This collection consists of 105 photographic images of Native American peoples throughout the U.S., primarily in Arizona and New Mexico. A number of the postcards and photographs were sent back and forth between non-Native family members who worked in Indian Boarding Schools in Fort Defiance, AZ, among other locations.
Scope and Contents:
The Arizona and New Mexico postcard and photograph collection consists of postcards, photographic prints, and stereographs, totaling 105 photographic items. Many of the postcards and photographs date to between the early 1900s and the late 1920s and were sent between non-Native family members who worked in Indian Boarding Schools, including those at Fort Defiance and Chinle in Arizona, Chilocco in Oklahoma, Haskell in Kansas, and Lac du Flambeau in Wisconsin.
These items have been organized into three series. Series 1: Postcards, 1908-1916, includes 79 postcards. Approximately 10 postcards contain images taken by the photographer Simeon Schwemberger of Diné (Navajo) people on the Navajo Reservation, and were sold out of his studio in St. Michaels, Arizona. Series 2: Photographs, 1896-1926, includes 18 photographs. Several of these include depictions of Native and non-Native peoples in Fort Defiance in Arizona, Haskell in Kansas, and Lac du Flambeau in Wisconsin. Series 3: Stereographs, 1865-1875, includes 8 stereographic images. These stereographs contain images taken by the photographer William Stinson Soule (Will Soule) of Kiowa-Apache, Niuam (Comanche), and Southern Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne) men near Fort Sill in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), between approximately 1865 and 1875.
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 As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology.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: Postcards, 1908-1916, Series 2: Photographs, 1896-1926, and Series 3: Stereographs, 1865-1875.
Biographical / Historical:
Photographer William Stinson Soule (Will Soule) lived and worked in the region of Fort Sill, in the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), in the 1860s and 1870s, regularly photographing U.S. Army personnel and Southern Plains Indian communities.
Simeon Schwemberger was a photographer originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, who settled near the St. Michaels mission church in Arizona in 1901. There he took many photographs of the Native communities of the region, later selling the images as postcards.
Provenance:
Gift from Jenene Garey in 2018 and 2021.
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.
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Arizona and New Mexico postcard and photograph collection, NMAI.AC.127; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Many of the postcards were sent between non-Native family members who worked in Indian Boarding Schools, including those at Fort Defiance and Chinle in Arizona, Chilocco in Oklahoma, Haskell in Kansas, and Lac du Flambeau in Wisconsin. Approximately 10 postcards contain images taken by the photographer Simeon Schwemberger of Diné (Navajo) people on the Navajo Reservation, and were sold out of his studio in St. Michaels, Arizona.
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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Arizona and New Mexico postcard and photograph collection, NMAI.AC.127; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Lake Superior Chippewa [Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin] Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Date:
1896-1926
Scope and Contents:
Several of these photographs include depictions of Native and non-Native peoples in Fort Defiance in Arizona, Haskell in Kansas, and Lac du Flambeau in Wisconsin.
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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Arizona and New Mexico postcard and photograph collection, NMAI.AC.127; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
The stereographic images were taken by the photographer William Stinson Soule (Will Soule) of Kiowa-Apache, Niuam (Comanche), and Southern Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne) men near Fort Sill in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), between approximately 1865 and 1875.
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.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Arizona and New Mexico postcard and photograph collection, NMAI.AC.127; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection consists of photographs relating to Native Americans, which were submitted to the copyright office of the Library of Congress in and around the early 20th century. Many of the photographs are studio portraits as well as photographs made as part of expeditions and railroad surveys. It includes images of people, dwellings and other structures, agriculture, arts and crafts, burials, ceremonies and dances, games, food preparation, transportation, and scenic views. Some of the photographs were posed to illustrate literary works, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Hiawatha, while others depict paintings or other artwork.
Collection is organized alphabetically by copyright claimant.
Biographical/Historical note:
The collection was formed from submissions made to the Library of Congress as part of the copyright registration process. In 1949, arrangements were made to allow the Bureau of American Ethnology to copy the collection and some negatives were made at that time, largely from the Heyn and Matzen photographs. The project was soon abandoned, however, as too large an undertaking for the facilities of the BAE. In 1957-1958, arrangements were begun by William C. Sturtevant of the BAE to transfer a set of the photographs from the Library of Congress to the BAE.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 59
Provenance:
In 1965, the Bureau merged with the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology to form the Smithsonian Office of Anthropology, and in 1968 the Office of Anthropology Archives transformed into the National Anthropological Archives.
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 59, Library of Congress Copyright Office photograph collection of Native Americans, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
