This collection consists of 42 NABISCO Straight Arrow cards, 30 postcards, and 25 stereographs depicting indigenous peoples of North and Central America, with dates ranging 1880 – 1960. The bulk of the collection consists of images of Native communities throughout the United States, and includes portrait images, dwellings, and landscape views.
Scope and Contents:
The Douglas E. Evelyn photograph and ephemera collection consists of 42 NABISCO Straight Arrow cards, 30 postcards, and 25 stereographs, with dates ranging 1880 – 1960. The images depict indigenous peoples of the Americas, and spans a large geographical breadth extending from the Arctic in the north to El Salvador in Central America in the south. The bulk of the collection consists of images of Native communities throughout the United States, and includes portrait images, dwellings, and landscape views. Of particular note are the NABISCO Straight Arrow cards, marketed towards children from 1949 to 1952, which depict outdoor activities as romanticized constructions about American Indian identity and life.
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 As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology.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 9 series, organized thematically and then regionally by location or culture group. Series 1: NABISCO Straight Arrow cards, Series 2: Arctic/Subarctic, Series 3: Northwest Coast,
Series 4: California, Series 5: Southwest, Series 6: Plains, Series 7: Northeast/Great Lakes, Series 8: Southeast, Series 9: Central America
Biographical / Historical:
Douglas E. Evelyn worked for several decades in senior-level management positions with the Smithsonian Institution, including the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of American History, and the National Museum of the American Indian. Evelyn is also the author of a number of scholarly articles and books, among them On This Spot: Pinpointing the Past in Washington, D.C., co-authored with Paul Dickson.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Douglas E. Evelyn in 2006.
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:
The following images are restricted due to cultural sensitivity: 226_pht_010_003; 226_pht_010_004; 226_pht_012_002; P33114; P33116; P33120.
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 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.
Topic:
Indians of Central America -- El Salvador Search this
Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians. Minnesota Search this
Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.) Search this
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Douglas E. Evelyn photograph and ephemera collection, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
This series contains 12 postcards and 10 stereographs. The images include depictions of activities such as weaving, basket making, and horse-racing. Communities represented include Diné (Navajo), Hopi Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, and Taos Pueblo. The images also include depictions of a number of buildings and structures such as the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde, the Lagoon Indian School in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Indian Building in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A number of the stereographs were produced by the Keystone View Company and feature educational, though not always accurate or factual, classroom information on the reverse. A number of the postcards were produced by the Fred Harvey Company which partnered with the Santa Fe Railroad in the early 20th century to generate tourism in the American Southwest.
Collection 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:
The following images in this series are restricted due to cultural sensitivity: P33116; P33120.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Douglas E. Evelyn photograph and ephemera collection, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
