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J.N.B. Hewitt photographs of Iroquois people on the Six Nations Reservation, circa 1897-circa 1937

Creator:
Hewitt, J. N. B. (John Napoleon Brinton), 1859-1937  Search this
Names:
Abram, Charles, Chief  Search this
Buck, Emeline  Search this
Buck, John, Chief  Search this
Buck, Joshua  Search this
Buck, Susan  Search this
General, Mrs.  Search this
General, Myrtle  Search this
Gibson, Simeon, 1889-1943  Search this
Hill, George  Search this
Hill, Simon  Search this
Jamieson  Search this
Jamieson, Clara Miss  Search this
Jamieson, James Mrs  Search this
Sandy, William  Search this
Sandy, William Mrs  Search this
Extent:
307 Photographs (2 document boxes, silver gelatin)
305 Negatives (photographic) (3 negative boxes, nitrate)
Culture:
Iroquois [Six Nations/Grand River (Brantford, Ontario)]  Search this
Sioux  Search this
Onondaga  Search this
Seneca  Search this
Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this
Tuscarora  Search this
Cayuga  Search this
Dakota Indians  Search this
Mohawk  Search this
Iroquois  Search this
Tutelo  Search this
Oneida  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Negatives (photographic)
Date:
circa 1897-circa 1937
Summary:
Photographs documenting Iroquois people made circa 1897-circa 1937 on and near the Six Nations Reserve by J.N.B. Hewitt, linguist with the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology.
Scope and Contents note:
Hewitt's photos primarily depict Mohawk, Cayuga, Seneca, Onondaga, Tuscarora, Oneida, and Tutelo peoples. There are also a few images of Iroquois houses and other structures, Hewitt's mask collection, and Onondaga Chief John Buck and family, Seneca Chief John Arthur Gibson and family, Cayuga Chief James Jamieson and family, and Cayuga-Seneca Chief Simeon Gibson. Most of the photographs were taken during several trips between 1897 and 1937, on and near the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario (Oshweken, Deseronto, and Brantsford), and New York (Niagara Falls, Nedrow, and Syracuse).
Arrangement note:
For Photo Lot 155 Hewitt's original arrangement and numbering has been maintained. The order of the photographs does not follow the chronology that they were taken; for instance there are often several photographs of an individual that were clearly made in different years. The original negatives also represent a variety of film and camera types.

The arrangement and numbering for MS 4596, established at an unknown time, was maintained.
Biographical note:
J.N.B. (John Napoleon Brinton) Hewitt (December 6, 1859-October 14, 1937) was a linguist and ethnographer who specialized in Iroquoian and other Native American languages. Born on the Tuscarora Reservation near Lewiston, New York, his mother was of Tuscarora, French, Oneida, and Scottish descent. His father's heritage was English and Scottish, but he was raised in a Tuscarora family. Hewitt spoke English growing up, but when he left the reservation to attend schools in Wilson and Lockport, he learned to speak the Tuscarora language from other students. Hewitt grew up planning to become a physician, like his father. However, the course of Hewitt's interests changed when, in 1880, he was hired by Erminnie A. Smith of the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of Ethnology (now the Bureau of American Ethnology) as an assistant ethnologist tasked with collecting myths among the Iroquoian tribes of New York. He continued this work from 1880-1884, and then was briefly employed by the Jersey City Railways Co. (1884-1885) and Adams Express Co. (1885-1886). Upon Smith's death in 1886, Hewitt returned to the BAE to continue her work, remaining employed there until his death.

Over the course of his career, Hewitt became the leading authority on the organization of the Iroquois League and the ceremonials, customs, and usages of the tribes composing it. He acquired an intimate knowledge of the languages of the League, including a speaking knowledge of Mohawk and Onondaga, and also became acquainted with several Algonquian dialects. On February 28, 1914, in recognition of his services in preserving for posterity a knowledge of the history and ethnology of the Iroquoian people of New York state, he was awarded the Cornplanter medal for Iroquois Research.

Additionally, he was a founder of the American Anthropological Association and an active member of the Anthropological Society of Washington and the American Museum of Natural History, serving as both treasurer (1912-1926) and president (1932-1934) of the latter. Hewitt also contributed over one hundred articles for the Handbook of American Indians (Bulletin 30) and published the two volume Iroquoian Cosmology (1903 and 1928).
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.

Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Wampum  Search this
Trade, gifts and other exchanges -- Wampum  Search this
Wampum -- Iroquois  Search this
Indians of North America -- Southern states  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Photo Lot 155, J.N.B. Hewitt photographs of Iroquois people on the Six Nations Reservation, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NAA.PhotoLot.155
See more items in:
J.N.B. Hewitt photographs of Iroquois people on the Six Nations Reservation, circa 1897-circa 1937
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw38ee2f67f-149c-4cbd-8b0c-fd3fdfdedceb
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-photolot-155

MS 3941 Materials assembled by Hewitt for preparation of articles in Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 30 and for replies to inquires from the public

Collector:
Hewitt, J. N. B. (John Napoleon Brinton), 1859-1937  Search this
Correspondent:
Bogaskie, F.  Search this
Skinner, Alanson, 1886-1925  Search this
Creator:
MacKinley, W. E. W., Captain  Search this
Names:
Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology -- Bulletin 30  Search this
Society of American Indians  Search this
Brant, Joseph, 1742-1807  Search this
Old Smoke  Search this
Sayenqueraghta  Search this
Scott, Hugh Lenox, 1853-1934  Search this
Williams, Eleazer  Search this
Culture:
Eskimos  Search this
Sac and Fox (Sauk & Fox)  Search this
Muskogee (Creek)  Search this
Chippewa  Search this
Adirondack  Search this
Niitsitapii (Blackfoot/Blackfeet)  Search this
Anishinaabe (Chippewa/Ojibwa)  Search this
Black Mincqua  Search this
Lenape (Delaware)  Search this
Pekwanoket  Search this
Sioux  Search this
Wendat (Huron)  Search this
Mohawk  Search this
Maya  Search this
Algonquin (Algonkin)  Search this
Potawatomi  Search this
Iroquois  Search this
Sauk  Search this
Onondaga  Search this
Tuscarora  Search this
Erie (archaeological)  Search this
Arctic peoples  Search this
Indians of North America -- Subarctic  Search this
Susquehannock (archaeological)  Search this
Wyandot  Search this
Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this
Kainai Blackfoot (Kainah/Blood)  Search this
Sihasapa Lakota (Blackfoot Sioux)  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Calendars
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Contents: Adirondack tribe (St Lawrence River) Old Manuscript Number 3553. Adoption Old Manuscript Number 4007. Refers to Algonquian method of counting -only; see Haas note 2/18/72; Old Manuscript Number 3864. "Alligewi"; Animism Old Manuscript Number 3867 and 2842-c, box 6. Blood Indians, origin of name; Brant, Joseph Old Manuscript Number 3874. Chippewa, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3646. Chiefs, function and significance of Old Manuscript Number 2842-c, box 6. Delaware tribe, New Jersey area claimed by Old Manuscript Number 3866. Detroit River, tribes near; Ekaentoton Island-- see Ste. Marie Island Environment (Bulletin 30 draft by O. T. Mason) Old Manuscript Number 4007. Erie, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3646. Erie and Black Mincqua tribes Old Manuscript Number 3586. [Eskimo] Arctic tribes, leaving elderly and sick people to die Old Manuscript Number 3668. Family, Bulletin 30 draft and notes Old Manuscript Number 4011 and 2842-c, box 6. Grand River (Tinaatoua), name of; Hebrew calendar; Hewitt, list of Bulletin 30 articles by Old Manuscript Number 4066. Hoboken, origin of name; Iroquois, "On the Northern and Eastern Territorial Limits of the Iroquoian people, in the 16th Century," and Algonquian tribes, at Chaleur Bay. Iroquois at Gulf of St Lawrence and Bay of Gaspe Old Manuscript Number 3625.
Iroquois, location of Six Nations tribes reservations Old Manuscript Number 3763. Iroquois false face; Iroquois preparation of corn ("as food") Old Manuscript Number 4009. Iroquoian early dress Old Manuscript Number 3660. Iroquoian "Gachoi" tribe, identity of (Correspondence with F. Bogaskie.) Old Manuscript Number 3816. Iroquoian moon names and concept of time; Iroquoian social organization, and place name-name origins; "Man," Iroquoian term for Old Manuscript Number 3781. Iroquoian towns Old Manuscript Number 4006. Kentucky, meaning of the word; Kentucky, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3840. Lenni Lenape, meaning of the word; Logstown-- see Shenango Old Manuscript Number 3773. Lost Ten Tribes as American Indians Old Manuscript Number 3670. Mayan linguistic family and other Mayan linguistic notes including Quiche and Tepehuanan notes Old Manuscript Number 3473. Mexico: idols, sacrifices, etc. Old Manuscript Number 3807. Mexico: Indian languages. Letter from Captain W.E.W. MacKinley Old Manuscript Number 3778. Missouri, Indian village, location of Old Manuscript Number 3944. Mohawk land near Lake Champlain; Mohawk grammar; Montour family, notes for Bulletin 30 Old Manuscript Number 3812. Muskhogean social organization. Letter from J. J. Harrison. Old Manuscript Number 3891. New England tribes Old Manuscript Number 3513.
