The Septima Koehler collection includes photographic prints, correspondence and student papers that document Septima's work as a mission teacher for the Episcopal Church in South Dakota from around 1895 to 1905. Koehler taught Sicangu Lakota students at St. Mary's Mission School on the Rosebud Reservation and Hunkpapa Lakota students at St. Elizatbeth's Mission School on the Standing Rock Reservation.
Scope and Contents:
The Septima Koehler collection includes photographic prints, letters, essays and student papers that document Septima's work as a mission teacher for the Episcopal Church in South Dakota from around 1895 to 1905. The collection has been divided into two series, Series 1: St. Mary's Mission School, circa 1895 and Series 2: St. Elizabeth's Mission School, circa 1899-1905. Series 1 includes photographic prints shot at St. Mary's Mission School on the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. Septima Koehler taught there in the early to mid-1890s but it is unclear when the photographs were taken since the photographer is unknown. The majority of the photographs in the collection were shot at St. Elizabeth's Mission School in Wakpala on the Standing Rock Reservation, South Dakota which are a part of Series 2. These were taken between 1899 and 1902 and several include shots of Septima Koehler herself which suggest they were shot by someone who knew her. There are also a number of portraits of Lakota students who attended the school, some identified with names on the backs of the photographs, including members of the Deloria family among others. There is also a group portrait from the 1903 teacher institute held at Standing Rock organized by A.O. Wright, Supervisor of Indian Schools. In addition to the photographs, there are essays and lesson plans written by Koehler, a letter from Septima Koehler to her sister Aurora from 1902 describing the start of the school year and student papers and work sheets produced by the Native American students (mostly Hunkpapa Lakota) attending the school as well as a student roll book. There are also name and receipt books from Koehler's work with the "Babies' Branch", a missionary outfit that raised money specifically for children.
The majority of the photographic prints in this collection are silver gelatin and most of the St. Elizabeth's photographs are both circular and matted. The prints have catalog numbers P19485-P19523.
Arrangement:
Arranged in two series; Series 1: St. Mary's Mission School, circa 1895 and Series 2: St. Elizabeth's Mission School, circa 1899-1905.
Biographical / Historical:
Septima Koehler (1848-1918) was one of seven children born to Herman and Aurore Koehler in Indiana. Both Septima and her sister Aurora worked as schoolteachers in southeasters Indiana from 1867 to about 1890 when the sisters began their mission work for the Episcopal Church. Around 1895 Septima was appointed by Bishop William Hobart Hare to teach at St. Mary's Mission School on the Rosebud Reservation while Aurora took a job as a librarian in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Only a few years later, around 1899, she was appointed to St. Elizabeth's mission school on the Standing Rock reservation where she taught under Principal Mary E. Francis. In addition to her teaching duties, Koehler also lectured on the importance of health and hygiene at reservation boarding schools, participating in the 1903 Standing Rock Institute organizing by A.O. Wright, supervisor of Indian Schools for the department of the Interior.
Between 1906 and 1908, the Koehler sisters moved to Nashville Tennessee to work within the African American community and from 1908-1909 they worked in a mill in LaGrange, Georgia. Septima died in Hagerstown, Maryland in 1918 from pneumonia.
Related Materials:
The Hutchings-Koehler Family Papers, 1699–1916, can be found in the Manuscript and Visual Collections Department William Henry Smith Memorial Library Indiana Historical Society. This includes correspondence and notebooks from Septima Koehler during this same time period in South Dakota.
Separated Materials:
Archaeological and ethnographic plains materials collected by Septima Koehler and inherited by her great-niece Elizabeth Kelemen can be found in the NMAI ethnographic collections. They have catalog numbers 23/8260 – 23/8319. There are also 14 sketches from St. Mary's Mission students with catalog numbers 25/1093 – 25/1101.
Provenance:
Donated to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation in 1970 by Pal and Elizabeth Zulauf Kelemen. Elizabeth Kelemen was the great-niece of Septima Koehler.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Thursday, 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 users to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not changed, 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.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Septima Koehler Collection (NMAI.AC.319), Item Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Outdoor portrait of Wahpetonwan Dakota doctor Charles A. Eastman standing in front of St. Elizabeth's Mission school on the Standing Rock Reservation, South Dakota. Both Eastman and his wife Elaine Goodale were outspoken about their beliefs on the education of Native American children.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Thursday, 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 users to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not changed, 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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Septima Koehler Collection (NMAI.AC.319), Item Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
This bulk of this collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
National Academy of Design records, 1817-2012. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection consists of twenty-four (24) prints illustrating dancers, figures in traditional attire, and ceremonial events. Each sheet is numbered in the upper right corner, with numbers 1 through 30. The set is complete except for 3, 5, 7, 22, 26, and 29. The prints are from a portfolio containing 30 plates and an accompanying text by Jacobson published by C. Szwedizicki, Nice, France. The painters are the so-called "Kiowa Five," renamed the "Kiowa Six": Jack Hokeah, Spencer Asah, Bougetah (Lois) Smoky, Stephen Mopope, and Monroe Tsatoke. For this set of drawings, an electrostatic copy of the text as published in 1979 with an essay by Jamake Highwater and the Jacobson text in French with an added translation in English has been added (Oscar Brousse Jacobson, Kiowa Indian Art: Watercolor Paintings in Color by the Indians of Oklahoma) with an introductory essay by Jamake Highwater, Bell Editions, Santa Fe, ca. 1979). The locations of the missing art and the original 1929 text and covers are not known.
