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Catalog Data

Creator:
Waugh, Donald.  Search this
Waugh, Leuman Maurice, 1877-1972.  Search this
Names:
American Association of Dental Schools  Search this
American Board of Orthodontics  Search this
Columbia University  Search this
Nanuk Mi-kin-inni (Yacht)  Search this
New York Athletic Club  Search this
Northland (Coast Guard cutter: WPG-49)  Search this
United States. Public Health Service  Search this
Extent:
2.1 Linear feet ((5 boxes; 1 map case drawer))
1,749 Photographic prints
1,035 Lantern slides
1579 Negatives (photographic)
80 Film reels (16mm)
Culture:
Inuit  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Lantern slides
Negatives (photographic)
Film reels
Writings
Dental records
Printed ephemera
Maps
Correspondence
Clippings
Realia
Place:
Labrador (N.L.)
Alaska
Date:
1909-1963
Summary:
The Leuman Maurice Waugh collection contains papers, photographs, and film holdings that were created by Waugh during his dental research expeditions to indigenous communities in Newfoundland and Labrador in eastern Canada and in Arctic Alaska.
Scope and Contents:
The Leuman Maurice Waugh collection contains materials created and compiled by Dr. Leuman Waugh during his research expeditions to Arctic Alaska and the Newfoundland and Labrador regions of Eastern, Canada circa 1909-1963. During these trips, Waugh studied the dental health of Indigenous communities in the region and treated patients. The collection contains materials that were created and collected by Waugh during his research trips and include raw dental data and community census information; professional and personal correspondence; clippings, articles, and essays; reports and lectures; logistics and trip planning documents; postcards; journals; and sketches and drawings, among other materials. The collection also contains over 4,000 photographs and 80 16mm film reels that were shot by Waugh during his research trips and document his work with Indigenous communities in Alaska and eastern Canada.
Arrangement note:
Waugh's original order was disturbed over the years after his death and during transfer from the Waugh family to the Rankin Museum. NMAI archivists elected to arrange the collection chronologically. The records are organized in the following series: I. Dental study data and logistics, II. Correspondence, III. Writings, IV. Realia and ephemera, V. Press clippings and public relations materials, VI. Maps and other oversized materials.Chronological arrangement.
Biographical/Historical note:
Born on March 6, 1877 in New Dundee, Ontario, Canada, Leuman Maurice Waugh, moved to Rochester, New York, with his family at the age of nine. He acquired his love for photography in Rochester, which always attributed as the "Kodak city." Following in his father's dentistry footsteps, Waugh attended the University of Buffalo, from which he received his D.D.S. in 1900. He took post-graduate studies in Histology, Bacteriology, and Pathology at Buffalo's School of Medicine, and within two years was appointed Professor of Histology and Embryology at his alma mater. In 1912, Waugh pioneered the design of a unit-type x-ray machine for use at the dental chair, which was later studied and adopted by large dental apparatus manufacturers. By the time he left Buffalo in 1914 to specialize in the infant field of orthodontics in New York City, he had served as Professor of Special Pathology and Officer of the Governing Faculty at the university. In 1915, Waugh served on the Organization Committee of the Columbia Dental School and shortly thereafter became its Secretary of the Dental Faculty, and sequentially Secretary of the Administrative Board and Professor of Histology and Embryology. In 1921 he was appointed Professor and Director of the Orthodontic Division of the school, and later served as Associate Director, Acting Director and Associate Dean. Waugh's affiliation with Columbia lasted through 1945. He served as Director of the American Board of Orthodontics from 1949 to 1953, and was asked to serve as Secretary-Chairman of the Orthodontia section of the American Association of Dental Schools in 1930, and as President in 1935. Waugh married Helen "Esty" Marshall, and had a son, Donald (also a dentist), and a daughter, Dorothy. An active member of the Explorer's Club and Commodore of the Yachting Department of the New York Athletic Club, Waugh volunteered to undertake Alaskan studies on caries research among the Inuit for the U.S. Public