These records document the governance and programmatic activities of the Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (MAI) from its inception in 1904 until its sublimation by the Smithsonian Institution in 1990. The types of materials present in this collection include personal and institutional correspondence, individual subject files, minutes and annual reports, financial ledgers, legal records, expedition field notes, research notes, catalog and object lists, publications, clippings, flyers, maps, photographs, negatives and audio-visual materials. These materials span a varied range of subjects relating to the activities of the museum which are more fully described on the series level.
Scope and Contents:
These records document the governance and programmatic activities of the Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (MAI) from its inception in 1904 until its sublimation by the Smithsonian Institution in 1990. The types of materials present in this collection include personal and institutional correspondence, individual subject files, minutes and annual reports, financial ledgers, legal records, expedition field notes, research notes, catalog and object lists, publications, clippings, flyers, maps, photographs, negatives and audio-visual materials. These materials span a varied range of subjects relating to the activities of the museum which are more fully described on the series level.
Arrangement:
The MAI, Heye Foundation records have been arranged into 21 series and 50 subseries:
Series 1: Directors, 1908-1990 (1.1: George Gustav Heye, 1863-1962, 1.2: Edwin K. Burnett, 1943-1960, 1.3: Frederick Dockstader, 1950-1976, 1.4: Alexander F. Draper, 1972-1977, 1.5:Roland W. Force, 1963-1990, 1.6: George Eager, Assistant Director, 1977-1990)
Series 2: Board of Trustees, 1916-1990 (2.1: Board of Trustee Minutes, 1916-1990, 2.2: Individual Board Correspondence, 1943-1990, 2.3: Subject Files, 1917-1990)
Series 3: Administrative, 1916-1989 (3.1: Subject Files, 1904-1991, 3.2: Personnel, 1956-1991, 3.3: Legal, 1900-1989, 3.4: Task Force, 1976-1986, 3.5: George Abrams, 1980-1991)
Series 4: Financial, 1916-1990 (4.1: Ledgers, 1900-1962, 4.2: Correspondence, 1905-1985, 4.3: Subject Files, 1916-1990)
Series 5: Expeditions, 1896-1973Series 6: Collectors, 1872-1981Series 7: Registration, 1856-1993Series 8: Collections Management, 1937-1988Series 9: Curatorial, 1963-1990 (9.1: Curatorial Council, 1973-1990, 9.2: Gary Galante, 1979-1991, 9.3: Mary Jane Lenz, 1974-1994, 9.4: James G. E. Smith, 1963-1990, 9.5: U. Vincent Wilcox, 1968-1984, 9.6: Anna C. Roosevelt, 1973-1988)
Series 10: Exhibits, 1923-1991 (10.1: MAI Exhibits, 1923-1990, 10.2: Non-MAI Exhibits, 1937-1991)
Series 11: Public Programs, 1935-1990Series 12: Publications, 1904-1994 (12.1: Annual Reports, 1917-1989, 12.2: Publications by MAI, 1904-1990, 12.3: Publications by Other Sources, 1881-1990, 12.4: Administration, 1920-1988, 12.5: Archival Set of Official Publications, 1907-1976)
Series 13: Public Affairs, 1938-1991Series 14: Development, 1927-1991 (14.1: Administration, 1979-1990, 14.2: Donors, 1978-1990, 14.3: Fundraising, 1973-1990, 14.4: Grants, 1970-1990, 14.5: Subject Files, 1976-1990)
Series 15: Other Departments, 1914-1990 (15.1: Archives, 1914-1990, 15.2: Conservation, 1972-1989, 15.3: Education, 1921-1990, 15.4: Indian Information Center, 1977-1989, 15.5: Museum Shop, 1947-1989, 15.6: Photography, 1918-1990, 15.7: Physical Anthropology, 1919-1956)
Series 16: Huntington Free Library, 1926-1991Series 17: Museum Relocation, 1969-1992 (17.1: Subject Files, 1979-1990, 17.2: American Museum of Natural History, 1980-1987, 17.3: Dallas, Texas, 1984-1987, 17.4: Smithsonian Institution, 1979-1990, 17.5: U.S. Custom House, 1977-1990, 17.6: Other Locations, 1974-1987)
Series 18: MediaSeries 19: PhotographsSeries 20: Miscellaneous, 1837-1990Series 21: Oversize, 1873-1972 (21.1: Maps, 1873-1975, 21.2: Miscellaneous, 1884-1982)
History of the Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation:
The Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation was established by wealthy collector George Gustav Heye in 1908. Heye began collecting American Indian artifacts as early as 1897 and his collection rapidly increased over the next several years. Based in New York, Heye bought collections and documentary photographs, sponsored expeditions, and traveled and collected items himself. In addition, once MAI was established he sponsored numerous expeditions across the Western Hemisphere, including North American, Canada, South America and Central America.
