To a considerable degree, the James H. Howard papers consist of manuscript copies of articles, book, speeches, and reviews that document his professional work in anthropology, ethnology, ethnohistory, archeology, linguistics, musicology, and folklore between 1950 and 1982. Among these are a few unpublished items. Notes are relatively scant, there being somewhat appreciable materials for the Chippewa, Choctaw, Creek, Dakota, Omaha, Ponca, Seminole, and Shawnee. The chief field materials represented in the collection are sound recordings and photographs, but many of the latter are yet to be unidentified. A series of color photographs of Indian artifacts in folders are mostly identified and represent the extensive American Indian Cultural collection of costumes and artifacts that Howard acquired and created. Other documents include copies of papers and other research materials of colleagues. There is very little original material related to archeological work in the collection and that which is present concerns contract work for the Lone State Steel Company.
Scope and Contents:
The James Henri Howard papers document his research and professional activities from 1949-1982 and primarily deal with his work as an anthropologist, archeologist, and ethnologist, studying Native American languages & cultures. The collection consists of Series 1 correspondence; Series 2 writings and research, which consists of subject files (language and culture research materials), manuscripts, research proposals, Indian claim case materials, Howard's publications, publications of others, and bibliographical materials; Series 3 sound recordings of Native American music and dance; Series 4 photographs; and Series 5 drawings and artwork.
Howard was also a linguist, musicologist, and folklorist, as well as an informed and able practitioner in the fields of dance and handicrafts. His notable books include Choctaw Music and Dance; Oklahoma Seminoles: Medicines, Magic, and Religion; and Shawnee! The Ceremonialism of a Native American Tribe and its Cultural Background.
Some materials are oversize, specifically these three Winter Count items: 1. a Dakota Winter Count made of cloth in 1953 at the request of James H. Howard, 2. a drawing of British Museum Winter Count on 4 sheets of paper, and 3. Photographs of a Winter Count.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in 5 series: Series 1. Correspondence, 1960-1982, undated; Series 2. Writings and Research, 1824-1992; Series 3. Sound Recordings, 1960-1979; Series 4. Photographs, 1879-1985; Series 5. Drawings and Artwork, 1928-1982.
Chronology:
1925 -- James Henri Howard was born on September 10 in Redfield, South Dakota.
1949 -- Received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska.
1950 -- Received his Master of Arts from the University of Nebraska and began a prolific record of publishing.
1950-1953 -- Began his first professional employment as an archaeologist and preparator at the North Dakota State Historical Museum in Bismarck.
1955-1957 -- Was a museum lecturer at the Kansas City (Missouri) Museum.
1957 -- James H. Howard received his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. Joined the staff of the Smithsonian's River Basin Surveys in the summer.
1957-1963 -- Taught anthropology at the University of North Dakota.
1962 -- Chief archeologist at the Fortress of Louisberg Archeological Project in Nova Scotia.
1963-1968 -- Taught anthropology at the University of South Dakota; State Archeologist of South Dakota; Director of the W. H. Over Dakota Museum.
1963-1966 -- Director of the Institute of Indian Studies, University of South Dakota.
1968-1982 -- Associate professor of anthropology at Oklahoma State University at Stillwater (became a full professor in 1971).
1979 -- Consulted for exhibitions at the Western Heritage Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.
1982 -- Died October 1 after a brief illness.
Biographical/Historical note:
James H. Howard was trained in anthropology at the University of Nebraska (B.A., 1949; M.A., 1950) and the University of Michigan (Ph.D., 1957). In 1950-1953, he served as archeologist and preparator at the North Dakota State Historical Museum; and, in 1955-1957, he was on the staff of the Kansas City (Missouri) Museum. During the summer of 1957, he joined the staff of the Smithsonian's River Basin Surveys. Between 1957 and 1963, he taught anthropology at the Universtity of North Dakota. Between 1963 and 1968, he served in several capacities with the University of South Dakota including assistant and associate professor, director of the Institute of Indian Studies (1963-1966), and Director of the W.H. Over Museum (1963-1968). In 1968, he joined the Department of Sociology at Oklahoma State University, where he achieved the rank of professor in 1970. In 1979, he was a consultant for exhibitions at the Western Heritage Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.
