Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Search Results

Collections Search Center
37 documents - page 1 of 2

Joseph K. Dixon lantern slide collection

Creator:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Extent:
168 Lantern slides
8 Photographic prints
0.2 Linear feet
Culture:
American Indians  Search this
Diné (Navajo)  Search this
Havasupai (Coconino)  Search this
Hopi  Search this
Osage  Search this
Pikuni Blackfeet (Piegan)  Search this
White Mountain Apache  Search this
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Lantern slides
Photographic prints
Date:
1870s-1926
Summary:
This collection consists of 168 glass lantern slides depicting Indigenous groups throughout North America. It also includes a small number of photographs, newspaper clippings, and publications written by and about Joseph K. Dixon, and his work as a photographer working with Native Americans during the early decades of the twentieth century.
Content Description:
The Joseph K. Dixon lantern slide collection consists of Lantern Slides, Photographs, and Printed Materials. Series 1: Lantern Slides, 1870s-1920s, includes 168 glass lantern slides, many hand-colored. The lantern slides were used by Dixon in lectures to promote his advocacy work on behalf of Native American citizenship. While Dixon himself was a photographer of many important photographs of Native peoples, the majority of the images for these glass lantern slides were not taken by Dixon, but rather collected by him for use in his lectures as he traveled around the country. Series 2: Photographs, 1870s-1920s, includes 8 photographs collected by Dixon and perhaps used in research for his lectures. Series 3: Printed Materials, 1905-1926, includes a small number of early twentieth-century publications and news clippings either written by Dixon or written about his work with the Indigenous peoples of North America.
Scope and Contents:
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 As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology.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 three series. Series 1: Lantern Slides, 1870s-1920s, Series 2: Photographs, 1870s-1920s, and Series 3: Printed Materials, 1905-1926.
Biographical / Historical:
Joseph K. Dixon (1858-1926) was born in New York, and received a bachelor of divinity degree from the Rochester Theological Seminary before becoming a lecturer for the Eastman Kodak photographic company in 1904. Two years later he was hired to work in Wanamaker's Philadelphia-based department store, and by 1908 he was chosen to lead the three Wanamaker expeditions (1908-1913) to document the lives and cultures of Native peoples of the United States. His expedition work for Rodman Wanamaker resulted in the 1913 published book, The Vanishing Race. For the remainder of his life, Dixon frequently lectured on and continued to photograph the lives of Native Americans.
Related Materials:
The NMAI Archives Center collections include two related collections on Joseph K. Dixon: NMAI.AC.111 Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition, and NMAI.AC.309 Corcoran Gallery of Art collection of Joseph K. Dixon Wanamaker Expedition photographs. Other photographic collections of Joseph K. Dixon's work and Rodman Wanamaker's expeditions exist in the Smithsonian Institution's National Anthropological Archives, and the Mathers Museum of World Cultures at Indiana University.
Provenance:
Gift from the family and descendants of Joseph Kossuth Dixon in 2022.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives 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.
Some photographs in this collection are restricted due to cultural sensitivity.
Topic:
World's fairs  Search this
World War, 1914-1918  Search this
Genre/Form:
Lantern slides -- Lectures
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon lantern slide collection, NMAI.AC.419; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAI.AC.419
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon lantern slide collection
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4483b916d-75b9-4297-aaf2-3b5743af8bda
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmai-ac-419

Lantern Slides

Collection Creator:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Extent:
168 Lantern slides
Culture:
Hopi  Search this
Diné (Navajo)  Search this
Havasupai (Coconino)  Search this
Pikuni Blackfeet (Piegan)  Search this
Osage  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Lantern slides
Date:
1870s-1920s
Scope and Contents:
The Lantern Slides are arranged in numerical order, presumably following how Joseph K. Dixon would have presented the materials in his lectures and presentations. Possible thematic groupings created by Dixon include depictions of Native clothing, warfare, games, hunting, religious celebrations, weaving, and food production, among others.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives 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.
Some photographs in this collection are restricted due to cultural sensitivity.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon lantern slide collection, NMAI.AC.419; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAI.AC.419, Series 1
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon lantern slide collection
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4a2a55a65-23b4-47b4-8690-863bf0646f5c
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-419-ref1

