreter, educated at Santa Fe and Fort Lewis Indian schools; Juan Quintana, "authority for many names of plants and narrator of most of the animal tales and information regarding the sun;" and Reuben [Quintana], interpreter for Juan.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 1302-a
Local Note:
Identified as Jicarilla Apache by comparison with manuscript numbers 115 and 116.
103 Pan Festival Workshop: Drum Making / Brad Bonaparte, Joseph Geronimo, Louis Topo. Drum.
Local Numbers:
FP-1992-CT-0058
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, June 27, 1992.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation Search this
Collection Director:
Heye, George G. (George Gustav), 1874-1957 Search this
Container:
Box 262A, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1928 - 1968
Restrictions:
Image number 011 "Holiday Handcraft" has been removed from the slideshow due to culutral sensitivity.
Collection Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Ethnographic data recovery and treatment recommendations for the proposed improvement of Navajo Route 7 (5 & 7) in the area of Fluted Rock (Dził Dah Siʼáni) (AZ-P-7-55), Apache County, Arizona / prepared by David Zimmerman, Robert Johnson
