The collection consists of a volume, now disbound, of twenty-nine (29) drawings by Daniel Little Chief together with thirty-four (34) pages of typescript pages explanatory notes by Albert Gatschet. The volume also includes an identifying title page handwritten by Albert Gatschet and one drawing on ruled paper by an unidentified Cheyenne artist. The explanatory text was transcribed from Gatschet's notebook, also in the collection, with corrections by Gatschet. The collection also contains a drawing which was found in Gatschet's notebook which does not appear to be directly associated with the works by Daniel Littlechief. Subjects of the drawings include ceremonial items, name glyphs, painted tipis, and illustrations of Cheyenne customs.
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 As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today.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.
Biographical Note:
Daniel Little Chief, also known as Daniel Littlechief and Wuxpais, (?-1906) was a Northern Cheyenne warrior whose band of Cheyenne were sent south to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation in Indian Territory after their surrender, traveling there between 1878-1879. In 1881 this band moved north to the Pine Ridge Agency in South Dakota. In 1891 Daniel Little Chief inherited the role of head chief from his father and remained in South Dakota until his death in 1906.
Albert S. Gatschet (1832-1907) was educated in his native Switzerland (University of Bern, Ph.D., 1892) and in Germany (University of Berlin). Early in his career, he pursued antiquarian research in European museums and wrote scientific articles. Among his interests was the etymology of Swiss place names. After coming to the United States in 1869, he worked on the American Indian vocabularies collected by Oscar Loew, of the United States Geological Survey West of the 100th Meridian (Wheeler Survey). Eventually John Wesley Powell employed him as an ethnologist with the United States Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Regions. He joined the staff of the Bureau of American Ethnology at its founding in 1879, and continued there until he retired in 1905. For the Powell Survey, Gatschet researched the ethnography of the Klamath in Oregon and the Modoc in Oklahoma. He also collected Native American material objects and investigated special problems for Powell's classification of the American Indian languages north of Mexico, working on languages of the Southeast, including groups forcibly settled in the southern Plains. He not only visited well-known tribes, but also searched out small groups, including the Biloxi and Tunica. He also worked with the Natchez, Tonkawa, Chitimacha, and Atakapa in the United States and Comecrudo and several other small groups in northern Mexico. Through library research, he studied the Timucua, Karankara, and the Beothuk. During the later part of his career, Gatschet was assigned comparative work on all the Algonquian languages. Although the project was never completed, he collected much about many of the languages, especially Peoria, Miami, and Shawnee. In addition, he worked with members of diverse tribes of the eastern United States.
Variant Title:
Crayon Pictures of Cheyenne Ceremonial Customs and Implements. Drawn by Wuxpais or Daniel Littlechief, son of the present headchief of the Cheyenne Indians of South Dakota, at the Pine Ridge Agency. Explained by notes obtained from the same Indian by Albert S. Gatschet.
Conservation Note:
In 1994 the volume was disbound in order to be photographed and because the binding structure was causing damage to the drawings. A full conservation report is available in the NAA files.
Related Materials:
A nearly identical set of drawings by Daniel Little Chief is located held by The Newberry Library in Chicago, see [Cheyenne Ledger Book, Crayon pictures of Cheyenne ceremonial customs and implements by Wuxpais].
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
Drawings
Ledger drawings
Citation:
MS 2016 Daniel Little Chief drawings of Cheyenne ceremonial customs and implements, with explanations by Albert Gatschet, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Ledger drawings
Date:
1891 February
Scope and Contents:
29 drawings and 34 pages of typed explanatory text, formerly bound together, now disbound, plus an identifying title page handwritten by Albert Gatschet and one drawing on ruled paper. The explanatory text was transcribed from Gatschet's notebook, No. 2016-b, with corrections by Gatschet. T.p. inscribed: "Crayon Pictures of Cheyenne Ceremonial Customs and Implements. Drawn by Wuxpais or Daniel Littlechief, son of the present headchief of the Cheyenne Indians of South Dakota, at the Pine Ridge Agency. Explained by notes obtained from the same Indian by Albert S. Gatschet." The last drawing in the volume is signed "T.D. Little Chief," but cannot be identified as a drawing by Daniel Little Chief. Subjects include ceremonial items, name glyphs, painted tipis, and illustrations of Cheyenne customs. A nearly identical set of drawings by Daniel Little Chief is located at the Newberry Library in Chicago. Information provided by Candace Greene.