From 1908 to 1917 Heye housed his artifacts on temporary loan at the University of Pennsylvania's University Museum, Pennsylvania, in lofts on East 33rd Street in New York City, and at other depositories. In 1917, the collections moved from his apartment to their permanent museum location at Audubon Terrace, at 155th Street and Broadway in New York City. The museum, containing ethnographic and archaeological collections from North, Central and South America, opened to the public in 1922. Less than ten years later, Heye completed a storage facility in the Pelham Bay area of the Bronx, known as the Research Branch. Heye served as Chairman of the Board and Museum Director until his death in 1957. After growing concern about the financial and other management of the collections came to a head, the museum became part of the Smithsonian Institution in 1989 and in 1994 opened exhibit space in the U.S. Customs House at Bowling Green near New York City's Battery Park. The Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Maryland later opened in 1999 and the main Washington, DC museum opened in 2004.
Please visit the following links for more information about the history of the museum; History of the Collection, Collections Overview, and Significance of the Collection. Moreover, for information about how the museum currently cares for and exhibits the collection, please see the Conservation department and recent entries regarding Exhibitions and Conservation on the NMAI Blog. In addition, see portions of the NMAI Archive Center's collections highlighted in the SIRIS Blog.
Related Materials:
In 2004, the Huntington Fee Library, once part of the MAI/Heye Foundation, was transferred to the Cornell University Library Rare Book and Manuscript Collection. While this collection mainly contained books, it also contained a significant amount of archival materials. The Huntington Free Library's Native American Collection contains outstanding materials documenting the history, culture, languages, and arts of the native tribes of both North and South America, as well as contemporary politics and human rights issues are also important components of the collection. Further information about the collection and links to finding aids can be found here: rmc.library.cornell.edu/collections/HFL_old.html.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
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.
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.
Indians of North America -- California Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
North Dakota -- Archeology
South Dakota -- Archeology
Great Plains
Honduras -- Archeology
Labrador (N.L.)
Nebraska -- Archeology
Columbia River Valley
Date:
1902-1965
bulk 1927-1955
Summary:
William Duncan Strong's early interest was in zoology, but, while an undergraduate at the University of California, he was brought into anthropology under the influence of Alfred Louis Kroeber. He conducted archaeological and ethnological field research in several areas of the New World and was the first professionally trained archaeologist to focus on the Great Plains, where he applied the so-called direct historical method, working from known history in interpreting archaeological sites. Strong's papers include correspondence, field notes, diaries, newspaper clippings, teaching notes and student papers, manuscripts of his writings, writings by other authors, papers from the various organizations in which he served, maps, and a considerable number of photographs from his field work. The materials date from 1902 to 1965, with most of the materials being from 1927 to 1955.
Scope and Contents:
Strong's papers include correspondence, field notes, diaries, newspaper clippings, teaching notes and student papers, manuscripts of his writings, writings by other authors, papers from the various organizations in which he served, maps, and a considerable number of photographs from his field work. The materials date from 1902 to 1965, with most of the materials being from 1927 to 1955.
