Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.
Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Narratives
Manuscripts
Notes
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Text handwritten in English by Mack Haag on Cheyenne courtship and marriage customs, with a reference to the Cheyenne and Dakota term for "woman." Also a pronouns chart.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 3338
Local Note:
Title changed from "Miscellaneous notes on Cheyenne courtship and marriage customs" 4/3/2014.
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
August, 1931
Biographical / Historical:
The title quoted above is written by Michelson on card 583. The reference is to Rodolphe Petter, English-Cheyenne Dictionary, Kettle Falls, Washington, 1913-1915. Michelson has re-written the Cheyenne phonetically as he heard it from William Rowland. Cards carry additional notations made December 1971 by Herman Pevner, Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Lame Deer Montana.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 3221
Local Note:
Autograph document
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 3221, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Digitization and preparation of these materials for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Folklore
Narratives
Manuscripts
Vocabulary
Field notes
Date:
1931
Scope and Contents:
Southern Cheyenne text and vocabulary collected from Mack Haag by Truman Michelson in Oklahoma in the summer of 1931. The text is a Cheyenne story of the fox and the coyote handwritten in English by Haag. The vocabulary notes are in Michelson's hand and appears to be unrelated to the text but associated with MS 3215-b. The notes consist of Cheyenne words and phrases, some of which include English translations.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 3215-a
Local Note:
Title changed from "Southern Cheyenne text with interlinear translation Summer, 1931" 4/2/2014.
Other Archival Materials:
See also 3215-b for vocabulary notes from Mack Haag.
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Folklore
Narratives
Manuscripts
Autobiographies
Date:
1931-1932
Scope and Contents:
Southern Cheyenne personal narratives and stories in English collected by Truman Michelson in Oklahoma. The stories were handwritten by Mack Haag and another person. Contents include: "Medicine Woman. 55 years old. Cheyenne" (written by Mack Haag.), 37 pages; "The Unknow[n] Greyhound" (writer unidentified.), 7 pages; "Plum Man" (writer unidentified), 2 pages; The Stuff[ed] Bear" 3 pages; "The Spider and the Rat" (writer unidentified), 5 pages; "Tipi Decorator. White Buffalo [daugther of Black Kettle]. 43 years old. Cheyenne" (writer unidentified), 17 pages; "The Beaded back tipi" (writer unidentified), 8 pages; "Lame Bull. True Story" (writer unidentified), 4 pages; "The Buffalo Robe" (writer unidentified), 4 pages; and "Slow Bull. (Cheyenne age 60). 1931" (written by Mack Haag), 9 pages.
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Card files
Vocabulary
Date:
circa 1930s
Scope and Contents:
Cards containing Truman Michelson's handwritten notes on Cheyenne vocabulary with comparisons to Central Algonquian (Fox, Cree, Delaware, Ojibwa, etc.) terms. The Bureau of American Ethnology catalog card indicates that some words were "extracted from Petter," most likely a reference to Rodolphe Petter's English-Cheyenne Dictionary (1915).
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 3216
Local Note:
Title changed from "Some restored words which are difficult phonetically; some new words extracted from Petter 1930s" 5/27/2014.
The collection consists of a bound notebook, slip case, and three inserted letters. The notebook contains 89 drawings on ruled paper, primarily scenes of warfare. The drawings are the work of several different artists and depict battles with several different tribes as well as with White civilians and Army troops. The slip case is embossed with title "Outbreak of the Cheyenne Indians 1878. Sign Language Written by the Chief 'Little Skunk.'"
The first letter is dated September 10, 1892, and signed by A. Wernher. It states: "this book was presented to me in 1879 by Hermann Hauser of the Q[uarter] M[aste]r Dep[artmen]t at Fort Reno, Ind[ian] Terr[itory] Hauser was affiliated by marriage to the Cheyenne tribe of Indians and assured me that the book represented in sign language the outbreak of the Cheyenne Indians at Fort Reno Ind[ian] Terr[itor]y and their raid through Kansas to the North in 1878, written by the Cheyenne Indian "Little Skunk." However, the content of the images is not consistent with the accompanying identification. The names "Little Skunk" and "Hermann Hauser" do not appear in the index to the records of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency held at the Oklahoma Historical Society, but the latter's name appears as "Herman Hauser" in separate material at the Oklahoma Historical Society relating to Fort Reno.
The second letter is dated February 2, 1897, and written by Frank Hamilton Cushing on Bureau of American Ethnology letterhead. The note returns the book to a Colonel Cushing and asks to see it again later.
The third letter is dated March 11, 1902, and written by P. C. Knox to Colonel William C. Sanger with thanks for letting him see the book.
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.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 7463
OPPS SLIDE 22,227-22,297
USNM Accession 380496
Variant Title:
Outbreak of the Cheyenne Indians, 1878 / sign language written by the Chief "Little Skunk"
Related Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds MS 7567 Miscellaneous specimen tags and newspaper clippings, which were also donated by W.H. Kelly. Artifacts donated by Kelly are held in the Department of Anthropology object collections (Accession 380486).
