Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
The focus for the 1975 Native Americans program was the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy: the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora, tribal groups whose government had been in effect for hundreds of years and served as a model for our federal system. The Grand Council of the Iroquois Confederacy directly influenced the creation of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the U.S. Never before had the Native American Festival presentation been so closely interrelated to American history.
The Grand Council was discussed in workshops in the Learning Center where a history in photographs was on display. Members of the Iroquois are a major force in the lacrosse industry - from creating sticks to providing the athletes. Lacrosse was played in competition in the Native Americans area daily, and lacrosse stick making was part of the craft demonstrations along with silversmithing, wood and bone carving, basketry, and beadwork. Iroquois singing and dancing took place daily. Friday evenings, visitors were invited to participate in social dancing. The friendship dance, round dance, rabbit dance and stomp dance were demonstrated.
Native American food that was demonstrated and sampled included fry bread, corn and sassafras tea. Festival presentations traced the role of maize from crop through harvest; from food preparation in soups and breads, to the use of husks by craftspeople in toys, dolls and ceremonial masks.
In the Learning Center participants from various other Eastern Indian tribes recounted their influence on European settlers, beginning in 1620 when the Wampanoag tribe welcomed the Pilgrims (greeting them in English), provided food for them during the first difficult winter on the New England coast, and then shared the first Thanksgiving. Narragansett representatives spoke about the architectural contributions and history of their people. The Passamaquoddy from Maine, known for their intricate quill work and importance to the early settlers as trappers and fishers, also discussed their role in American history.
Other Native Americans who participated in discussions were from the Shinnecock tribe of Long Island, New York; Indian Mountain Lookout Intertribal Native Americans, New York; the Lumbee, Haliwa and Coharie from North Carolina; Catawba from South Carolina; Tunica-Biloxi of Louisiana; Chippewa of Wisconsin; and Potowatomi of Michigan. These participants were all members of the Coalition of Eastern Native Americans (CENA), an organization whose purpose is to identify and assist in the socio-economic and organizational development of Eastern Native Americans. CENA includes non-reservation, urban and federally recognized tribes and groups.
Lucille Dawson served as program coordinator, assisted by Thomas Kavanagh. The multi-year program was shaped by the Native Americans Advisory Group, including Alfonso Ortiz, Louis Bruce, Dell Hymes, Rayna Green, Clydia Nahwooksy, William Sturtevant, and Barre Toelken.
Participants:
Six Nations, Iroquois participants
Cayuga
Sam Crogan, lacrosse player
Alisa Mike, dancer
Nancy Poodry, bead worker
Bill Printup, lacrosse player
Dean Printup, lacrosse player
Elwood Printup, lacrosse player
Gene Printup, lacrosse player
Elizabeth Silversmith, cook
Mohawk
Mary Adams, basket maker
Mike Adams, basket maker
Elwood Greene, silversmith
David Hill, lacrosse player
Stanley Hill, bone carver
Woody Hill, dancer
Allan Jock, dancer
Marshall Joseph, wood carver
Isabelle Skye, cornhusk worker
Beatrice Thomas, dancer
Russell Thomas, dancer
Margaret Terrence, basket maker
Cam Wilson, bone carver
Marge Wilson, cook
Wanda Wilson, dancer
Oneida
Irving Chrisjohn, cornhusk worker
Mrs. Chrisjohn, cornhusk worker
Onondaga
Paula Babcock, dancer
Kevin Hill, lacrosse player
Martin Jimmerson, dancer
Angie Miller, dancer
Huron Miller, singer, discussant, Buffalo, New York
Barry Powless, dancer
Irving Powless, Sr., 1906-1985, discussant
Irving Powless, Jr., discussant
Nancy Powless, dancer
Jacob Skye, dancer
Perry Williams, dancer
Debbie Williams, dancer
Ruby Williams, dancer
Guy Williams, dancer
Tim Williams, dancer