Strong's papers reflect his professional life, but there is little personal material. Except for the Rawson-MacMillan Labrador Expedition, there is little information from Strong's years at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Other than information on field work expenses, there is little light shed on Strong's personal financial situation. There is no personal correspondence with either of his wives and little correspondence with family members, except for his brother, Ronald. Some correspondence from the late 1930s to the early 1940s is not present and its whereabouts is not known. Of special interest is a collection of drawings by Naskapi Indian children collected while Strong was on the Labrador expedition in 1928. Strong collected obituaries, vitae, news articles, and writings on and by other anthropologists. He was an inveterate doodler, and his fascinating creations appear throughout the papers.
Strong also collected materials from other researchers, including Loren Eiseley's 1931 field notes from the Morrill Expedition, Maurice Kirby's 1932 notes on the Signal Butte excavations, notes and drawings from the 1936 Honduras expedition by Alfred V. Kidder II, and the field notebooks kept by Clifford Evans for the 1946 Virú Valley expedition in Peru. Contributed photographs from field expeditions are from A.T. Hill, Waldo Wedel, and John Champe.
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.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in 12 series: (1) Miscellaneous personal papers, 1914-1963; (2) Correspondence, 1922-1965; (3) Materials relating to field work, 1921-1963; (4) Miscellaneous research notes, 1917-1960, most undated; (5) Maps and charts, 1902-1949; (6) Drawings by Naskapi Indians and Eskimos, 1910, 1928; (7) Manuscripts of writings, 1922-1962, undated; (8) Writings by other authors, 1902-1961; (9) Papers relating to organizations, 1926-1961; (10) Teaching materials and course work, 1909, 1928-1961; (11) Miscellany, 1902-1961, most undated; (12) Photographs, 1913-1950.
Biographical Note:
William Duncan Strong (1899-1962) was a major figure in American anthropology. His accomplishments were as a field worker in archaeology and ethnology, archaeological theorist, writer, and teacher. He was, furthermore, a leader in anthropological organizations. In 1954, his position in the field was recognized by the award of the Viking Fund Medal for his contributions to archaeology.
William Duncan Strong's early interest was in zoology, but, while an undergraduate at the University of California, he was brought into anthropology under the influence of Alfred Louis Kroeber. He conducted archaeological and ethnological field research in several areas of the New World, including Labrador, southern California, Honduras, and Peru. Strong was the first professionally trained archaeologist to focus on the Great Plains, and it was there that he applied the so-called direct historical method, working from known history in interpreting archaeological sites. His work in all these areas are represented by notebooks, diaries, specimen catalogues, maps, and photographs.
Strong spent the majority of his professional life affiliated with various universities and taught many anthropologists who became influential in their own right. His students included Loren Eiseley, Waldo R. Wedel, Joseph Jablow, Oscar Lewis, John Landgraf, Dorothy Keur, David Stout, Charles Wagley, Eleanor Leacock, John Champe, Albert C. Spaulding, Victor Barnouw, John M. Corbett, Walter Fairservis, and Richard B. Woodbury. Strong preserved the student papers by some of these anthropologists as well as their correspondence with him.
Strong influenced American anthropology by his service in professional societies. He served as president of the American Ethnological Society, the Institute of Andean Research, and the Society for American Archaeology. He was the director of the Ethnogeographic Board (his journal from his tenure as director is in the papers) and chairman of the Committee on Basic Needs of American Archaeology. In this latter capacity, Strong was involved in establishing a program to salvage archaeological sites before they were destroyed by public works. Strong served as the anthropological consultant to the Bureau of Indian Affairs during Franklin Roosevelt's administration and advised on new directions to be taken in Indian Service policy.
Strong died suddenly on January 29, 1962.