Biographical / Historical:
Daniel Little Chief, a.k.a. Wuxpais (?-1906), was a Northern Cheyenne warrior whose band of Cheyenne were sent south to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation in Indian Territory after their surrender, traveling there between 1878-1879. In 1881 this band moved north to the Pine Ridge Agency in South Dakota. In 1891 Daniel Littlechief inherited the role of head chief from his father and remained in South Dakota until his death in 1906. For more information see "American Indian Painters: A Biographical Dictionary" by Jeanne Snodgrass 1968, New York: Museum of the American Indian.
Albert S. Gatschet (1832-1907) was educated in his native Switzerland and in Germany (University of Bern [Ph.D., 1892]); University of Berlin. Early in his career, he pursued antiquarian research in European museums and wrote scientific articles. Among his interests was the etymology of Swiss place names. After coming to the United States in 1869, he worked on the American Indian vocabularies collected by Oscar Loew, of the United States Geological Survey West of the 100th Meridian (Wheeler Survey). Eventually John Wesley Powell employed him as an ethnologist with the United States Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Regions. When it was founded in 1879, he joined the staff of the Bureau of American Ethnology and continued there until he retired in 1905. For the Powell Survey, Gatschet researched the ethnography of the Klamath in Oregon and the Modoc in Oklahoma. He also collected Native American material objects and investigated special problems for Powell's classification of the American Indian languages north of Mexico, working on languages of the Southeast, including groups forcibly settled in the southern Plains. He not only visited well known tribes but also searched out small groups, including the Biloxi and Tunica. He also worked with the Natchez, Tonkawa, Chitimacha, and Atakapa in the United States and Comecrudo and several other small groups in northern Mexico. Through library research, he studied the Timucua, Karankara, and the Beothuk. During the later part of his career, Gatschet was assigned comparative work on all the Algonquian languages. Although the project was never completed, he collected much about many of the languages, especially Peoria, Miami, and Shawnee. In addition, he worked with members of diverse tribes of the eastern United States. For more information, see NAA finding aid located at http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/guide/_g1.htm#jrg575
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 2016-a
Varying Form of Title:
Crayon pictures of Cheyenne ceremonial customs and implements / drawn by Wuxpais or Daniel Littlechief ... ; explained by notes from the same Indian by Albert S. Gatschet
Place:
United States South Dakota Pine Ridge Agency.
United States South Dakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
1) Extract fom the Daily Picayune concerns the Chitimachas. 2) Descripcion Historica de la Louisiana, por de Jose de Gabriel y Estenos, Feniente Coronel, del Real Cuerpo de Ingenieros de Ejercito, 1806.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 1628
Topic:
Indians of North America -- Southern states Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 1628, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The collection is made up of illustrations prepared for new printings of James Mooneyʹs "Calendar History of the Kiowa Indians," John Reed Swantonʹs "Indians of the Southeastern United States," and John C. Ewers's "The Horse in Blackfoot Indian Culture" in the Classics of Smithsonian Anthropology series. It includes images of maps, Kiowa, Blackfeet, and Native Americans of the American Southeast, and ANative American artwork and other artifacts. Images of Native people include photographs, portraits, and drawings. There are also textual publication materials, including layout and notated reprint, available with the collection.
Biographical/Historical note:
The aim of the Classics of Smithsonian Anthropology series, which is comprised of reprinted BAE publications, was to appeal to a more popular audience. The series began in 1979 with the publication of "Calendar History of the Kiowa Indians" and "Indians of the Southeastern United States." "The Horse in Blackfoot Indian Culture" was published the following year.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 80-39, NAA Photo Lot 80-6
Reproduction Note:
Copy prints made by Smithsonian Institution, circa 1979.
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Photo Lot 80-6 has been relocated and merged with Photo Lot 80-39. These photographs were also made and collected for the Classics of Smithsonian Anthropology publications and form part of this collection.
Originals for some of these images, as well as additional photographs by John Swanton, can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 76 and 87-2Q.
Originals for some of these images, as well as additional photographs by James Mooney, can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 74 and 14 as well as NAA MS 2531.