Howard's abiding interest were the people of North America, whom he studied both as an ethnologist and archeologist. Between 1949 and 1982, he worked with the Ponca, Omaha, Yankton and Yaktonai Dakota, Yamasee, Plains Ojibwa (or Bungi), Delaware, Seneca-Cayuga, Prairie Potatwatomi of Kansas, Mississipi and Oklahoma Choctaw, Oklahoma Seminole, and Pawnee. His interest in these people varied from group to group. With some he carried out general culture studies; with other, special studies of such phenomena as ceremonies, art, dance, and music. For some, he was interest in environmental adaptation and land use, the latter particularly for the Pawnee, Yankton Dakota, Plains Ojibwa, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, and Ponca, for which he served as consultant and expert witness in suits brought before the United Stated Indian Claims Commisssion. A long-time museum man, Howard was also interested in items of Indian dress, articles associated with ceremonies, and other artifacts. He was "a thoroughgoing participant-observer and was a member of the Ponca Hethuska Society, a sharer in ceremonial activities of many Plains tribes, and a first-rate 'powwow man'." (American Anthropologist 1986, 88:692).
As an archeologist, Howard worked at Like-a-Fishhook Village in North Dakota, Spawn Mound and other sites in South Dakota, Gavin Point in Nebraska and South Dakota, Weston and Hogshooter sites in Oklahoma, and the Fortess of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. He also conducted surveys for the Lone Star Steel Company in Haskall, Latimer, Le Flore and Pittsburg counties in Oklahoma.
Related Materials:
Howard's American Indian Cultural Collection of Costumes and Artifacts, that he acquired and created during his lifetime, is currently located at the Milwaukee Public Museum. In Boxes 19-21 of the James Henri Howard Papers, there are photographs with accompanying captions and descriptions in binders of his American Indian Cultural Collection of Costumes and Artifacts that his widow, Elfriede Heinze Howard, created in order to sell the collection to a museum.
Provenance:
These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by James Henri Howard's wife,
Elfriede Heinz Howard, in 1988-1990, 1992, & 1994.
Restrictions:
The James Henri Howard papers are open for research.
Access to the James Henri Howard papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Indians of North America -- Southern states Search this
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
1960-1979
Scope and Contents:
Series 3 consists of 15 recordings on 1/4" inch sound tape reels that document music and/or dance of the Mississippi Choctaw, Choctaw-Chickasaw, Yanktonai Dakota, Dakota Northern, Delaware, Sarcee, Ponca, Iowa, Sauk, Oto, and Cherokee, which were produced between 1960-1979, although 3 of them do not have dates.
The titles of the tapes [and content descriptions] have been transcribed from information on the tape boxes. The content of recordings has not been verified. Sound Recordings 6 and 7 have been published.
Names of the performers and co-creators are listed in the scope and contents notes for each sound recording and in the SIRIS item level records.
The series contains 15 sound recordings of songs, dances, stories, and text recorded in the field of various American Indian tribes including: Chickasaw, Dakota, Delaware, Mississippi Choctaw, Ponca, Quapaw, Sarcee, Sauk, Winnebago.
Arrangement:
For series 3, the order of the sound recordings was maintained from the previous arrangement.
Funding note:
Digitization and preparation of these materials for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.
Collection Restrictions:
The James Henri Howard papers are open for research.
Access to the James Henri Howard papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Singers: Adam Sampson, Ardis Mose, and Bienum Pickins. This recording has been published and is restricted.