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:
The Kiowa Five were a group of painters who earned national and international acclaim during the early twentieth century. The group actually consisted of six individuals: Spencer Asah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Monroe Tsatoke, Lois Smoky, and James Auchiah. A number of the artists attended St. Patrick's Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma, where they received art instruction from Sister Olivia Taylor. Susan Peters, a government field matron, also took an interest in the young artists' work. She arranged for an artist from Chickasha, Mrs. Willie Baze Lane, to provide art lessons. Eventually Ms. Peters persuaded Dr. Oscar Jacobson, head of the school of art at the University of Oklahoma, to provide additional training for the artists. In 1926, Asah, Hokeah, Tsatoke, and Mopope arrived at the University. The artists were not officially enrolled, but they received special instruction from Jacobson and Dr. Edith Mahier, another professor in the school of art. In January 1927, Lois Smoky, a young Kiowa woman, arrived to study with the other artists. In spring, the artists were compelled to return home to tend to agricultural pursuits. They returned in the fall, accompanied by James Auchiah, the sixth and final student. Shortly thereafter, Lois Smoky withdrew from the program and returned home. Dr. Oscar Jacobson arranged for the Kiowa artists' paintings to be exhibited in 1928 at the First International Art Exposition - formally titled the 1928 International Art Congress (of the International Federation for Art Education, Drawing and Art Applied to Industries)- in Prague, Czechoslovakia. In 1929, Kiowa Art, a portfolio of the artists' paintings was published in France.
Biographical Note:
Stephen Mopope also known as Qued Koi (Painted Robe) was born on August 27, 1898 near Red Stone Baptist Church on the Kiowa Reservation. He attended St. Patrick's Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma. He died on February 3, 1974.
Spencer Asah also known as Lallo (Little Boy) was born between 1905 and 1910 near Carnegie, Oklahoma. He attended various government Indian schools and St. Patrick's Mission School, Anadarko, Oklahoma. He died in 1954.
James Auchiah was born in 1906 near Medicine Park, Oklahoma. He attended St. Patrick's Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma. He died on December 28, 1974.
Jack Hokeah was born in 1902 in western Oklahoma. He attended St. Patrick's Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma. He died on December 14, 1969.
Monroe Tsatoke also known as Tsa To Kee (Hunting Horse) was born September 29, 1904 at Saddle Mountain, Oklahoma. He attended Rainy Mountain Indian School near Carnegie, Oklahoma and Bacone College. He died on February 3, 1937.
Lois Smokey also known as Bougetah (Of the Dawn) was born in 1907, near Anadarko, Oklahoma. She died on February 1, 1981.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 7536
NAA INV 09064600-09066900
Related Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds a complete set of prints published in 1979 in MS 2008-15 Kiowa Indian Art: Watercolor Paintings in Color by the Indians of Oklahoma and holds related prints in the Acee Blue Eagle collection, including the original painting on which Plate 27 is based.
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
Watercolors
Ledger drawings
Citation:
MS 7536 Pochoir prints of ledger drawings by the Kiowa Five, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Records of the Superintendent of Education include a series of letters and telegrams received, March 28, 1864-August 30, 1868, with most of the correspondence dated before 1866. Arranged chronologically, the series includes receipts for school supplies, requests for school accommodations, general statements of school conditions or public opinion concerning schools, and reports of damage done to schools by vandals or anti-Bureau groups. A name index to this correspondence, prepared by NARA staff is arranged alphabetically by correspondent's surname.
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Lee Ya-Ching Papers, NASM.2008.0009, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Lee Ya-Ching Papers, NASM.2008.0009, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
This collection contains 5 gelatin silver prints depicting students and teachers at the St. Bernard Mission School (also known as the St. Bernard Indian Residential School) in Grouard, Alberta, Canada, circa 1925-1935.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains 5 gelatin silver prints depicting students and teachers at the St. Bernard Mission School (also known as the St. Bernard Indian Residential School) in Grouard, Alberta, Canada. The photographs, shot by an unidentified photographer, depict student classes, activities, and teachers circa 1925-1935. One photograph also depicts a nurse and child at St. Theresa Hospital in Ft. Vermilion in Alberta, Canada. The students are most likely from the Plains Cree First Nations Indigenous community in Canada.