Chronology
1899 -- Born January 30 in Portland, Oregon
1917 April-1919 January -- In the United States Navy aboard the U.S.S. South Dakota on convoy duty in the Atlantic Ocean
1922 -- Collected faunal specimens in the Canadian Rockies, Skeena River district, for the University of California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
1923 -- A.B., University of California Studied Max Uhle's Peruvian archaeological collection Collected faunal specimens, Columbia River, Washington
Winter, 1923-1924 -- Archaeological investigations in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California under the direction of Edwin Winslow Gifford
1924-1925 -- Expedition to study Shoshonean tribes (the Serrano, Cahuilla, Cupeño, and Luiseño) of Southern California (Riverside and San Diego counties) under Alfred Louis Kroeber Archaeological surveys and excavations of three months each in the middle Columbia River Valley in Oregon and Washington
1925 -- Archaeological expedition and collection of faunal specimens in the San Pedro Martir Mountains, Baja California under W. Egbert Schenk
1925-1926 -- Research Assistant, Department of Anthropology, University of California
1926 -- PhD, Anthropology, University of California
1926 July-1929 August -- Assistant Curator of North American Ethnology and Archaeology, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
1927 -- An Analysis of Southwestern Society (doctoral dissertation)
1927 June-1928 September -- Anthropologist on the Rawson-MacMillan September, 1928 Subarctic Expedition of the Field Museum Studied Naskapi and Eskimos in Labrador and on Baffin Island
1929 -- Married Jean Stevens
1929 August-1931 July -- Professor of Anthropology, University of Nebraska
1929 -- Published The Aboriginal Society of Southern California
1929-1931 -- Director, Archaeological Survey of Nebraska, University of Nebraska
1930 June 11-September 6 -- Excavated at Rock Bluff cemetery site
1931 -- Helped organize the First Plains Conference (held August 31-September 2)
1931-1932 -- Morrill Expedition, central and western Nebraska and North and South Dakota: ethnological investigations of Arikaras at Nishu, North Dakota; excavation at Signal Butte, Nebraska; and excavation at Leavenworth and Rygh village sites in South Dakota
1931 July-1937 August -- Senior Anthropologist, Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution
1932 -- Archaeological survey of northeastern Honduras along the Mosquito Coast and the Patuca River, archaeological work on the Bay Islands, and ethnological investigation of Sumu Indians
1933-1934 -- Two Civilian Works Administration archaeological expeditions (five months each) in California in southern San Joaquin Valley, Kern County, at Tulamniu (a Yokuts village) and eastern Chumash area
1934-1937 -- Trustee, Laboratory of Anthropology, Sante Fe
1935 -- Anthropological consultant to the Bureau of Indian Affairs Assistant editor, American Antiquity Published Archeological Investigations in the Bay islands, Spanish Honduras and An Introduction to Nebraska Archeology
1935-1937 -- Member, Committee on State Archeological Surveys, National Research Council
1936 -- Smithsonian Institution-Harvard expedition to northwestern Honduras to the valleys of the Chamelecon and the Ulua Rivers, Naco and other sites
1937-1962 -- Professor, later Chairman, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University
1937-1938 -- Vice-President, American Anthropological Association
1938 -- Fort Abraham Lincoln (Slant Mandan village) site and Sheyenne-Cheyenne village site excavations in North Dakota
1939 -- Chairman, National Research Council's Committee on Basic Needs in American Archaeology Excavated at Arzberger site in South Dakota and the area between the Chamberlain and Cheyenne Rivers
1940 -- Member, National Research Council's Committee on War Services of Anthropology Expeditions to western Florida and southwestern United States, especially New Mexico Peruvian archaeological survey
1941 -- Chairman, Section H, American Association for the Advancement of Science
1941-1942 -- President, American Ethnological Society Peruvian excavations at Pachacamac in the Chancay Valley and the Ancon-Supe excavations
1942? -- Peruvian excavations in the Naxca and Ica Valleys
1942-1944 -- Director, Ethnogeographic Board
1943 -- Published Cross Sections of New World Prehistory Appointed to Loubat Professorship at Columbia University
1945 -- Married Helen Richardson
1946 -- Peruvian excavations, Virú Valley Project National Research Council liaison member of the Committee for the Recovery of Archaeological Remains President, Institute of Andean Research
1948-1949 -- Chairman, Anthropology Section of New York Academy of Sciences
1949 July-August -- Peru-Mexico trip
1950 -- Talking Crow site expedition Excavated at Signal Butte
1952-1953 -- Peruvian expeditions, Nazca and Ica Valleys
1954 -- Awarded the Viking Fund Medal Trip to western United States
1955-1956 -- President, Society for American Archaeology
1962 -- Died January 29
Selected Bibliography
1929 -- Strong, William Duncan. Aboriginal Society of Southern California. Vol. 26, University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1929.