MPM tape 6 includes: Choctaw Chickasaw Dance Songs from the Chocktaw-Chickasaw Heritage committee (Chairman: Buster Ned). Side One. 1. Jump Dance, by Adam Sampson; 2. Jump Dance, by Adam Sampson; 3. Tick or Walk Dance, by Adam Sampson; 4. Drunken Man Dance, by Ardis Mose. Side Two. 1. Garfish or Hard Fish Dance (Chickasaw Dance), by Bienum Pickins; 2. Drum or War Dance, by Ardis Mose; 3. Duck Dance, by Adam Simpson; 4. Snake Dance, by Adam Simpson.
Local Numbers:
Howard Sound Recording 6
Funding note:
Digitization and preparation of these materials for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.
Collection Restrictions:
The James Henri Howard papers are open for research.
Access to the James Henri Howard papers requires an appointment.
Singers: Adam Sampson, Ardis Mose, and Bienum Pickins. This recording has been published and is restricted.
MPM tape 7 includes: Choctaw Chickasaw Dance Songs (volume two) from the Chocktaw-Chickasaw Heritage committee (Chairman: Buster Ned). Side One. 1. Jump Dance; 2. Doublehead Dance; 3. Stealing Partners; 4. Drunken Man Dance. Side Two. 1. Drunken Man Dance; 2. Drum or War Dance; 3. Drum or War Dance; 4. Memorial Song (Palata).
Local Numbers:
Howard Sound Recording 7
Funding note:
Digitization and preparation of these materials for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.
Collection Restrictions:
The James Henri Howard papers are open for research.
Access to the James Henri Howard papers requires an appointment.
Field recording by Claude Medford of Natchitoches, Louisiana.
MPM tape 10 includes: 1. Snake Dance (a capella); 2. House dance (violin, guitar, Choctaw version of quadrille); 3. House Dance (violin, guitar); 4. Jump Dance (a capella, men only); 5. Walk Dance (a capella, men and women); 6. Stealing Partners (a capella, men and women); 7. Jump Dance; 8. Drunken Man Dance, by Chouteu (a capella solo); 9. Turtle Dance (claves, men only); 10. Fast War Dance, by chanter (claves); 11. 'Four Step' War Dance, by chanter (claves); 12. Quail Dance (claves, men and women, counterpoint we ha yo yo by men only); 13. Friendship Dance (a capella); 14. Wedding Dance (claves, men and women); 15. Duck Dance (claves, men and women, quacking by dancers). Side Two. 1. Raccoon Dance (no claves, men and women); 2. Snake Dance (no claves, men and women). Note: This is tape 2 of 2 tapes. The other tape is unnumbered. See Howard Sound Recording 14.
Local Numbers:
Howard Sound Recording 10
Funding note:
Digitization and preparation of these materials for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.
Collection Restrictions:
The James Henri Howard papers are open for research.
Access to the James Henri Howard papers requires an appointment.
Field recording by Claude Medford of Natchitoches, Louisiana.
Side One. 1. Mosquito dance or Raccoon dance (sung twice); 2. War dance (claves, bells); 3. Quail dance (claves, bells); 4. Duck dance (claves, bells); 5. Turtle dance (claves, bells); 6. Jump dance (bells); 7. Jump dance (bells); 8. Double Header (Hita Falams, bells); 9. Drunk Dance (bells); 10. Drunk Dance (bells); 11. Night Walk dance (a capella); 12. Snake dance (a capella). Side Two. 1. Creek Seminole type 'Crazy' or Stomp dance; 2. Creek Seminole type 'Crazy' or Stomp dance; 3. Creek Seminole type 'Crazy' or Stomp dance; 4. Creek Seminole type 'Crazy' or Stomp dance; 5. Creek Seminole type 'Crazy' or Stomp dance; 6. Creek Seminole Four-corner dance; 7. Four time stop dance; 8. Four time stop dance (claves, women singing); 9. Slow Jump dance; 10. Sunrise Walk dance (a capella); 11. Stealing Partners; 12. Jump dance (a capella); 13. Oval dance (no claves, male chanter solo); 14. Turtle dance (claves); 15. Mosquito dance (claves); 16. Duck dance (claves); 17. Raccoon dance (claves). Note: This is tape one of two tapes. See Howard Sound Recording 10.