Originals for some of these images, as well as additional photographs by John C. Ewers, can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in the papers of John Canfield Ewers.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Indians of North America -- Southern states Search this
Genre/Form:
Illustrations
Photographs
Citation:
Photo lot 80-39, Illustrations for Classics of Smithsonian Anthropology, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Makes use of Chitimacha-English dictionary of A. S. Gatschet (Manuscript Number 349-a), with revisions based on field work in Charenton, Louisiana, 1908-1931. Also includes "Dictionary of the Chitimacha Language by A. S. Gatschet and J. R. Swanton," English index to the Chitimacha. Typescript document. Approximately 1000 cards; plus a separate group of approximately 300 "rejects." Box 1: Chitimacha-English; Box 2: English-Chitimacha.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 2439
Local Note:
typescript document with A. notations
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Indians of North America -- Southern states Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 2439, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Also Chitimacha texts. Autograph document (carbon copy) 4 pages.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 4123
Local Note:
Marked by Swanton, "Copy of Gatschet's material sent on to Mrs Swadish [Mary Haas] along with two of mine taken at an earlier period" and "Material probably made unnecessary by work of Mary Haas."
autograph document
Topic:
Indians of North America -- Southern states Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 4123, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Contents: "The Magic Dogs." Chitimacha text with interlinear literal English translation and interlinear running English translation. Autograph document. 46 pages. Text with interlinear English translation . Typescript document with A. notations. 7 pages. "Story of u-st' upu." Chitimacha text. Autograph document. 1 page. Chitimacha text with interlinear English translation. Typescript document with A. notations. 1 page. English translation. Typescript document. 1 page. (A slightly different version is published in J.R. Swanton, Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico, BAE-B 43, Washington, 1911, page 359.)
"Story of the Ill-disposed Man." Chitimacha text. Autograph document. 3 pages. Text with interlinear English translation. Typescript document with A. notations. 1 page. English translation. Typescript document with A. corrections. 1 page. (A slightly changed version is published in J.R. Swanton, Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico, BAE-B 43, Washington, 1911, page 359.) "Wolf and Buzzard," Chitimacha text with interlinear English translation. Autograph document 2 pages. Typescript document with A. notations. Chitimacha stories in English. Autograph document. 12 pages. (A slightly different version of these stories is published in J.R. Swanton, "Some Chitimacha Myths and Beliefs," Journal of American Folk-lore, volume 30, New York, December, 1917, pages 474-478.)
Biographical / Historical:
Swanton worked with the Chitimacha in Charenton, Louisiana between 1908 and 1931, according to Bureau of American Ethnology-AR 30, page 18; AR 32, page 18; AR 38, page 4; AR 39, pages 13-14; AR 40, page 4; AR 41, page 7; and AR 48, page 5.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 4199
Local Note:
Autograph document and typescript document with a. notations
288-a "Texts of the Shetismasha Language, spoken in Charenton, St. Mary's Parish, La. Collected in Dec. 1881 and Jan 1882 in Charenton, by Albert S. Gatschet. To accompany accompany his Dictionary of the Same Language [MS 349]." With interlinear English translation. Autograph document signed.
288-b Swanton's copy of Gatschet's texts in Manuscript Number 288-a. Contains changes in orthography and in the interlinear English. Typescript document with annotations. Swanton worked with the Chitimacha in Charenton, Louisiana between 1908 and 1931, according to Bureau of American Ethnology-AR 30, page 18; AR 32, page 18; AR 38, page 4; AR 39, pages 13-14; AR 40, page 4; AR 41, page 7; and AR 48, page 5.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 288-a and NAA MS 288-b
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Indians of North America -- Southern states Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 288, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- California Search this
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Contains numerals from each of the following languages: Attacapa, Chitimacha, (H'Hana), Napa, Diegueno, Coco-Maricopa, Piro, Apache, (Coppermine), Opata, Yaqui, Seri. Copies by Gibbs.
Contains vocabularies and other linguistic notes on a variety of American Indian languages. Mainly transcripts by Gatschet from other sources; includes some material recorded by Gatschet, and a few original manuscripts sent to him by others.
