Photographs depicting Native Americans/First Nations peoples (chiefly Cree and Chipewyan) in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Mackenzie, Canada, taken by Francis Harper on an expedition of the Geological Survey of Canada to Great Slave Lake in May-September 1914. Includes images of Cree, Ojibwa, Chipewyan, Salteaux, and Slavey people, as well as images of boats, encampments, and tea dances. Each of the photographs has an associated caption, given by either Harper or the Geological Survey of Canada.
Biographical/Historical note:
Francis Harper (1886-1972) was born in Southbridge, MA to a Canadian father and German mother. He attended Cornell University, receiving a BA in 1914 and a PhD in 1925. Harper made his first trip to northern Canada in 1914, as a zoologist for the Geological Survey of Canada. During World War I, he was stationed with the US Army 79th division in France, and then in New York and Maryland. He returned to Canada in 1920, but continued to travel throughout his life. Harper also worked to trace the travels of John and William Bertram through the American South and made numerous trips to study the people and environment of the Okefinokee Swamp.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 4606
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Additional photographs by Francis Harper held in the National Anthropological Archives BAE historical negatives.
The Smithsonian Institution Archives holds some of Harper's fieldbooks (SIA RU007434, SIA Acc. 12-443, SIA Acc. 12-581, and SIA Acc. 12-443).
The University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library holds the Francis Harper papers.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Reproductions of these photographs should include credit to the Geological Survey of Canada.