Local Numbers:
Howard Sound Recording 14
Funding note:
Digitization and preparation of these materials for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.
Collection Restrictions:
The James Henri Howard papers are open for research.
Access to the James Henri Howard papers requires an appointment.
Singers: Prentis Jackson, Ida May Frazier, Henry Joe, and Ouie Joe; Recorded at the Bogue Chitto School, near Philadelphia, Miss.
1. Raccoon dance, by Prentis Jackson and Ida May Frazier; 2. Tick or Walk Dance, by Prentis Jackson and Ida May Frazier; 3. Stealing Partners Dance, by Prentis Jackson and Ida May Frazier; 4. Jump Dance, by Henry Joe and Ouie Joe; 5. Tick or Walk Dance, by Henry Joe and Ouie Joe; 6. Drunken Man Dance, by Henry Joe and Ouie Joe; 7. Drunken Man Dance, by Henry Joe and Ouie Joe; 8. War Dance, by Henry Joe and Ouie Joe; 9. Starting Dance, by Henry Joe and Ouie Joe; 10. Jump Dance, by Henry Joe and Ouie Joe; 11. Snake Dance, by Henry Joe and Ouie Joe; 12. Tick or Walk Dance, by Henry Joe and Ouie Joe; 13. Turtle Dance, by Henry Joe and Ouie Joe. This is labeled tape 2. It probably goes with Howard Sound Recording 9.
Local Numbers:
Howard Sound Recording 15
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded at Bogue Chitto School near Philadelphia, Mississippi
Funding note:
Digitization and preparation of these materials for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.
Collection Restrictions:
The James Henri Howard papers are open for research.
Access to the James Henri Howard papers requires an appointment.
The papers of John Joseph Honigmann (1914-1977) consist largely of research material of a specialist in personality, socialization, and social problems of Subarctic and Arctic people. Trained at Yale University (M.A., 1943; Ph.D., 1947), Honigmann spent most of his professional career at the University of North Carolina (1951-77) and was chairman of its Department of Anthropology from 1970-1975. Some material reflects his classroom teaching and administrative work. There are also general reference materials and materials relating to the history of anthropology.
Correspondents include David F. Aberle, Saeed K. Alizai, Nels Anderson, Asen Balikci, Victor Barnouw, Harry Basehart, Ronald Berndt, William E. Bittle, Gordon Blackwell, Walter Boek, Paul J. Bohannan, Robert J. Braidwood, Robert Carneiro, Joseph B. Casagrande, Norman A. Chance, Yehudi A. Cohen, Earl W. Count, David Damas, William Davis, Pierrette Desy, Cora du Bois, Richard Duncan, Fred R. Eggan, Loren C. Eiseley, Gary L. Emmons, Vincent Erickson, Sam J. Ervin, Arthur Evans, Lita B. Fejos, Paul Fejos, William N. Fenton, F.L. Fischer, Regina Flannery, Don Charles Foote, Clellan Ford, Morris Freilich, Clifford Geertz, Mickey Gibson, John P. Gillin, Thomas F. Gladwin, Walter R. Goldschmidt, Ward H. Goodenough, Theodore D. Graves, John Gulick, Zachary Gussow, Charles Hamori-Torok, Asael T. Hansen, Edward B. Harper, S.I. Hayakawa, Dwight B. Heath, June Helm, Maria Herzmaier, George K. Hindley, Tom R. Hopkins, Francis L.K. Hsu, Katherine Jocher, Berton H. Kaplan, Michael Kenny, Solon T. Kimball, Harriet J. Kupferer, Gordon B. Laing, L.L. Langness, Margaret L. Lantis, Oscar Lewis, Nancy O. Lurie, Donald S. Marshall, Abraham H. Maslow, John S. Matthiasson, Selz C. Mayo, Tom F.S. McFeat, Margaret Mead, Betty J. Meggers, George P. Murdock, Raoul Naroll, George Nelleman, Arthur Niehall, Marrilee Oakes, Morris E. Opler, Harold Orlans, Cornelius Osgood, Simon Ottenberg, John G. Peck, William Pollitzer, Ruben E. Reina, David Reisman, Marcel Rioux, Frank H.H. Roberts, Jr., Edward S. Rogers, Irving Rouse, Beate R. Salz, A.H.A. Siddiqi, Norman Simpkins, Leon Sinder, Richard Slobodin, Edward H. Spicer, Leslie Spier, Robert F.G. Spier, George D. Spindler, Sol Tax, Morton I. Teicher, Laura Thompson, Mischa Titiev, Brian du Toit, John Trudeau, Arthur Tuden, Victor F. Valentine, Frank G. Vallee, Clark Vincent, Fred W. Voget, Evon Z. Vogt, C. Von Furer-Haimendorf, Willard Walker, Anthony F.C. Wallace, Gene Weltfish, and Eric R.Wolf.