Contents: Alaska: Ms Vocabulary 1449, pages 49-52. Petroff, Ivan. "Aliaskan Names, Ivan Petroff." 2 pages, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. List of Alaskan place and tribal names with notes on each. Apalachee: Ms Vocabulary 1449, pages 103-104. [Gatschet, A. S.] Apalachee [vocabulary], with Pl[easant] Porter [Creek inft.]." 2 pages, in Gatschet's handwriting. Comparison of Apalachee words with Creek. Gatschet indicates: "(Copied in Apal. book, July 1889)." Beothuk: Ms. Vocabulary 1449, pages 27-41. [Gatschet, A. S.] Beothuk vocabularies, notes, and bibliographic references. 14 1/2 pages, mostly in Gatschet's handwriting. (pages 27-28 and 35-36 are in R. G. Latham's hand.) Working notes for Gatschet's published article on Beothuk -- comment by M. R. Haas, 11/58. California (Yuman ?): Ms Vocabulary 1449, pages 122-123; 124 (?) Brown, J. Ross Extract from "J. Ross Brown. Sketch of the exploration of lower Cal. San Franc[isco ?], 1869. H. H. Bancroft & Co., 177 pp." 2 pages, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. Miscellaneous notes on lower California tribes and languages, with list of some of the tribes in the area and their approximate locations. California: Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 148. [Gatschet, A. S.] Bibliographic references relating to California. 1 page, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. Furman, McDonald Ms Vocabulary 1449 file: Catawba. Page 159 "An Indian's Petition." No date. Newsclipping. 1 slip. Ms Vocabulary 1449 Woccon and Catawba comparative vocabulary No date. Autograph document. 6 pages. Pages 87-89 and 93-94. Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 186a and ff. Eells, M. Comparison of numerals in Chemakum, Quileute, and Hoh, 1 page and accompanying letter to A. S. Gatschet, August 24, 1883, from M. Eells, Skokomish, Mason Co., Wash., 2 pages, handwritten. Ms Vocabulary pages 108-110. [Gatschet, A. S.] "Mtn. Cherokee's names (topographical). Nimrod Tom Smith [inft ?], 1/2 breed, in Swain Co., North Car., P. O. Quallatown...April 18, '82." 3 pages, in Gatschet's handwriting. List of Cherokee place names and locations. Chippewa: Ms Vocabulary 1449, pages 178-80. [Gatschet, A. S.] "Odjibwe - Local and tribal names. Ign. Tomazin [inft.], Jan. 31, '83." 3 pages, in Gatschet's handwriting. Also (page 180) short extract from Dorman, Primitive Superstitions, page 148, on Ojibwa cannibalism, in Gatschet's handwriting.
Chitimacha: Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 85 (top). [Gatschet, A. S.] "Shetimasha" vocabulary of 8 words, translated into French. 1/2 page, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. Eskimo: Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 45. Hoffman, Dr W. J. "Eskimo text obtained by Dr W. J. Hoffman, at San Francisco, Cal., from Naumoff, an Eskimo from Kadiak..." No date. 1 page in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. Includes text and inter-linear translation, plus translation of same story from sign language. Note by Gatschet indicates that text is not in Kodiak dialect. Eskimo (Chugach) Ms Vocabulary 1449, pages 53-66. Petroff, Ivan "Vocabulary of Tchugatch-Inuit. Taken by Ivan Petroff, in June, 1881, at various places, chiefly at Nu'tchik or Port Etches, abt. 60 1/2 N. Lat. From full bloods. 14 pages, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. Also contains comparison with "Tchiglit" (Kopagmiut), in Gatschet's handwriting. "Partly entered in Mscr. vocab. Vol. 3." Eskimo (Kuskwogmiut): Ms Vocabulary 1449, pages 76-84; 85-86; 95-96. [Petroff, Ivan ?] "Kuskokvog-miut (Inuit) [vocabulary], from Nicolai Kamilkoishin [?] native of the tribe educated at the Russian Mission, Yukon R., at Ikomiut." 13 pages, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. Partly entered in Mscr. vocabulary, Volume IIId (note in Gatschet's handwriting.) Eskimo: Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 249. W--, H. D. "A curious race. The Mutes of northern Alaska. Their manner of living. Peculiar family relations - superstitions and queer customs." From the San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday November 14, 1886. 1 page, newsclipping. Hitchiti: Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 203 (bottom), 204 (bottom), 205. Robertson, Mrs A. E. "Acts. VIV, ii in Hitchiti" (page 203); "Hitchiti words from Mrs Robertson" (204); "Hitchiti verbs, by Mrs Robertson" (205). 3 pages, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. Kiowa: Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 26. Gatschet, A. S. "Phonetics of the Kayowe Language, by Albert S. Gatschet. Read before the A.A.A.S., Cincinnati, 1881." 1 page, clipping from published article. Note in margin in Gatschet's handwriting reads: "Science of Sept. 17, 1881. By John Michels, New York."