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Works of art
Ledger drawings
Citation:
MS 7463 Book of Cheyenne drawings by Little Skunk and unknown Cheyenne artists, with correspondence concerning drawings, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Field notes
Narratives
Manuscripts
Date:
1931
Scope and Contents:
Truman Michelson's anthropometric measurements of 23 Southern Cheyennes and a personal narrative by Mack Haag, also a Southern Cheyenne. The anthropometric data include tables of measurements and standard deviations. Haag's text, handwritten by him in English, is about consulting a Cheyenne medicine man and courtship and marriage customs. Includes occasional notes by Michelson.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 3337
Local Note:
Title changed from "Anthropometrical data on 23 Southern Cheyennes, with tables of measurements and standard deviations Summer, 1931" 4/3/2014.
The collection consists of a book of fourteen (14) drawings on eight (8) leaves of unruled paper in a commercial drawing book. The book was rebound by the Bureau of American Ethnology and the original covers are no longer visible. The drawings depict hunting, travelling, and camp scenes. The inside front cover is inscribed "Drawn by Buffalo Meat." The inside back cover is inscribed "Soaring Eegle [sic]." Buffalo Meat and Soaring Eagle were among the Cheyenne men imprisoned at Fort Marion. Although both men were artists, the drawings in this book are Kiowa, not Cheyenne.
Although the drawings were originally cataloged as Cheyenne by Buffalo Meat, neither Candace Greene nor Karen Daniels Petersen agree with this attribution. They note that the drawings can be identified as Kiowa based on elements of clothing, as well as shield and tipi designs. Furthermore, Greene compared the drawings with other works by Buffalo Meat and determined that they do not correspond with the artist's style. Both Greene and Petersen note that the drawings are the work of at least two artists. The inside of the front cover is inscribed, "Drawn by Buffalo Meat, Cheyenne." Petersen notes that the handwriting matches an inscription written inside the cover of MS 39-b, a drawing book that is known to have been collected at Fort Marion by George Fox, who inscribed the cover and captioned the drawings. (Candace Greene and Mike Jordan compared the inscriptions in MS 4656 and MS 39-b and agree that the handwriting is the same.) George Fox worked as an interpreter at Fort Marion until March 26, 1877. Consequently, the book dates between May 21, 1875, the date the prisoners arrived at Fort Marion, and March 26, 1877, the date George Fox departed.
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.
Historical Note:
Fort Marion, also known as Castillo de San Marco, is a stone fortress in St. Augustine, Florida. Between 1875 and 1878, seventy-two prisoners from the southern plains were incarcerated in the fort. Captain Richard Pratt supervised the prisoners during their incarceration at Fort Marion. The prisoners consisted of 27 Kiowas, 33 Cheyennes, 9 Comanches, 2 Arapahos, and a single Caddo. With the exception of one Cheyenne woman, all the prisoners were men. They had been accused of participating in the recent Red River War, earlier hostilities, or both. With the exception of the wife and daughter of one of the Comanche men, the prisoners families were not allowed to accompany them to Fort Marion.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 4656
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Works of art
Ledger drawings
Citation:
MS 4656 Book of anonymous Kiowa drawings, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Folklore
Narratives
Manuscripts
Place:
Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation (Mont.)
Date:
1931 August
Scope and Contents:
Two notebooks containing notes from Truman Michelson's research at the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana. One notebook contains anthropometric measurements of approximately 115 Cheyennes, identified by name, age, and tribal lineage. The second notebook contains stories by Ruben Black Horse, Mrs. High Walker, and Mrs. Black Crane, handwritten in English. William Rowland served as Michelson's interpreter.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 3219
Local Note:
Title changed from "Anthropometrical data on 105 Cheyennes, identified by name, age, and tribal lineage August 11, 1931" 5/27/2014.
Topic:
Indians of North America -- anthropometry Search this
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Vocabulary
Card files
Date:
1931
Scope and Contents:
Southern Cheyenne vocabulary collected from Mack Haag in Oklahoma by Truman Michelson in the summer of 1931. The notes are handwritten by Michelson on note cards and appear to be extracted from his notes in MS 3215-a.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 3215-b
Local Note:
Title changed from "Southern Cheyenne vocabulary, Summer, 1931" 4/2/2014.
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Field notes
Vocabulary
Place:
Concho (Okla.)
Date:
1929 July
Scope and Contents:
Notebook containing Truman Michelson's handwritten notes from his work among the Southern Cheyenne in Concho, Oklahoma. The notes consist primarily of vocabulary with some ethnological notes interspersed. The vocabulary includes comparative terms in Só'taeo'o (Sutaio). Ethnological topics include medicine bundles, "doctors" who can understand babies, "shaking lodge," and singing medicine arrow and sun dance songs. There is also an index card with notes on prophecy lodge.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 3343
Local Note:
Title changed from "Cheyenne Vocabulary, with occasional ethnographic notes fJuly 1929" 5/28/2014.
The collection consists of one (1) ledger book, now disbound, containing seventy-six (76) drawings by Cheyenne artists, two (2) additional drawings, and two (2) letters.
The ledger book contains drawings of scenes of warfare, courting, camps, and geometric figures. Many of the drawings have identifying captions in an unknown hand. Some of the drawings have been identified as having been created by a different, most likely non-native, artist. Two additional drawings were received with the ledger book: a drawing on sheet from a small ruled tablet, now torn in two, and a broadside sheet, now torn in two, with site plan and perspective drawing of the trading post of N. W. Evans and Co., Fort Reno, Indian Territory. The collection also includes letters regarding the purchase of the collection from Mr. Dorsey Griffith.
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.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 4653
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Works of art
Ledger drawings
Citation:
MS 4653 Book of drawings by anonymous Cheyenne artists and related drawings and letters, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