Arrangement note:
The Honigmann papers are not fully processed and are only broadly desccribed in this finding aid. The collection is arranged into (1) Churchill, five northern towns, and Schefferville, undated; (2) the Cree of Attawapisdat, Ontario, 1947-1956; (3) Frobisher Bay, 1963; (4) Great Whale River; (5) Inuvik, 1967; (6) Material concerning the Kaska of Lower Post, British Columbia, and Southern Yukon Territory, 1944-1945; (7) General anthropological subjects and teaching;(8) General and miscellaneous material on peoples of the world; (9) West Pakistan; (10) Canadian Wildlife Service Arctic Ecology Map; (11) Understanding Culture; (12) Miscellany; (13) Correspondence, ca. 1950s-1970s
Biographical / Historical:
Honigmann was regularly in the field. In 1943, this began with an ethnographic study of the Fort Nelson Slave in Canada. In 1944-1945, he was with the Kaska in British Columbia. In 1947-1948, he worked at Attawapiskat on James Bay and, in 1949-1950, at Great Whale River on Hudson Bay. He investigated town life in Pakistan in 1952 and 1957-1958. During the summers of 1960-1962, 1964-1966, 1972, and 1975, his studies carried him to a village in Austria. In 1963, he worked at Frobisher Bay and in 1967 at Inuvik.
1914 -- Born June 7, New York City, New York
1937 -- Married Irma Grabel
1942 -- Student at Columbia University Received BA from Brooklyn College
1943 -- Received MA from Yale University Field trip with the Fort Nelson Slave in Fort Nelson (3-6 months)
1944-1945 -- Field trip with the Kaska in British Columbia, Canada (3-6 months)
1946-1947 -- Assistant professor of Sociology and anthropology at State College, Washington
1947 -- Received PhD in anthropology from Yale University
1947-1948 -- Field trip at Attawapiskat, James Bay, Ontario, Canada Research anthropologist for the National Committee for Community Health Studies in Toronto, Canada
1948-1951 -- Assistant professor of sociology and anthropology at New York University
1949 -- Published Anthropology, Culture and Ethos of the Kaska Society
1949-1950 -- Field trip at Great Whale River, Hudson's Bay, Ontario, Canada
1951-1955 -- Associate professor of anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
1952 -- Field trip at Pakistan
1955 -- Field trip at Attawapiskat, James Bay, Ontario, Canada
1955-1957 -- Professor of anthropology, UNC, Chapel Hill
1957-1958 -- Field trip at Pakistan
1959 -- Published The World of Man
1960 -- Field trip at Austria
1962 -- Published Foodways in a Muskeg Community Field trip at Austria
1963 -- Published Understanding Culture Field trip at Frobishers Bay, Baffin Island, Canada
1964 -- Field trip at Austria
1965 -- With wife Irma, co-authored Eskimo Townsmen
1966 -- Field trip in Austria
1967 -- Published Personality in Culture Field trip at Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada
1967-1970 -- Postdoctoral fellowship and grants: NSF grant
1970 -- Co-authored Arctic Townsmen Chairman of the department of anthropology, UNC, Chapel Hill
1972 -- Field trip at Austria
1975 -- Field trip at Austria
1977 -- Died at Chapel Hill, NC, August 4
Provenance:
Most of Honigmann's papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Irma Honigman, his wife, between October 1977 and January 1979. Honigmann's daughter, Karen Honigmann Schaefer, donated her father's field journals in July 1993.