1935 -- Strong, William Duncan. Archeological Investigations in the Bay islands, Spanish Honduras. Washington: The Smithsonian Institution, 1935. Strong, William Duncan. An Introduction to Nebraska Archeology. Vol. 93, no. 10, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Washington: The Smithsonian Institution, 1935.
1938 -- Strong, William Duncan, Alfred Kidder, II, and A.J. Drexel Pail, Jr. Preliminary Report on the Smithsonian Institution-Harvard University Archeological Expedition to Northwestern Honduras, 1936. Vol. 97, no. 1, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Washington: The Smithsonian Institution, 1938.
1943 -- Strong, William Duncan. Cross Sections of New World Prehistory: a Brief Report on the Work of the Institute of Andean Research, 1941-1942. Vol. 104, no. 2, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Washington: The Smithsonian Institution, 1943. Strong, William Duncan. Archeological Studies in Peru, 1941-1942. New York: Columbia University Press, 1943.
1948 -- "The Archeology of Honduras." In The Circum-Caribbean Tribes Vol. 4, Handbook of South American Indians, edited by Julian H. Steward, 71-120. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin No. 143. Washington: U.S. Government Print Office, 1948.
1952 -- Strong, William Duncan, and Clifford Evans. Cultural Stratigraphy in the Virú Valley, Northern Peru. New York: Columbia University Press, 1952.
For a complete bibliography of Strong's works, see Solecki, Ralph, and Charles Wagley. "William Duncan Strong, 1899-1962," American Anthropologist 65, no. 5 (October 1963): 1102-1111. https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/aa.1963.65.5.02a00080
Related Materials:
Additional materials in the National Anthropological Archives relating to William Duncan Strong can be found in the records of the American Anthropological Association, Bureau of American Ethnology, Handbook of South American Indians, Institute of Social Anthropology, River Basin Surveys, the Society for American Archaeology, and Tulamniu Project (1933-1934); the papers of Ralph Leon Beals, John Peabody Harrington, Frederick Johnson, Frank Maryl Setzler, Ruth Schlossberg Landes, Albert Clanton Spaulding (including information on the Arzberger site), and Waldo Rudolph and Mildred Mott Wedel; Photographic Lot 14, Bureau of American Ethnology Subject and Geographic File; Photographic Lot 24, Bureau of American Ethnology-United States National Museum Photographs of American Indians; Photographic Lot 77-80, Portraits of Smithsonian Anthropologists; Photographic Lot 92-35, Ralph S. Solecki Photographs of Anthropologists; Numbered Collections, MS 4821 (records of the Anthropological Society of Washington), MS 4261 (photographs made on a site survey in the Santa Barbara Mountains, California, 1934), MS 4302 (journal covering the 1936 expedition to Honduras), MS 4846 (correspondence between BAE authors and the BAE editor's office), and MS 7200 (original field catalog of Honduran artifacts, 1936); and in the non-archival reference file. There are also materials in the Smithsonian Institution Archives in record units 87 (Ethnogeographic Board), 9528 (Henry Bascom Collins interviews), and 1050102 (papers of T. Wayland Vaughan). In the Human Studies Film Archives there is material on Strong in the video dialogues of Charles Wagley, 1983.