Biographical / Historical:
Founded in 1872, the St. Bernard Mission was located at Lesser Slave Lake in Alberta, Canada near the Hudson's Bay Company trading post. The Catholic mission run by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate worked with the Plains Cree and Cree Metis Indigenous communities in the region. By 1900, the mission ran the St. Bernard Mission School (also known as the St. Bernard Residential School), a residence for nuns, and a farming operation at Grouard, Alberta, Canada. The school closed its doors in 1962.
Provenance:
Donated by Patricia Krehbiel in 2017 and 2018.
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.
Off-reservation boarding schools -- Photographs Search this
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); St. Bernard Mission School photographs; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Contains ethnographic and ethnohistorical material concerning the Araucanians, as well as lengthy descriptions of the Agricultural practices, produce and livestock. Appendix (page 65) contains a short discussion of the Agricultural and Industrial Mission School for Araucanian boys and girls. There are 32 mounted photographs on 16 pages.
The photograph depicts Joseph, age 8, at Catholic Mission school. During his trip to Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited Bunia and its surroundings, near Lake Albert. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.
Local Numbers:
EENG-I-19, 25A.
General:
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
Typed index card reads, "B 3 Zai. Zaire. Bunia. Joseph Mokobi, age 8, at Catholic Mission school. 4/1970. EE. neg.no. I-19, 25A." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The photograph depicts Joseph, age 8, at Catholic Mission school. During his trip to Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited Bunia and its surroundings, near Lake Albert. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.
Local Numbers:
EENG-I-19, 26A.
General:
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
Typed index card reads, "B 3 Zai. Zaire. Bunia. Joseph Mokobi, age 8, at Catholic Mission school. 4/1970. EE. neg.no. I-19, 26A." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The photograph depicts Joseph, age 8, at Catholic Mission school. During his trip to Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited Bunia and its surroundings, near Lake Albert. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.
Local Numbers:
EENG-I-19, 27A.
General:
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
Typed index card reads, "B 3 Zai. Zaire. Bunia. Joseph Mokobi, age 8, at Catholic Mission school. 4/1970. EE. neg.no. I-19, 27A." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The photograph depicts Joseph, age 8, at Catholic Mission school. During his trip to Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited Bunia and its surroundings, near Lake Albert. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.
Local Numbers:
EENG-I-19, 28A.
General:
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
Typed index card reads, "B 3 Zai. Zaire. Bunia. Joseph Mokobi, age 8, at Catholic Mission school. 4/1970. EE. neg.no. I-19, 28A." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The photograph depicts Joseph, age 8, at Catholic Mission school. During his trip to Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited Bunia and its surroundings, near Lake Albert. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.
Local Numbers:
EENG-I-20, 29.
General:
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
Typed index card reads, "B 3 Zai. Zaire. Bunia. Joseph Mokobi, age 8, at Catholic Mission school. 4/1970. EE. neg.no. I-20, 29." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The photograph depicts Joseph, age 8, at Catholic Mission school. During his trip to Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited Bunia and its surroundings, near Lake Albert. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.
Local Numbers:
EENG-I-20, 30.
General:
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
Typed index card reads, "B 3 Zai. Zaire. Bunia. Joseph Mokobi, age 8, at Catholic Mission school. 4/1970. EE. neg.no. I-20, 30." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The photograph depicts Joseph, age 8, in class at Catholic Mission school. During his trip to Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited Bunia and its surroundings, near Lake Albert. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.
Local Numbers:
EENG-I-20, 13.
General:
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
Typed index card reads, "B 3 Zai. Zaire. Bunia. Joseph Mokobi, age 8, in class at Catholic Mission school. 4/1970. EE. neg.no. I-22, 13." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The photograph depicts Joseph, age 8, in class at Catholic Mission school. During his trip to Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited Bunia and its surroundings, near Lake Albert. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.
Local Numbers:
EENG-I-20, 14.
General:
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
Typed index card reads, "B 3 Zai. Zaire. Bunia. Joseph Mokobi, age 8, in class at Catholic Mission school. 4/1970. EE. neg.no. I-20, 14." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The photograph depicts Joseph, age 8, in class at Catholic Mission school. During his trip to Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited Bunia and its surroundings, near Lake Albert. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.
Local Numbers:
EENG-I-20, 15.
General:
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
Typed index card reads, "B 3 Zai. Zaire. Bunia. Joseph Mokobi, age 8, in class at Catholic Mission school. 4/1970. EE. neg.no. I-20, 15." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