Restrictions:
Some materials concerning the operations of the University of North Carolina Department of Anthropology are restricted.
Rights:
Honigmann used pseudonyms when referring to his informants in publications. Irma Honigmann has requested that researchers refrain from publishing their names.
Some materials concerning the operations of the University of North Carolina Department of Anthropology are restricted.
Collection Rights:
Honigmann used pseudonyms when referring to his informants in publications. Irma Honigmann has requested that researchers refrain from publishing their names.
Collection Citation:
John Joseph Honigmann Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Box 174 also contains 1 oversize item from Series VII [Anthropological Subjects, Anthropology, Related Subjects & Scholars—MacLean's Magazine—Nov. 1954]
Collection Restrictions:
Some materials concerning the operations of the University of North Carolina Department of Anthropology are restricted.
Collection Rights:
Honigmann used pseudonyms when referring to his informants in publications. Irma Honigmann has requested that researchers refrain from publishing their names.
Collection Citation:
John Joseph Honigmann Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994 Search this
Container:
Box 255
Type:
Archival materials
Scope and Contents note:
Job Number: 29625
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
An extensive collection of oral histories conducted by Lu Ann Jones throughout the southern United States between 1985-1991. A few oral histories were conducted by Pete Daniel in the early 1980s. Subjects include all facets of agriculture in the south.
Scope and Contents note:
The collection is divided into four series. Series 1: Oral History Transcripts, 1982-1991 are transcribed versions of the oral interviews. Correspondence and/or notes pertaining to the interviewed individual collected or written by the interviewer are filed in this series following the transcription. The majority of the oral histories were done by Lu Ann Jones between1985-1991. There are a few interviews done by Pete Daniel in the early 1980s and some reference copies of oral histories done elsewhere.
This series is divided into eight sub-series: Sub-series 1.1: Arkansas, Sub-series 1.2: Georgia, Sub-series 1.3: Louisiana, Sub-series 1.4: Mississippi, Sub-series 1.5: North Carolina (including transcripts of the Mexican Workers Project in English and Spanish), Sub-series 1.6: South Carolina, Sub-series 1.7: Tennessee, and Sub-series 1.8: Virginia. Files are arranged alphabetically by state and there under by name; within the file materials are arranged chronologically. Interview files may contain transcribed copies of the oral history interviews and subsequent draft copies with corrections by the interviewer or subject. The file also may contain distillations or edited versions of the interview done by the researcher for possible publication. Correspondence and notes files may include Life History Forms, correspondence, newspaper articles, interviewer's notes, business cards, and paper copies of photographs. Signed releases are on file in the registrar's office, NMAH, with copies in the control file of the Archives Center.