Seneca
Herbert Buck, singer
Lydia Buck, dancer
Sadie Buck, dancer
Herb Dowdy, 1919-1990, singer
Fidelia George, dancer
Helen Harris, dancer
Linda Harris, dancer
Steve Harris, dancer
Elijah Harris, dancer
Diosa Hill, dancer
Marty Jamerson, dancer
Darwin John, dancer
Edith John, cook
Coleen Johnny John, dancer
Kevin Johnny John, dancer
Mike Johnny John, dancer
Richard Johnny John, singer
Vera Miller, cook, bead worker
Ken Poodry, cradleboard maker
Eddie Scott, dancer
Elmer Shongo, 1929-1985, dancer, cook
Corbett Sundown, 1909-1992, discussant
Lloyd Thomas, 1946-, dancer
Marlene Thomas, dancer
Hazel Thompson, dancer
Phillip Thompson, dancer
Tuscarora
Joe Chrysler, lacrosse player
Orzey Cusick, lacrosse stick maker
Emma Greene, cook
Alvis Hewitt, 1931-1999, cook manager
Rick Hill, discussant
Nina Jacobs, dancer
Phillip Jacobs, lacrosse player
Bob Patterson, lacrosse player
Kevin Patterson, lacrosse stick maker
John Patterson, lacrosse stick maker
Helen Printup, cook
Mary Rickard, lacrosse stick maker
Ellene Rickard, lacrosse stick maker
Noreen Shongo, cook
Ron Smith, lacrosse player
Wilmer Wilson, 1925-2002, discussant
Coalition of Eastern Native Americans Participants
Aroostook Association
Terry Polchies, discussant
Catawba
Roger Trimnal, discussant
Chippewa
Delores Bainbridge, discussant
Elizabeth Cadotte, discussant
Haliwa
Linda Lynch, discussant
Archibald Lynch, discussant
Hassanamisco
Louise Wilcox, discussant
Indian Mountain Lookout Inter-Tribal Native Americans
Asenith D. Vogt, discussant
Lumbee
Arlene Locklear, 1952-1979, discussant
June Sampson, discussant
W.J. Strickland, discussant
Micmac
Tom Battiste
Mohegan
Virginia Daamon, discussant
Narragansett
Alberta Wilcox, discussant
Mary Brown, discussant
Potawatomi
Joe Winchester, discussant
Leroy Wesaw, 1925-1994, discussant
Shinnecock
Eva Smith, discussant
Alice Franklin, discussant
Tunica Biloxi
Rose Marie Pierite, 1900-1987
Wampanoag
Komi Oweant Haynes, 1958-, discussant
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1975 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Contents: Notes on Dekanawida text; Hiawatha; notes on the League; notes to Seneca League traditions; translation by Hilton M. Hill, Seneca, official interpreter of the Six Nations Agency, Brantford; "down fended" explained; Mohawk Owachira and clans, 1932; Oneida titles (Jacob Hess, 1930); notes to texts, Charles, 1917 (1928); insert in the law of the woman chief, English; ascendancy of War Chiefs; Procedure by R. Davey, Cayuga chief, 1925-6. Also Principles of the League, text, typed, 19 pages.
MS 3941 Materials assembled by Hewitt for preparation of articles in Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 30 and for replies to inquires from the public
Collector:
Hewitt, J. N. B. (John Napoleon Brinton), 1859-1937 Search this
Contents: Adirondack tribe (St Lawrence River) Old Manuscript Number 3553. Adoption Old Manuscript Number 4007. Refers to Algonquian method of counting -only; see Haas note 2/18/72; Old Manuscript Number 3864. "Alligewi"; Animism Old Manuscript Number 3867 and 2842-c, box 6. Blood Indians, origin of name; Brant, Joseph Old Manuscript Number 3874. Chippewa, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3646. Chiefs, function and significance of Old Manuscript Number 2842-c, box 6. Delaware tribe, New Jersey area claimed by Old Manuscript Number 3866. Detroit River, tribes near; Ekaentoton Island-- see Ste. Marie Island Environment (Bulletin 30 draft by O. T. Mason) Old Manuscript Number 4007. Erie, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3646. Erie and Black Mincqua tribes Old Manuscript Number 3586. [Eskimo] Arctic tribes, leaving elderly and sick people to die Old Manuscript Number 3668. Family, Bulletin 30 draft and notes Old Manuscript Number 4011 and 2842-c, box 6. Grand River (Tinaatoua), name of; Hebrew calendar; Hewitt, list of Bulletin 30 articles by Old Manuscript Number 4066. Hoboken, origin of name; Iroquois, "On the Northern and Eastern Territorial Limits of the Iroquoian people, in the 16th Century," and Algonquian tribes, at Chaleur Bay. Iroquois at Gulf of St Lawrence and Bay of Gaspe Old Manuscript Number 3625.