Photographs

Collection Creator:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Extent:
8 Photographic prints
Culture:
Diné (Navajo)  Search this
Havasupai (Coconino)  Search this
Hopi  Search this
Osage  Search this
Pikuni Blackfeet (Piegan)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Date:
1870s-1920s
Scope and Contents:
The photographs were collected by Joseph K. Dixon and may have been used to help facilitate his research on Native American communities. Photographs include depictions of a Hopi village, a Hopi woman grinding corn, a Havasupai (Coconino) mother and child, and a photograph of the church in Auburn, New York, where Dixon worked as a minister, among others.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives 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.
Some photographs in this collection are restricted due to cultural sensitivity.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon lantern slide collection, NMAI.AC.419; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAI.AC.419, Series 2
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon lantern slide collection
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv40aa4e102-5c77-4e0a-9a7d-6b51689c5abc
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-419-ref2

Printed Materials

Collection Creator:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Extent:
0.2 Linear feet
Culture:
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)  Search this
Diné (Navajo)  Search this
White Mountain Apache  Search this
Havasupai (Coconino)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1905-1926
Scope and Contents:
The printed materials consist of a small number of early twentieth-century publications and news clippings either written by Joseph K. Dixon or written about his work with the Indigenous peoples of North America. Some of these materials include Dixon's celebration of Native involvement on the part of the U.S. military in World War, as well as an exhibition of Dixon's photography at the 1915 San Francisco World's Fair.
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.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives 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.
Some photographs in this collection are restricted due to cultural sensitivity.
Topic:
World's fairs  Search this
World War, 1914-1918  Search this
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon lantern slide collection, NMAI.AC.419; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAI.AC.419, Series 3
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon lantern slide collection
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4f1f59440-c914-4b4b-8cb0-2b832a7c1470
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-419-ref3

Rodman Wanamaker photograph collection relating to Native Americans

Creator:
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Photographer:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Extent:
154 Prints (silver gelatin)
Culture:
Siksika Blackfoot  Search this
Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)  Search this
Sioux  Search this
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)  Search this
Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Prints
Photographs
Date:
1908-1909
Scope and Contents note:
Photographs commissioned by Rodman Wanamaker to document the "vanishing" way of life for Native Americans during 1908-1913. The photographs were made by Joseph Kossuth Dixon and largely depict northern Plains tribes, including Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Crow, and Dakota. These large bromide prints form a set of presentation photographs and apparently such sets were placed by Rodman Wanamaker in several museums.
Biographical/Historical note:
Rodman Wanamaker (1863-1928) was heir to a successful Philadelphia department business and patron of the arts, education, and Native American culture. In the early 20th century, he hired photographer Joseph Kossuth Dixon and sponsored three expeditions to Native American reservations (1908-1913). The main goal of these expeditions was to document the way of life of Native Americans, whom he saw as a "vanishing race," and to make "first-class citizens" of the Indians as a means of saving them from extinction. In additiona to still photography, films were also made during these expeditions including a motion picture film about Hiawatha made on the first expedition (1908), and a reenactment of the Battle of the Little Big Horn made on the second expedition (1909). The third expedition, the "Expedition of Citizenship" (1913), focused on carrying an American flag to tribes across the country and inviting them to sign a declaration of allegiance to the United States.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 64
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Dixonʹs negatives are at the Indiana University, Mathers Museum of World Cultures.
The National Anthropological Archives also holds a copy photograph of Wanamaker's Memorial to First Americans ground-breaking (Photo Lot R82-55).
The National Museum of the American Indian holds artifacts and some additional photographs from Wanamaker's expeditions. The Human Studies Film Archives holds expedition footage.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.

Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Photo lot 64, Rodman Wanamaker photograph collection relating to Native Americans, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.PhotoLot.64
See more items in:
Rodman Wanamaker photograph collection relating to Native Americans
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw39f06c212-4f30-4b38-b647-239772eb8dfc
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-photolot-64

Rodman Wanamaker Expedition films

Creator:
Rodman Wanamaker Expedition  Search this
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Extent:
2 Film reels (black-and-white silent; 1112 feet, 16mm)
Linear feet
Culture:
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Film reels
Silent films
Place:
North America
Date:
circa 1913-1916
Scope and Contents:
Collection consists of films shot by Joseph K. Dixon who was financed by department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker to lead expeditions to the west photographing and filming American Indians. Collection also contains research notes and master thesis on the Dixon-Wanamaker expeditions.