Series 2: Project Files and Reference Materials, 1928-2004 contain notes and correspondence kept by Jones in support of the oral history project. This series is divided into four sub-series: Sub-series 2.1: State Files, Sub-series 2.2: Project and Reference Files, 1985-1991, Sub-series 2.3: Reference Publications, Pamphlets and Articles, 1928-2004 and Sub-series 2d: Computer Floppy Disks, 1985 and undated. This series include bills, receipts, photo orders, travel brochures, reference materials, articles, correspondence, fundraising proposals and materials, USDA Extension Service bulletins, product cookbooks, and ephemera. These materials are valuable in documenting the methodology of the oral history project. They are also valuable in detailing the funding and maintenance of the project over its five-year lifespan. There is also a great deal of information on black farmers. This series is arranged alphabetically by state and county or by article/publication title and within the file chronologically.
Series 3: Photographic Prints and Slides, 1987-1991 documenting the individuals interviewed, their homes and businesses, and geographic locations that were studied as part of the oral history project. The series is arranged numerically then chronologically by year. This series is followed by detailed photographic descriptions arranged alphabetically by state then subject. Photograph files contain photographs taken by a Smithsonian photographer or Jones and any copies of photographs supplied by the subject. Most of the photographs are black and white.
Series 4: Original Interview Tapes and Reference Compact Discs (CD), 1986-1991 are the original tapes of the individual interviews conducted by Jones. This series is divided into eight sub-series. Reference numbers for CDs matching the original tapes are noted after the tapes. CDs 495-497 are for the Smithsonian Photographer's Show: Sub-series 4.1: Arkansas, Sub-series 4.2: Georgia, Sub-series 4.3: Louisiana, Sub-series 4.4: Mississippi, Sub-series 4.5: North Carolina (within this sub-series are the transcripts of the Mexican Workers Project there may be an English language transcription as well as one in Spanish), Sub-series 4.6: South Carolina, Sub-series 4.7: Tennessee and Sub-series 4.8: Virginia and Sub-series 4.9: Miscellaneous and Duplicates, within the sub-series tapes are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into four series:
Series 1, Oral History Transcript
Series 2, Project Files
Series 3, Photographic Prints and Slides
Series 4, Original Oral History Interview Tapes and Reference Compact Discs (CDs) are the original interview tapes and the accompanying reference copy cds.
History:
The history of the American South is intricately entwined with the history of agriculture in North America. Until very recently, post 1950, the South was predominately rural and agricultural in both its production and culture. By the 1980s American agriculture, and particularly agriculture in the south, was under attack on various fronts especially cultural, financial, and technological. This assault threatened the very existence of the small and family farm. Many small farming operations went bankrupt and the face of American agriculture was becoming more corporate. It was amidst these troubling times that the Agricultural Division of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History undertook a massive project to document southern agriculture through oral history.
Through the efforts of NMAH staff, Pete Daniel, curator and project director, LuAnn Jones, researcher, and with countless support from staff photographers and personnel, Jones conducted approximately 159 interviews of individual persons, couples and sometimes small groups, in eight southern states over a five year period, 1986-1991. The project was funded by a series of grants from various sources. Not only were oral histories taken but also substantial documentary photographs and slides of the many interviewees. The interviews ranged from individual farmers to individuals at companies and corporations involved with agriculture. The range of crops discussed included tobacco, cotton and rice. The project interviewed a wide range of subjects: male, female, black, white, and Mexican. The project has contributed to at least two books, Mama Learned Us to Work: Farm Women in the New South by LuAnn Jones and Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World by Jacquelyn Dowd Hall and others of which Jones was a contributing author.
Related Collections:
Materials in the Archives Center
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (NMAH.AC.0060)
Kulp Collection of Account Books, 1755-1904 (NMAH.AC.0149)
Robinson and Via Family Papers (NMAH.AC.0475)
William C. Kost Farm Records (NMAH.AC.0481)
Timothy B. Bladen, Southern Maryland Photoprints (NMAH.AC.0767)
Provenance:
A transfer from the Division of History of Technology (Agriculture), NMAH, July 2001
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Southern Agriculture Oral History Project Records, 1985-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Southern Agriculture Oral History Project Records, 1985-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Southern Agriculture Oral History Project Records, 1985-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