Iroquois, location of Six Nations tribes reservations Old Manuscript Number 3763. Iroquois false face; Iroquois preparation of corn ("as food") Old Manuscript Number 4009. Iroquoian early dress Old Manuscript Number 3660. Iroquoian "Gachoi" tribe, identity of (Correspondence with F. Bogaskie.) Old Manuscript Number 3816. Iroquoian moon names and concept of time; Iroquoian social organization, and place name-name origins; "Man," Iroquoian term for Old Manuscript Number 3781. Iroquoian towns Old Manuscript Number 4006. Kentucky, meaning of the word; Kentucky, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3840. Lenni Lenape, meaning of the word; Logstown-- see Shenango Old Manuscript Number 3773. Lost Ten Tribes as American Indians Old Manuscript Number 3670. Mayan linguistic family and other Mayan linguistic notes including Quiche and Tepehuanan notes Old Manuscript Number 3473. Mexico: idols, sacrifices, etc. Old Manuscript Number 3807. Mexico: Indian languages. Letter from Captain W.E.W. MacKinley Old Manuscript Number 3778. Missouri, Indian village, location of Old Manuscript Number 3944. Mohawk land near Lake Champlain; Mohawk grammar; Montour family, notes for Bulletin 30 Old Manuscript Number 3812. Muskhogean social organization. Letter from J. J. Harrison. Old Manuscript Number 3891. New England tribes Old Manuscript Number 3513.
Niagara, origin of name; "Old Smoke"-- see Sayenqueraghta Old Manuscript Number 3949. Onondaga tribe, text of memorial inscription to, and correspondence Old Manuscript 4391 and 4271- box 1 (part.) Ontwaganha or Toaganha, origin and meaning of name Old Manuscript Number 3864. Owego, meaning of town's name; Pekwanoket tribe (Cape Cod); Pemaquid, Abnaki word and its origin Old Manuscript Number 89. Piasa bird- pictograph formerly near present Alton, Illinois. Article is similar to that by Cyrus Thomas, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 30. Old Manuscript Number 3981. Potawatomi, notes on the name Old Manuscript Number 4034. Potawatomi Green Corn Dance; Roanoke, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3998. Sacagawea, spelling of; St Ignace, 3 settlements (Michigan); St Marie Island or Ekaentoton Island; Sauk, Bulletin 30 article and galley proof, notes Old Manuscript Number 3764. Sayenqueraghta or "Old Smoke" (correspondence with Alanson Skinner) Old Manuscript Number 3949. Scalping Old Manuscript Number 4025. Shenango and Logstown Old Manuscript Number 3773. Sioux, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3624. Society of American Indians, resolutions by thanking General Hugh L. Scott, Fr. Anselm Webber and others Old Manuscript Number 3868. Susquehanna, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3707. Tacoma, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3470.
Thunderbird, notes on Old Manuscript Number 3552. Tinaatoa-- see Grand River; Toronto, origin of name; Tuscarora villages Old Manuscript Number 3998. Wampum Old Manuscript Number 3998. War club with inscription; West Virginia panhandle tribes Old Manuscript Number 3945. Williams, Eleazer Old Manuscript Number 3998. Women, status of Old Manuscript Number 3566. Wyandots (Huron) List of tribes of which Wyandots of today are constituted. Old Manuscript Number 3774.