Provenance:
The Strong papers were donated to the archives by Strong's widow, Mrs. Helen Richardson Strong. Most of the arrangements were handled by Ralph S. Solecki, then of Columbia University. He sent the papers to the archives between 1974 and 1979, and there have been small accretions since that time. These accretions came through Richard G. Forbis, Department of Anthropology, University of Calgary; Mildred Mott Wedel and Waldo R. Wedel, Department of Anthropology; and Nan A. Rothschild, Department of Anthropology, Barnard College. Mrs. Strong donated the rights in the unpublished material in the collection to the Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions:
The William Duncan Strong papers are open for research.
Access to the William Duncan Strong papers requires and appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Excavations (Archaeology) -- California Search this
Walker, Winslow M. (Winslow Metcalf), 1903-1996 Search this
Extent:
8.67 Linear feet (8 boxes and 9 map folders)
4 Volumes (4 albums of nitrate negatives)
Note:
The nitrate negative albums are located in nitrate cold storage.
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Volumes
Date:
1905-1953
bulk 1933-1934
Summary:
The Tulamniu C.W.A. Project SLF-76 excavated a group of large shell mounds near Taft, California, in the upper San Joaquin valley. The site had previously been located and tentatively identified as the village site of Tulamniu. The project was directed by Dr. William Duncan Strong, assisted by Winslow M. Walker. Two trained California archaeologists, W. R. Wedel, from the University of California, and E. F. Walker of the Southwest Museum, assisted. This collection includes field notes, records, specimen catalogues, correspondence, a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, reference articles, maps, and charts and tables generated by the expedition. There is material mentioned in reports which is not included in this collection.
Scope and Contents:
Included in this collection are the field notes of Winslow Walker, E. F. Walker and other technicians; records; specimen catalogues; correspondence; a scrapbook of newspaper clippings; reference articles; maps; and charts and tables generated by the expedition. Cartographic materials comprise more than half of this collection. Dates of materials range from a 1905 U.S. Geological Survey Map to correspondence dated 1937.
There are no official reports of the project in this collection. These may be found in the Explorations and Field-Work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1934 (1935) where there is an article by Winslow Walker, "Excavating Ancient Yokuts Shellmounds in California" and BAE Bulletin 130 (1941), which contains "Archaeological Investigations at Buena Vista Lake, Kern County, California," by T. Dale Stewart.
The collection is incomplete since there is material mentioned in the Wedel report, notable text and several tables, which is not on deposit. Also missing are administrative records.
The William Duncan Strong papers, also located in the National Anthropological Archives, do not contain material concerning this expedition.
Arrangement:
Arranged into the following series: (1) Winslow M. Walker's field notes, 1933-1934; (2) Notebooks of Field Notes, Burial and House Records, 1933-1934; (3) Catalogs of Specimens, circa 1933-1934; (4) Notes about Artifacts, circa 1933-1934; (5) Scrapbook of Newspaper Clippings, 1933-1934; (6) Correspondence, 1933-1937; (7) Reference Material, 1910-1937; (8) Photographic Records, 1920-1934; (9) Miscellaneous, 1934; (10) Maps, 1905-1934; (11) Charts and Tables, circa 1933-1934; (12) Cross Sections, Profiles, Stratigraphs, circa 1933-1934
Administrative History:
This collection is the result of the vast Civil Works Administration program under the supervision of the Smithsonian Institution. During the winter of 1933-1934, the Tulamniu C.W.A. Project SLF-76 excavated a group of large shell mounds near Taft, California, in the upper San Joaquin valley. The site had previously been located and tentatively identified as the village site of Tulamniu, "the place of the Tulamni, or Tule dwellers." The Tulamni were one of the lake tribes of Yokuts first visited in 1772 by Spaniards. Because the excavation would require the labor of a large force of men for a considerable period of time, it was a desirable location for the archaeological project allotted to the BAE in California, according to Winslow Walker's report.
