This collection consists of 105 photographic images of Native American peoples throughout the U.S., primarily in Arizona and New Mexico. A number of the postcards and photographs were sent back and forth between non-Native family members who worked in Indian Boarding Schools in Fort Defiance, AZ, among other locations.
Scope and Contents:
The Arizona and New Mexico postcard and photograph collection consists of postcards, photographic prints, and stereographs, totaling 105 photographic items. Many of the postcards and photographs date to between the early 1900s and the late 1920s and were sent between non-Native family members who worked in Indian Boarding Schools, including those at Fort Defiance and Chinle in Arizona, Chilocco in Oklahoma, Haskell in Kansas, and Lac du Flambeau in Wisconsin.
These items have been organized into three series. Series 1: Postcards, 1908-1916, includes 79 postcards. Approximately 10 postcards contain images taken by the photographer Simeon Schwemberger of Diné (Navajo) people on the Navajo Reservation, and were sold out of his studio in St. Michaels, Arizona. Series 2: Photographs, 1896-1926, includes 18 photographs. Several of these include depictions of Native and non-Native peoples in Fort Defiance in Arizona, Haskell in Kansas, and Lac du Flambeau in Wisconsin. Series 3: Stereographs, 1865-1875, includes 8 stereographic images. These stereographs contain images taken by the photographer William Stinson Soule (Will Soule) of Kiowa-Apache, Niuam (Comanche), and Southern Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne) men near Fort Sill in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), between approximately 1865 and 1875.
Please note that the language and terminology used in this collection reflects the context and culture of the time of its creation, and may include culturally sensitive information. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into three series. Series 1: Postcards, 1908-1916, Series 2: Photographs, 1896-1926, and Series 3: Stereographs, 1865-1875.
Biographical / Historical:
Photographer William Stinson Soule (Will Soule) lived and worked in the region of Fort Sill, in the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), in the 1860s and 1870s, regularly photographing U.S. Army personnel and Southern Plains Indian communities.
Simeon Schwemberger was a photographer originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, who settled near the St. Michaels mission church in Arizona in 1901. There he took many photographs of the Native communities of the region, later selling the images as postcards.
Provenance:
Gift from Jenene Garey in 2018 and 2021.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Arizona and New Mexico postcard and photograph collection, NMAI.AC.127; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