Portraits of Native American artists, craftspeople, activists, and leaders from Stephen Gambaro's photography exhibits: "The Indian, the Animal, and the Land," 1976; "Indian Artists," 1977; and "Shadows Caught: Images of Native Americans," 1984.
Individuals pictured include: Brummett Echohawk, Pawnee; Archie Blackowl, Cheyenne; Bert Seabourn, Cherokee; LaDonna Harris, Comanche; W. Richard West, Sr., Southern Cheyenne; Ada Deer, Menominee; George Watchetaker, Comanche; King Kuka, Blackfeet; Earl Biss, Crow; Larry J. DesJarlais Jr., Turtle Mountain Chippewa; Encarnacion Pena, San Ildefonso; Valjean McCarty Hessing, Choctaw; Allan Hauser, Apache; Victor H. Runnels, Oglala; Sarah McCray, Navajo; Marian Wolf, Kiowa; Dwight Billedeaux, Blackfeet; Elsie Peshlakai, Navajo; Johnny Tiger Jr., Muscogee; John Kaskaske, Kickapoo; Linda Russell, Apache-Pawnee; Stephen Gonyea, Onondaga Iroquois; Naomi and Kathy Gonyea, Seneca Iroquois; and John, Eric, and Tanya Parker, Choctaw.
Biographical/Historical note:
Stephen Gambaro is a professional photographer and former Chief of Rehabilitation Services for the Washington, DC, government. He and his wife, a Cherokee sculptor, operate an Native American art gallery in DC. Gambaro's photographs largely depict Native friends, artists, and craftsmen whom his gallery represents, as well as his travels to Native communities around the United States.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 80-37, NAA ACC 84-19
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The exhibition catalog for "Indian Artists" in 1977 was donated with parts of this collection in 1980. It has been relocated to the National Anthropological Archives Reference Files.
Additional photographs by Stephen Gambaro can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot R80-33.
Jose Encarnacion Pena's painting entitled "Spotted Pumpkin Dance," collected by Gambaro for the "Shadows Caught" exhibit, can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in MS 7429.
The collection consists of a copy of a studio portrait of Onondaga, Mohawk, and Seneca Chiefs with wampum belts, made on September 14, 1871, for Horatio Hale. Includes Joseph Snow (Hahriron), Onondaga Chief; George H. M. Johnson (Deyonhehgon), Mohawk chief, government interpreter and son of John Smoke Johnson; John Buck (Skanawatih), Onondaga chief and hereditary keeper of the wampum; John Smoke Johnson (Sakayenkwaraton), Mohawk chief and speaker of the council; Isaac Hill (Kawenenseronton), Onondaga chief and fire keeper; John Seneca Johnson (Kanonkeredawih), Seneca chief.
Biographical/Historical note:
Horatio Emmons Hale (1817-1896) was an American-Canadian philologist, ethnologist, author, and businessman who studied Native American languages. He published the Iroquois Book of Rites in 1883, which documented the history and rituals of the Iroquois Confederacy based on interpretations of the group's wampum belts. In September 1871, he requested that six Iroquois chiefs, with whom he had worked on the wampum belts, come to the Brantford, Ontario, studio of James N. Edy, where this photograph was made.
Hale later sent the photograph to his colleagues with variations on the following inscription: "The wampum belts were explained to me on the reserve, at the residence of Chief G. H. M. Johnson; and at my request the chiefs afterwards came with me to Brantford, where the original photograph . . . was taken.--H. Hale, Clinton, Ont." The photograph from which this copy print was made originally belonged to J. N. B. Hewitt.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 86-58
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Additional James N. Edy photographs can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in MS 4751 and the BAE historical negatives.
Vocabularies and correspondence by Horatio Hale can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in MS 7235, MS 7236, MS 4558, MS 772-c, MS 4797, MS 4800, MS 7439, MS 7440, MS 7441, MS 3436, MS 1072, the Bureau of American Ethnology Letters Received, and the J.C. Pilling Papers.
Photo Lot 86-58, Copy of James N. Edy photograph of Chiefs of the Six Nations explaining their wampum belts, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
