Photographs made by Bill Groethe depicting a reunion of survivors of the Battle of Little Big Horn at Custer State Park, South Dakota, on September 2, 1948. The survivors depicted include Little Warrior, Pemmican, Little Soldier, Dewey Beard, High Eagle, Iron Hawk, Comes Again, and Nicholas Black Elk. John Sitting Bull, though not a survivor himself, was present to represent Sitting Bull, his adoptive father.
Biographical/Historical note:
William M. Groethe (b. 1923) is a professional photographer from Rapid City, South Dakota, known for his photographs of Mount Rushmore and his portrait of the last survivors of the 1876 Battle of Little Big Horn. Mentored by fellow Rapid City photographers Carl Rise and Bert Bell, Groethe was the only professional photographer in attendance at the reunion of the Battle of the Little Big Horn survivors. Both Rapid City and the State of South Dakota declared September 2, 2009 as William M. Groethe Day in honor of the 61st anniversary of the Little Bighorn photo.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 92-14
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Groethe's photograph, entitled "Lakota Moon of the Longest Night," held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 2002-02.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Copyright retained by Bill Groethe. Contact the repository for terms of use and access.
Topic:
Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876 Search this
Citation:
Photo Lot 92-14, Bill Groethe photographs of surviviors of the Battle of Little Big Horn, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The collection is largely composed of photographs depicting Plains Indians, many of whom took part in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Depicted individuals include Young Man Afraid of His Horse, Low Dog, Good Horse, Clear Eyes, Rain in the Face, Crow Flies High, Trail Hunter, Sitting Bull, Crow King, Red Cloud, White Faces, Running Antelope, Red Girl, Curly, John Grass, Gall, Spotted Tail, and a group of Ghost Dancers. There are also images of Barry, General Custer, the horse Comanche, and Buffalo Bill.
Biographical/Historical note:
David Frances Barry (1854-1934) was a photographer based in Bismarck, Dakota Territory, who is most noted for his photographs of famous American Indians. In 1878, he was hired by itinerant photographer O. S. Goff, with whom he eventually partnered. From 1878 to 1883, Barry traversed the Dakota Territory, making many of his most widely known photographs of American Indians, forts and battlefields, military officers, and other people in the region. In 1883, Barry opened a new studio in Bismarck, where he began photographing members of Cody's Wild West Show.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot R81-71
Reproduction Note:
Copy prints made by Smithsonian Institution, 1981.
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Additional photographs by Barry, as well as originals of images in this collection, can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 24, Photo Lot 80-18, Photo Lot 87-2P, Photo Lot 90-1, MS 4559, and the BAE historical negatives.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
This copy collection has been obtained for reference purposes only. Contact the repository for terms of use and access.
Images include gathering of the dead after the Massacre at Wounded Knee, January 1, 1891; a portrait of the wife of Chief Montana and captured Sioux warriors and United States Army soldiers after the Battle of Little Big Horn. A large portion of the collection represents Rock Island County history and includes images of Keokuk, chief of the Sacs Indians; Black Hawk, a war chief of the Sacs Indians; Logan Ka-ka-que, grandson of Black Hawk; Se-us-kuk, son of Black Hawk; Mary Ka-ka-que, great-great-granddaughter of Black Hawk; Jesse Ka-ka-que, great-grandson of Black Hawk; part of a Fox Indian memorial post placed at the grave of Colonel George Davenport; and summer and winter homes for Sac and Fox Indians.
Biographical/Historical note:
Rock Island Arsenal is located on an island in the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. With the construction of Fort Armstrong in 1816, it was established as a government site. Fort Armstrong, located just a few miles from the principal Sac and Fox village, was one of a series of western frontier defenses built by the army. The treaty ending the Black Hawk war was signed at Fort Armstrong in 1832, and the fort was garrisoned until 1836.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot R82-57
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Additional photographs by the Northwestern Photographic Company can be found in the national Anthropological Archives in MS 4464, 4598, and 4574, and Photo Lots 24 and 90-1.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
This copy collection has been obtained for reference purposes only. Contact the repository for terms of use and access.