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 Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Provenance:
Received from Wayne Weiss in 2006.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Dance  Search this
Genre/Form:
silent films
Citation:
Rodman Wanamaker Expedition films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
HSFA.2006.03
See more items in:
Rodman Wanamaker Expedition films
Archival Repository:
Human Studies Film Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pc9b470fd63-b4b9-40c1-b66f-96eb07ecf55f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-hsfa-2006-03

The Romance of a Vanishing Race

Collection Creator:
Rodman Wanamaker Expedition  Search this
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Extent:
1 Film reel (black-and-white silent; 1030 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
1916
Scope and Contents:
Edited film shot by Joseph K. Dixon who was financed by department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker to lead expeditions to the west photographing and filming American Indians. Footage documents Plains, Pueblo, Navajo, Havasupai, Hopi and Crow American Indians. Footage includes erecting teepee; women carrying firewood ; grinding corn in metati bins and baking bread in outdoor stone ovens; Navajo hogans; woman tanning game hides; man weaving basket; women carrying bags of water; and woman combing her hair. Film ends with a quasi-fictional story of a Plains Indian, Ba-ta-che-se, sharing a peace pipe with two medicine men when he has a vision of an enemy attack. He takes a ceremonial sweat bath prepared by women and then engages in the battle of his vision.
Local Number:
HSFA 2006.3.1
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Rodman Wanamaker Expedition films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Rodman Wanamaker Expedition films
Archival Repository:
Human Studies Film Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pc9f939386b-c1ff-48d7-a0a6-a1cc6f9f0b5d
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-hsfa-2006-03-ref1

Rodman Wanamaker Expedition footage

Collection Creator:
Rodman Wanamaker Expedition  Search this
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Extent:
1 Film reel (black-and-white silent; 82 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
circa 1913
Scope and Contents:
Incomplete edited film (or films) shot by Joseph K. Dixon who was financed by department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker to lead expeditions to the west photographing and filming American Indians. Footage depicts Plains Indian "brave" elaborately dressed wooing a young woman and Blackfeet Indians in front of teepees at the Glacier Park Hotel entertaining hotel guests with dancing and drumming.
Local Number:
HSFA 2006.3.2
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Rodman Wanamaker Expedition films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Rodman Wanamaker Expedition films
Archival Repository:
Human Studies Film Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pc9a60d85d3-f26f-42e1-9aa0-5d80fed36463
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-hsfa-2006-03-ref2

1994.0022- "The Song of Hiawatha" program

Creator:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Collection Creator:
National Museum of the American Indian (U.S.)  Search this
Container:
Map-case 14
Type:
Archival materials
Ephemera
Date:
circa 1908-1913
Scope and Contents:
A program for the production of "the Song of Hiawatha" at the Wanamaker Auditorium in New York, New York, circa 1908-1913. The show was produced by Joseph K. Dixon.
Biographical / Historical:
Rodman Wanamaker (1863-1928) was the sole surviving heir of Philadelphia-based department store magnate, John Wanamaker. Rodman, among his other philanthropic endeavors with the arts, believed that Native Americans were a "noble, though vanishing race," whose lives needed to be recorded before they disappeared. Because of this belief, he funded three expeditions (1908-1913) to "perpetuate the life stories of the first Americans." In addition, he also strove, and ultimately failed, to create a National Indian Memorial to be situated in New York City which would rival the Statue of Liberty.

Joseph K. Dixon (1858-1926) was born in New York, and received a bachelor of divinity degree from the Rochester Theological Seminary before becoming a lecturer for the Eastman Kodak photographic company in 1904. Two years later he was hired to work in Wanamaker's department store, and by 1908 he was chosen to lead the three Wanamaker expeditions (1908-1913) to document the lives and cultures of Native peoples of the United States. For the remainder of his life, Dixon frequently lectured on and continued to photograph the lives of Native Americans.
Provenance:
Donated by Marguerite Lavin in memory of Sylvan Katz
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).
Collection 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 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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); General Manuscripts and Ephemera collections, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
General Manuscripts and Ephemera collections
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4aac51a8c-3f98-4670-bc6d-f60b899398ae
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-998-ref509

Mrs. Sadie Boyd and Infant, North America

Collection Creator:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Rodman Wanamaker Expedition  Search this
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Extent:
1 Gelatin silver print
Container:
Oversize 1
Culture:
Nespelem  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Gelatin silver prints
Date:
circa 1913
Scope and Contents:
This gelatin silver photograph depicts Mrs. Sadie Boyd (Nespelem) carrying her baby in a beaded cradleboard. Mrs. Boyd was of the Nespelem tribe living on the upper Columbia River tributary in an area now located on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington.
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).
Collection 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 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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Corcoran Gallery of Art collection of Joseph K. Dixon Wanamaker Expedition photographs, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Corcoran Gallery of Art collection of Joseph K. Dixon Wanamaker Expedition photographs
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4b4dffbd5-ab49-4e9f-bcd6-1316ae3d429e
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-309-ref3

Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition

Photographer:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Creator:
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Extent:
0.25 Linear feet
17 Photographs
Container:
Photo-folder 1
Culture:
Yanktonnai Nakota (Yankton Sioux)  Search this
Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this
Northern Tsitsistas (Northern Cheyenne)  Search this
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)  Search this
Southern Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)  Search this
Kiowa  Search this
Oglala Lakota (Oglala Sioux)  Search this
A'aninin (Gros Ventre)  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographs
Date:
1909
Summary:
This collection consists of seventeen photogravures from Joseph K. Dixon's 1913 published book, The Vanishing Race. These images are part of the larger work of Rodman Wanamaker in his expeditions (1908-1913) to document the lives and cultures of Native American peoples.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of seventeen photogravures from Joseph K. Dixon's 1913 book, The Vanishing Race. Although published in 1913, the 80 photogravures in Dixon's work were taken in 1909. These images are part of the larger work of Rodman Wanamaker in his expeditions (1908-1913) to document the lives and cultures of Native American peoples, whom he viewed as a "noble, though vanishing race." Wanamaker's first and second expeditions (1908 and 1909) both took place in the Valley of the Little Bighorn, Montana, portrayed Native American men and women from throughout the United States, and included extensive photographic and moving picture footage. Wanamaker's third expedition (1913) was broader in scope, visiting and symbolically granting citizenship to over 250 Native American communities across the country. As with the first two expeditions, the third expedition, known as the "Rodman Wanamaker Expedition of Citizenship to the North American Indian," was photographed and filmed by Dixon.

Among the seventeen photogravures in this collection, many of note include portraits of tribal leaders Chief Koon-Kah-Za-Chy (Kiowa-Apache), Chief Two Moons (Northern Tsitsistas/Suhtai [Cheyenne]), Chief Pretty Voice Eagle (Ihanktonwan Nakota [Yankton Sioux]), Chief Plenty Coups (Apsáalooke [Crow/Absaroke]), Chief Brave Bear (Southern Tsisistas/Suhtai [Cheyenne]), Chief Red Cloud (Oglala Lakota [Oglala Sioux]), and Chief Red Whip (A'aninin [Gros Ventre]). Other images include group portraits of the 1909 "Last Great Indian Council," as well as Native veterans of the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn. Image titles created by Joseph K. Dixon.
Arrangement:
The photographs in this collection are organized into folders.
Biographical / Historical:
Rodman Wanamaker (1863-1928) was the sole surviving heir of Philadelphia-based department store magnate, John Wanamaker. Rodman, among his other philanthropic endeavors with the arts, believed that Native Americans were a "noble, though vanishing race," whose lives needed to be recorded before they disappeared. Because of this belief, he funded three expeditions (1908-1913) to "perpetuate the life stories of the first Americans." In addition, he also strove, and ultimately failed, to create a National Indian Memorial to be situated in New York City which would rival the Statue of Liberty.

Joseph K. Dixon (1858-1926) was born in New York, and received a bachelor of divinity degree from the Rochester Theological Seminary before becoming a lecturer for the Eastman Kodak photographic company in 1904. Two years later he was hired to work in Wanamaker's department store, and by 1908 he was chosen to lead the three Wanamaker expeditions (1908-1913) to document the lives and cultures of Native peoples of the United States. For the remainder of his life, Dixon frequently lectured on and continued to photograph the lives of Native Americans.
Related Materials:
Other photographic collections of Joseph K. Dixon's work and Rodman Wanamaker's expeditions exist in the Smithsonian Institution's National Anthropological Archives, and the Mathers Museum of World Cultures at Indiana University.
Provenance:
Museum Purchase, 2017.
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:
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 North America -- Montana  Search this
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAI.AC.111
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv46e5f1182-5d10-4a58-8b99-bde29adcfb7e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmai-ac-111
Online Media:

An Imperial Warrior

Collection Photographer:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Extent:
1 Photographic print
Container:
Photo-folder 1
Culture:
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Date:
1909
Scope and Contents:
Chief Plenty Coups [Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)] wearing war bonnet and war shirt, holding coup stick while on horseback. Valley of the Little Bighorn, Montana.
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).
Collection 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 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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition / Photographs
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv445246398-22f3-43a6-8998-86ab0090e148
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-111-ref513

The Last Arrow

Collection Photographer:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Extent:
1 Photographic print
Container:
Photo-folder 1
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Date:
1909
Scope and Contents:
Unidentified man kneeling with drawn bow and arrow, posed for mock battle. Valley of the Little Bighorn, Montana.
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).
Collection 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 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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition / Photographs
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv48f0f1d5c-41d4-44b5-888c-e8998ed4b8f4
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-111-ref514

Chief Brave Bear

Collection Photographer:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Extent:
1 Photographic print
Container:
Photo-folder 1
Culture:
Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Date:
1909
Scope and Contents:
Portrait of Chief Brave Bear [Southern Tsisistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)] wearing headdress. Valley of the Little Bighorn, Montana.
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).
Collection 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 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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition / Photographs
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4b329e7d0-19ff-4e19-8156-3b40b018f706
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-111-ref515

Chief Plenty Coups

Collection Photographer:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Extent:
1 Photographic print
Container:
Photo-folder 1
Culture:
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Date:
1909
Scope and Contents:
Chief Plenty Coups [Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)] wearing war bonnet and war shirt, holding coup stick, and standing in the forest. Valley of the Little Bighorn, Montana.
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).
Collection 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 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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition / Photographs
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4ec0eee2c-c631-49a0-902f-be78a22437f7
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-111-ref516

A War Council

Collection Photographer:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Extent:
1 Photographic print
Container:
Photo-folder 1
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Date:
1909
Scope and Contents:
Unidentified men on horseback carrying coup sticks and rifles, posed for mock battle. Valley of the Little Bighorn, Montana.
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).
Collection 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 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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition / Photographs
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4cf16db62-41d7-444f-9e44-dc17a05d3916
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-111-ref517

The War Party

Collection Photographer:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Extent:
1 Photographic print
Container:
Photo-folder 1
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Date:
1909
Scope and Contents:
Unidentified men on horseback wearing war bonnets and war shirts, carrying coup sticks and rifles, posed for mock battle. Valley of the Little Bighorn, Montana.
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).
Collection 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 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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition / Photographs
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv479dbbacb-3ae5-4234-a992-7ddfc4f59297
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-111-ref518

Chief Koon-Kah-Za-Chy addressing the Council

Collection Photographer:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Extent:
1 Photographic print
Container:
Photo-folder 1
Culture:
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)  Search this
Plains Apache (Kiowa Apache)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Date:
1909
Scope and Contents:
Chief Plenty Coups [Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)] (on left) and Chief Koon-Kah-Za-Chy (Kiowa-Apache) (on right) stand while addressing several men seated on ground before tipi. All wear war bonnets and war shirts, and several hold coup sticks. Valley of the Little Bighorn, Montana.
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).
Collection 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 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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition / Photographs
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv49c43d781-160b-4d38-a396-f4de0a5dbb93
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-111-ref519

A Glimpse Backward

Collection Photographer:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Extent:
1 Photographic print
Container:
Photo-folder 1
Culture:
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Date:
1909
Scope and Contents:
Unidentified seated man, possibly Chief Plenty Coups [Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)], wearing war bonnet and war shirt, looking into the distance, with coup stick in foreground. Valley of the Little Bighorn, Montana.
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).
Collection 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 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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition / Photographs
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4cd50c863-4278-478d-8f02-b018969b1174
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-111-ref520

Chief Two Moons addressing the Council

Collection Photographer:
Dixon, Joseph K. (Joseph Kossuth)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Wanamaker, Rodman, 1863-1928  Search this
Extent:
1 Photographic print
Container:
Photo-folder 1
Culture:
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)  Search this
Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Date:
1909
Scope and Contents:
Chief Plenty Coups [Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)] (on left) and Chief Two Moons [Northern Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)] (on right) stand while addressing several men seated on ground before tipi. All wear war bonnets and war shirts, and several hold coup sticks. Valley of the Little Bighorn, Montana.
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).
Collection 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 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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition
Joseph K. Dixon photographs from the 1909 Wanamaker Expedition / Photographs
Archival Repository:
National Museum of the American Indian
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv42094bd83-0b4a-4225-9dbb-7391f009d889
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-111-ref521

Modify Your Search







or


Narrow By