More than 4000 artifacts and hundreds of Indian burials were excavated at the site of the Yokut Indian village near Taft, California, in 1933-34. Dr. William Duncan Strong, of the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE), headed the Tulamniu C.W.A. Project SLF-73 with Winslow Walker, also of the BAE, as assistant director. The excavations were one of a number of archaeological projects organized and financed by the Civil Works Administration as a means of reducing unemployment. Artifacts and skeletal materials were shipped to the United States National Museum for study after completion of the field work.
Work began December 20, 1933 under the direction of Dr. William Duncan Strong, assisted by Winslow M. Walker. Two trained California archaeologists, W. R. Wedel, from the University of California, and E. F. Walker of the Southwest Museum, assisted. The staff was augmented by technicians and graduate students: Engineer-Surveyor Lew Suverkrop; Supervising Foremen P. L. Stanley and H. I. McGrath; Photographer F. M. Boyd; Accountant-Timekeeper N. E. Taussig; Technicians Phillip Drucker, G. H. Denkel, H. E. Driver, Hans Fischel, H. G. Barnett, Paul McGrew, Milton O'Rourke, and M. P. Smith. Employment as laborers was given to about 175 unemployed men from the Taft region of Kern County. Large scale operations made possible the examination of two shell mounds on the slope of the hills at the western side of Buena Vista Lake and the uncovering of two large burial places on the hilltops just behind the mounds.
By combining the methods of trenching, screening and clearing large areas horizontally, a good idea of the internal structure and contents of the mounds was obtained. They had been used not only as places on which to build huts, but also as middens and burial spots. The mounds, more than 1000 feet long, 150 wide, and about 10 feet thick, were the result of accumulations of large amounts of shell, sand loam, ash and camp debris over long periods of occupation, perhaps conditioned by the rise and fall of the lake waters.
The burial hilltops yielded a large number of mortuary objects, including finely chipped flint points, knives, bone awls, shell beads and pendants. The bodies in these cemeteries had been buried in the flexed position, wrapped in soft woven fiber, and in some instances also encased in tule mats.
The picture in general is that of a primitive hunting and fishing people who had presumably followed up the course of the San Joaquin from the San Francisco Bay region and settled many hundreds of years ago around Buena Vista Lake.
Related Materials:
The National Museum of Natural History holds in its collection many of the items excavated during the Tulamniu CWA Project. However, some materials were repatriated to the Tule River Indian Tribe and the Santa Rosa Rancheria of Tachi Yokuts Indians. Details of these materials can be seen in the report "Inventory and Assessment of Human Remains and Funerary Objects Potentially Affiliated with Yokuts Tribes from Kern and Tulare Counties, California, in the Collections of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution," available at https://naturalhistory.si.edu/research/anthropology/programs/repatriation-office
Provenance:
This collection of material was in storage in the Department of Anthropology until donated to the National Anthropological Archives on May 22, 1973.
Restrictions:
Literary property rights to unpublished material in the collection are in the public domain.
Access to the Tulamniu C.W.A. Project records requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Excavations (Archaeology) -- California Search this
536 Acetate negatives (black and white, 5 x 7 inches.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Acetate negatives
Black-and-white negatives
Place:
San Clemente Island (Calif.)
San Nicolas Island (Calif.)
Santa Catalina Island (Calif.)
California -- Antiquities
San Miguel Island (Calif.)
Date:
1919-1923
Summary:
This collection contains 536 black-and-white acetate negatives taken by Ralph Glidden between 1919-1923. Most of the images depict scenic views and archaeological excavations on Catalina Island, San Miguel Island, San Nicolas Island and San Clemente Island, California. Also included are approximately 88 images of objects excavated by Glidden; these objects are now in the collections of the National Museum of the American Indian.
Arrangement note:
Organized in individual sleeves; arranged by image number.