Topic:
Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876 Search this
Photo lot R82-57, Rock Island Arsenal photograph collection related to the Wounded Knee Massacre, Battle of Little Big Horn, Sauk and Fox Indians, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Place:
Little Bighorn Battlefield (Mont.)
Date:
bulk 1905, 1907-1908
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains materials relating to Edward S. Curtis' 1907-1908 investigation into the Battle of Little Bighorn. The collection contains Curtis' notes; transcriptions of eyewitness accounts of Crow scouts Curley (as told to Chas. F. Roe, published in Army & Navy Journal, March 10, 1982) and White Man Runs Him and Cheyenne chief Two Moons; and letters from General Charles A. Woodruff, who was assigned by the U.S. Army to corroborate Curtis's findings in 1908. Also includes a 1905 letter from Francis E. Leupp, Comissioner of Indian Affairs, to Curtis
Biographical / Historical:
Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868-1952) was a photographer, known for his images of Native Americans and of the American West. In preparation for his volume on the Sioux for his 20 volume publication, The North American Indian, he investigated the details of the Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand (June 25, 1876). He first visited the battleground in 1905 and interviewed many of the Sioux participants. He returned in 1907, and with the help of three Crow scouts who were with George Armstrong Custer that day, Curtis retraced Custer's steps on his final day. Curtis submitted a report to President Theodore Roosevelt and army officials, and upon their request, chose not to publish his findings out of deference to Custer's widow, who was alive at the time. Shortly before his death in 1952, Curtis passed on his manuscript to his son Harold with the request that he find a home for his papers. Thirty-six year later, shortly before his own death, Harold donated his father's manuscript to the National Museum of American History. Curtis' manuscript was later transferred to the National Anthropological Archives.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 2000-18
Local Note:
See NAA vertical file under "Curtis, Edward S." for more information.
Topic:
Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876 Search this
Genre/Form:
Manuscripts
Citation:
Manuscript 2000-18, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
MS 2367-b Red Horse's Account of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Montana, June 25, 1876, in Gesture-Signs, to illustrate the Syntax of the Sign-Language of the North American Indians
Contains literal translation of sign text, free translation, and detailed description, with diagrams, of all signs in the order of their appearance in the text. 594 signs.
42 Drawings (graphite, colored pencil, and ink, 61 x 92 cm.)
Culture:
Minneconjou Lakota (Minniconjou Sioux) Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Maps
Pictographs
Ledger drawings
Date:
1881
Scope and Contents:
Sheets are numbered 0-41 (Number 27 missing). 1 page Manuscript in Charles E. McChesney's hand summarizing subjects as follows: Sheets 1-5, Soldiers approaching village; 6-10, Indian village; 11-15, Indians charging soldiers; 16-20, Custer's column fighting; 21-25, Dead cavalry horses--Custer's; 26-30, Dead Sioux killed by Custer's column; 31-35, Dead Cavalry--Custer's column; 36-41, Indians leaving the battle ground.
Biographical / Historical:
Red Horse was a chief of the Miniconjou division of the Teton.
Dr. Charles E. McChesney was an Army physician based at Fort Bennet, Dakota Territory in 1881.
Personal letters received by Hugh Lenox Scott and his collection of newspaper clippings relating to Indians. Box 1: Personal letters received, 1897-98 and 1926, 1929. Alphabetically arranged by sender. Approximately 100 letters. Bills and receipts, personal. 1 folder. Newsclippings. Roughly sorted by cataloguer into the following categories: Sign Language work of H. L. Scott. Sign Language work of William Tompkins (3 clippings) H. L. Scott and Indians: conferences, inspection trips, lectures. Box 2: Newsclippings, continued: Indian conditions, welfare, legislation. Feature articles--accounts and reminiscences concerning Indian history: battles, treaties, forts, scouts, etc., including 1 folder of Battle of Little Big Horn. Map folder: Newspaper clippings about Hugh L. Scott and one article about Hopi snake dance.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 4396
Local Note:
Title changed from "Personal letters received, 1897-98, 1926, 1929" 6/13/2014.
Other Archival Materials:
Biographical clippings and obituary notices of Indians, Indian fighters, etc. have been removed from this collection and added to the main biographical file in Bureau of American Ethnology Archives office.
