The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; a joint gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Arthur M. Sackler
Helen C. Rountree is emeritus professor of anthropology at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She studied the history of the Virginia Tribes from the 17th century to the 21st century and is considered a leading expert on Pocahontas. The Helen C. Rountree papers include field notes, correspondence, and sound recordings relating to her field work among the Pamunkey, Mattaponi, Nansemond, Rappahannock, Chickahominy, Monacan, as well as the area around Nottoway Reservation and Gingaskin Reservation.
Scope and Contents:
The Helen C Rountree papers contain correspondence, field notes, and sound recordings relating to her field work primarily among Virginian tribes including the Pamunkey, Mattaponi, Nansemond, Rappahannock, Chickahominy, Monacan, as well as the area around Nottoway Reservation and Gingaskin Reservation. Correspondents include Robert Y. Barham, Christian F. Feest, Samuel Proctor, C.G. Holland, Frank Porter, Marshall Becker, and Nancy Oestreich Lurie.
The sound recordings relate to Rountree's fieldwork and contain recordings of the Chickahominy Fall Festivals, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1981-1986 and a Chickahominy tribal meeting 1987; Nansemond Tribe Spring Festival, 1984, and Homecoming, 1988. Also included are recordings among the Pamumkey; Mattaponi; Shoshoni; Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada; meetings; public events, and some lectures by Helen Rountree and others. There is one unidentified sound cassette.
Arrangement note:
The collection contains: Correspondence, 1969-1985; Field notes, 1969-1988; Cook Books, 1981, 1983; Audio Ephemera, undated; Sound Recordings, 1969-1990.
Biographical/Historical note:
Helen C. Rountree earned an A.B. in Sociology & Anthropology from the College of William and Mary, an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Utah, and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She joined the faculty of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia as an Instructor in 1968 and retired as a full Professor in 1999. Dr. Rountree worked initially with the Shoshone in Nevada, then began research on the Algonquian-speaking Native Americans of eastern Virginia, becoming an honorary member of the Nansemond and Upper Mattaponi tribes in Virginia. She is acknowledged as a leading researcher and writer on Virginia Indians from the 17th century to the present and is considered an expert on Pocahontas.
Provenance:
These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Helen C. Rountree in 2005.
Restrictions:
Materials related to interview notes are restricted until June 2025.
Pram pram spring festival, Ghana, April 1967. Photographed by Roy Sieber.
General:
Title 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.
Pram pram spring festival, Ghana, April 1967. Photographed by Roy Sieber.
General:
Title 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.
Pram pram spring festival, Ghana, April 1967. Photographed by Roy Sieber.
General:
Title 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.
Pram pram spring festival, Ghana, April 1967. Photographed by Roy Sieber.
General:
Title 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.
Pram pram spring festival, Ghana, April 1967. Photographed by Roy Sieber.
General:
Title 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.
Pram pram spring festival, Ghana, April 1967. Photographed by Roy Sieber.
General:
Title 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.
Pram pram spring festival, Ghana, April 1967. Photographed by Roy Sieber.
General:
Title 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.
Pram pram spring festival, Ghana, April 1967. Photographed by Roy Sieber.
General:
Title 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.
Pram pram spring festival, Ghana, April 1967. Photographed by Roy Sieber.
General:
Title 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.