Klamath: Ms Vocabulary 1449, pages 133-136; 143-147. [Gatschet, A. S.] Queries relating to the Klamath language by Gatschet, with answers written in by various Indians from the Klamath Agency, Oregon (cf. letter of J. G. Dennison, page 142 of this manuscript). 9 pages, partially in Gatschet's handwriting. Klamath: Ms 1449, pages 137-142. Denison, James D. "Story of the birth of Aisis," a Klamath legend, and accompanying letter from J. G. Dennison to A. S. Gatschet, August 29, 1880, Klamath Agency, Oregon. 6 pages, handwritten. Klamath: Ms Vocabulary 1449, pages 149-152. McCain, Frank Letter to A. S. Gatschet, January 30, 1880, from Frank McCain, Klamath Indian Agency, Lake Co., Oregon, containing 22 word Klamath vocabulary. 4 pages, handwritten. Koasati: Ms Vocabulary 1449, pages 102; 204. Robertson, Mrs A. E. [and A. S. Gatschet] "Koassadi. Supplement to words by Mrs A. E. Robertson, copied in Vocab. No. 2, obtained from [---illeg.]"; short vocabulary of verbs "from vocab. Vol 2, Koassati of Mrs Robertson"; and passage from "Actorum XIV, 11, in Koasata." 2 pages, in A S. Gatschet's handwriting. Page 102 contains a short list of Koasati words (probably from Mrs Robertson) with corresponding Choctaw equivalents (supplied by Gatschet [?] from the "Ch. grammar"; passage from Acts XIV, ii in Koasati with inter-linear translation, presumably by Gatschet; and list of Koasati verbs, no source mentioned. Page 204 contains the same bible passage in Koasati, with slightly different English translation, and list of same verbs, identified as being from "vocab. Vol 2...of Mrs Robertson." Pamunkey: Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 46. Dalrymple, Rev Mr 17 word Pamunkey vocabulary collected by Rev Dalrymple in 1844 at King William County, Virginia. (Hist Mag., N. Y. II, page 182) and short note from J. G. Shea. 1 page, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. See National Anthropological Archives Manuscript 4069, referring to the original of the Dalrymple Manuscript in Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore.
Seminole: Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 182. [Buckingham-Smith, etc. ?] "Seminole Local Names. Buck. Smith, Beach, p. 125 (with Stidham)." 1 page, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. South America (Mojo): Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 187. Marban, M. P. P. Pedro "Moxo 6 Mojo. M.P.P. Pedro Marban, de la Compania de Jesus, Superior [ ]. Arte de la Lengua Moxa, con su vacabulario y cathecismo. Colegio de San Pablo (Lima), 1701. pages 664, etc." 1 page, in Gatschet's handwriting. Notes on Mojo language. South America (Miscellaneous): Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 128. Rohde, [ ] "Rohde on Sudamerika"...(1883-84)." 1 page, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. Miscellaneous extracts relating to South American Indian tribes. South America (Miscellaneous): Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 97-101. Miscellaneous notes on South America copied by Gatschet from various published sources. 5 pages, in Gatschet's handwriting. South America Peru: (Quechua): Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 239. Bruhl, -- "Inquiries by Bruhl on Kechua. Oct. 1885." 1 page, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. 9 word Quechua vocabulary. Yokuts (Cholovone): Ms Vocabulary 1449, pages 231-236. Pinart, Alph. L. "Yatchikumne [Cholovone, in Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 30], near Stockton, Cal. Alp. L. Pinart, 1880." 6 pages, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. Notes (written in French) on the various Cholovone dialects, and vocabulary with some words translated into English and some into Spanish. Yuchi and Natchez: Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 106 Pike, Gen Albert "Elements of Inflection [of the verb to have]. Yuchi (Pike, p.--) & Naktche." 1 page, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. Yuchi and Natchez: Ms Vocabulary 1449, page 107 Pike, Gen. Albert "Albert Pike's Vocabularies, 18.... Yuchi & Naktche." 1 page, in A. S. Gatschet's handwriting. Comparison of 33 words in Yuchi and Natchez. Yuchi: Ms Vocabulary 1449, pages 201-203. Robertson, Mrs A. E. "Yutchi [vocabulary] transliterated from mscr. of Mrs. Robertson, 1873 ?." 3 pages, in Gatschet's handwriting. Also contains passage from bible (Acts XIV, ii) apparently in Yuchi, with interlinear translation.