Health Service. In 1929, the Health Service appointed Waugh Dental Director (Reserve) at the rank of Colonel. Waugh was apparently inspired by a lecture he heard as a student in 1908 from Dr. Ales Hrdlicka, Smithsonian Curator of Physical Anthropology at the Institute of Dental Pedagogics, on the dental conditions of human populations. Waugh privately carried out a Labrador study between 1921 and d1927 over the course of five summers. Under the sometimes-partial aegis of the U.S. Public Heath Service, Waugh also studied twelve Alaskan Inuit communities between 1929 and 1938. He was the first dental officer in the U.S. Public Service ever assigned to the Coast Guard Cutter Northland's cruise area of the Bering Sea and Alaska Arctic regions. During his trips, Waugh compiled data on the teeth, mouth, and diet of indigenous communities. In addition, he took many photographs and films of both dental subjects and indigenous communities. Waugh's son, Donald, accompanied him on his 1935 expedition up the Kuskokwim River (Alaska) in their custom designed and built 29 foot yacht Nanuk Mi-kin-inni (Polar Bear Cub). In 1936, Waugh was appointed to a position with the Alaska Health Service by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior via the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. This position allowed him to further his studies of tooth decay throughout Alaska and the Bering Sea region. Waugh's 1937 expedition included three dentists (one a biochemist), a physician and a nurse, and involved extensive air travel in small planes. A popular lecturer and prolific writer, Waugh continued to advocate for the health of the northern indigenous communities he visited long after his trips ended. He spent the remainder of his professional career at Columbia University, where he rose from Professor of Orthodontia (1923-19435) to (concurrently) Chief of Orthodontia and Director of the Department of Orthodontics. Waugh continued to be active in professional organizations well after his retirement, until a few years before his death at his home in Betterton, Maryland, on May 6, 1972.
Related Archival Materials note:
The National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution hold twenty Waugh photographs which located in the Division of Physical Anthropology Photograph Collection #NAA2223a. NAA also has Waugh material in the Henry Bascom Collins, Jr. Papers, #NAA3131. The Archives and Special Collections at the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library, Columbia University holds the School of Dental and Oral Surgery Records, 1892, 1915-1976 as well as the School of Dental and Oral Surgery, Historical Collection, 1892-1989.
Provenance:
The National Museum of the American Indian purchased the Waugh collection in 2001 from the Rankin Museum of American and Natural History in Ellerbee, N.C.
Restrictions:
Access restricted. Researchers should contact the NMAI Archivist for an appointment to access the collection. Access restricted. Some dental records may be restricted from access, reproduction, or publication under personal health information privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. Researchers should contact the NMAI Archies Center 301-238-1400 or nmaiarchives@si.edu for an appointment to access the collection.
Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadbast materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Occupation:
Dentists  Search this
Dentists  Search this
Topic:
Missions, Medical -- Kuskokwim River (Alaska)  Search this
Nutrition and dental health -- Alaska  Search this
Missions, Medical -- Labrador (N.L.)  Search this
Anthropology -- Alaska  Search this
Dentistry -- Alaska  Search this
Dentistry -- Labrador (N.L.)  Search this
Orthodontists  Search this
Inuit -- Names, Personal  Search this
Anthropology -- Labrador (N.L.)  Search this
Missions, Medical -- Alaska  Search this
Inuit -- Census -- Alaska  Search this
Teeth -- Radiography  Search this
Inuit -- Dental care -- Alaska  Search this
Nutrition and dental health -- Labrador (N.L.)  Search this
Genre/Form:
Writings
dental records
Printed ephemera
Maps
Correspondence
Clippings
Realia
Citation:
Leuman Maurice Waugh collection, 1909-1963. National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAI.AC.003
See more items in:
Leuman Maurice Waugh collection
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4f2207394-2b79-4c80-af41-5a58bea2a006
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmai-ac-003