Biographical/Historical note:
Ralph Glidden was an archaeologist and curator at the Catalina Museum of the Channel Islands in the 1930s. He also worked for the Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation.
Location of Other Archival Materials Note:
Some objects depicted in these images are now in the collections of the National Museum of the American Indian.
Restrictions:
Access is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment.
Rights:
Copyright: National Museum of the American Indian. Some images are restricted due to cultural sensitivity. Please contact the archivist for further information.
Topic:
Indians of North America -- California Search this
Excavations (Archaeology) -- California Search this
Genre/Form:
Black-and-white negatives
Citation:
Ralph Glidden negatives, National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Smithsonian Institution (negative, slide or catalog number).
This collection is comprised of 35 gelatin silver prints and 6 acetate negatives taken in 1938 and 1953 by Otis T. Littleton at various archaeological excavations in southern California, including Los Angeles County, Ventura County, Colusa County and Kern County. The majority of the images depict human remains and are restricted.
Arrangement note:
Prints: organized in folders; arranged by image number.
Negatives: organized in individual sleeves; arranged by image number.
Biographical/Historical note:
Otis T. Littleton was an archaeologist who conducted excavations in California. His "finds" were generally believed to be the result of honest fieldwork, but most have turned out to be forgeries and fantasy pieces, with misrepresented provenance.
Restrictions:
Access is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment.
Rights:
Restricted: cultural sensitivity.
Topic:
Indians of North America -- California Search this
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation Search this
Extent:
16 Photographic prints
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Place:
Channel Islands (Calif.)
Date:
1920-1926
Summary:
Photographs by Arthur R. Sanger from excavations on the Channel Islands, California, around 1926.
Scope and Contents:
The collection contains 16 photographic prints shot by Arthur R. Sanger on the San Nicholas, San Miguel, and Santa Rosa Islands in Southern California. The majority of these photographs contain images of human remains and are therefore restricted due to cultural sensitivity. The photographs are undated, but likely accompanied Sanger's first collection sold to the Museum of the American Indian in 1926, so were likely shot sometime before that date. In addition to photographs of the excavation of burials, there are a handful of landscape shots of the islands themselves.
P07766 - P07781.
Arrangement:
Arranged by catalog number.
Biographical / Historical:
Arthur Randall Sanger (1880-1971) was born in Palmer, Massachusetts, but later moved to California where he spent the rest of his life. Sanger was a founder of the Catalina Island Yacht Club and owner of the yacht Dreamer which he used to access the California Channel Islands where he excavated an untold number of Native burials. He also claimed to have excavated stone pipes and effigies from various island sites. Sanger maintained a long term relationship with George Gustav Heye and the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation selling multiple collections of these excavated California materials to the Museum between the years of 1926 and 1951. It was later discovered that Sanger, along with Orville T. Littleton, knowingly sold many fraudulent materials to the museum, as well as to other institutions and private collectors. It is believed by several scholars that Sanger made many of the effigies himself. For more information about the controversy see;
Lee, Georgia. Fake Effigies from the Southern California Coast? Robert Heizer and the Effigy Controversy in Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 15(2): 195-215, 1993
Koerper, Henry C. and and Paul G. Chace. Heizer, Strandt, and the Effigy Controversy in Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 17(2):280-284, 1995
Koerper, Henry C., and Sherri Gust. Additional Revelations Concerning Arthur Sanger and Archaeological Fakery in Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly
Koerper, Henry C. More on Arthur Sanger's Skullduggeries in Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly. Volume 52, Number 2. 2016
Provenance:
Sold to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation by Arthur R. Sanger along with field collections in 1926.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Thursday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu). Photographs with burials, human remains or any other cultural sensitivity are restricted.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited users to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not changed, 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.
Topic:
Excavations (Archaeology) -- California Search this
Physical anthropology -- skeletal remains Search this
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Arthur R. Sanger photographs from the California Channel Islands, Item Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