Niagara, origin of name; "Old Smoke"-- see Sayenqueraghta Old Manuscript Number 3949. Onondaga tribe, text of memorial inscription to, and correspondence Old Manuscript 4391 and 4271- box 1 (part.) Ontwaganha or Toaganha, origin and meaning of name Old Manuscript Number 3864. Owego, meaning of town's name; Pekwanoket tribe (Cape Cod); Pemaquid, Abnaki word and its origin Old Manuscript Number 89. Piasa bird- pictograph formerly near present Alton, Illinois. Article is similar to that by Cyrus Thomas, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 30. Old Manuscript Number 3981. Potawatomi, notes on the name Old Manuscript Number 4034. Potawatomi Green Corn Dance; Roanoke, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3998. Sacagawea, spelling of; St Ignace, 3 settlements (Michigan); St Marie Island or Ekaentoton Island; Sauk, Bulletin 30 article and galley proof, notes Old Manuscript Number 3764. Sayenqueraghta or "Old Smoke" (correspondence with Alanson Skinner) Old Manuscript Number 3949. Scalping Old Manuscript Number 4025. Shenango and Logstown Old Manuscript Number 3773. Sioux, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3624. Society of American Indians, resolutions by thanking General Hugh L. Scott, Fr. Anselm Webber and others Old Manuscript Number 3868. Susquehanna, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3707. Tacoma, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3470.
Thunderbird, notes on Old Manuscript Number 3552. Tinaatoa-- see Grand River; Toronto, origin of name; Tuscarora villages Old Manuscript Number 3998. Wampum Old Manuscript Number 3998. War club with inscription; West Virginia panhandle tribes Old Manuscript Number 3945. Williams, Eleazer Old Manuscript Number 3998. Women, status of Old Manuscript Number 3566. Wyandots (Huron) List of tribes of which Wyandots of today are constituted. Old Manuscript Number 3774.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 3941
Topic:
American Indian  Search this
Inheritance -- Adoption  Search this
Religion -- animism  Search this
Names, tribal -- Blood  Search this
Names, tribal -- Chippewa  Search this
Government and politics -- chiefs  Search this
Land tenure and claims -- Delaware  Search this
Names, tribal -- Erie  Search this
Death and mortuary customs -- abandoning elderly and sick  Search this
Marriage and family  Search this
Names, place -- Grand River  Search this
Jews  Search this
Land tenure and claims  Search this
Masks -- False Face  Search this
Clothing and dress  Search this
Food preparation -- Corn  Search this
Time -- concepts  Search this
Social structure  Search this
Names, place  Search this
Towns, villages and other settlements  Search this
Names, place -- Kentucky  Search this
Names, tribal -- Leni Lenape  Search this
Muskogean Indians  Search this
Names, place -- Niagara  Search this
Names, place -- Owego  Search this
Abenaki Indians  Search this
Names, tribal -- Pemaquid  Search this
Pictographs -- Piasa bird  Search this
Potawatomi Indians  Search this
Dance -- Green Corn  Search this
Names, tribal -- Potawatomi  Search this
Names, place -- Roanoke  Search this
Towns, villages and other settlements -- St Ignace  Search this
Religion -- Mexico  Search this
Sacrifices -- Mexico  Search this
War -- Scalping  Search this
Indian interest groups -- Society of American Indians  Search this
Names, tribal -- Susquehanna  Search this
Names, tribal -- Tacoma  Search this
Folklore -- Thunderbird  Search this
Names, place -- Toronto  Search this
Tuscarora Indians  Search this
Trade, gifts and other exchanges -- Wampum  Search this
Weapons -- war club  Search this
Marriage and family -- women, status of  Search this
Names, place -- Hoboken  Search this
Language and languages -- Documentation  Search this
Algonquin  Search this
Honniasant  Search this
Lenape  Search this
Sioux  Search this
Susquehannock  Search this
Mexico  Search this
Indians of North America -- Northeast  Search this
Indians of North America -- Southern states  Search this
Genre/Form:
Calendars
Citation:
Manuscript 3941, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.MS3941
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw34e5d46f4-47a1-44d7-8e6d-d282280cd7f8
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-ms3941

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