The Grace F. Thorpe Collection (1900-2008) includes documents, photographic prints, slides, negatives and other materials that encapsulate the breadth of Grace Thorpe's life and work as a WWII veteran, Native rights activist, and dedicated daughter, mother and family member. This includes material from her personal, military and professional life. Series 1: Early Life and Family History (1921-1940) includes materials related to the Thorpe family including photographs of Grace's parents, Jim and Iva at the Carlisle Indian School as well as letters and photographs from Grace as a young girl. Series 2: Military Career and Life in Japan (1943-1950) includes documents, photographic prints and negatives from Grace's time as a Corporal in the Women's Army Corps and her life as a wife and mother in Japan following the war. This series also includes the medals Grace received for her service in WWII. Series 3: Pearl River, New York and Business (1950-1967) contains documents and photographs from Grace's time as a mother and business woman in Pearl River, New York. Series 4: Working on Behalf of Native Americans and Activism (1968-1977) includes documents, photographic prints and negatives from Grace's work with various Native American organizations on economic and civil rights issues following her move to Arizona in 1967. Series 5: Jim Thorpe and His Legacy (1912-1984) includes documents, photographic prints and negatives regarding Jim Thorpe and the work by the Thorpe family to restore Jim's Olympic record and keep his legacy alive. Series 6: Later Years (1979-2007) includes documents, photographic prints and negatives from Grace's life in Oklahoma, her work as an environmental activist, and other activities later in her life.
Arrangement:
This collection has been arranged in six series chronologically based on how the collection was received with minor changes. The Series' include--Series 1: Early Life and Family History (1921-1940), Series 2: Military Career and Life in Japan (1943-1950), Series 3: Pearl River, New York and Business (1950-1967), Series 4: Working on Behalf of Native Americans and Activism (1968-1977), Series 5: Jim Thorpe and His Legacy (1912-1984), and Series 6: Later Years (1979-2007). There is some chronological crossover between Series 5: Jim Thorpe and His Legacy and the rest of the collection.
The physical arrangement of the materials was determined by storage needs.
Biographical / Historical:
Grace Frances Thorpe was born in Yale, Oklahoma on December 10, 1921 to parents James (Jim) Francis Thorpe (Sac and Fox (Sauk)) and Iva Margaret Miller Thorpe. Jim, already a famed athelete and olympic medalist, had met Iva as students at Carlisle Indian School and were married in 1913. Grace was the youngest of four, Gail Margaret, James and Charlotte Marie though her brother James died from polio at a young age. When Iva and Jim divorced in 1923, Iva and the girls moved to Chicago while Jim moved to California to pursue work in the movies. For school, Grace attended St. Mary's Academy, Sacred Heart, in Oklahoma and Haskell Institute in Kansas, which was where her father had attended school.
In 1943 Grace worked briefly at the Ford Motor Company before enlisting in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during WWII. After attending training and graduating from the WAAC Training Center in Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia, Thorpe attained the rank of Corporal, and served as a Recruiter for the Women's Army Corps stationed in Tucson and Camp White in Oregon before being assigned overseas to the New Guinea Campaign. From 1944-1945 Corporal Thorpe was stationed in New Guinea, Philippines and Japan. Following an Honorable Discharge in 1945, Grace remained in Japan during the occupation with her husband Lieutenant Fred W. Seely (1918-2008) whom she married in June 1946. She became employed at General MacArthur Headquarters as Chief of the Recruitment Section, Department of Army Civilians, Tokyo, Japan. Both of her children, Dagmar (1946-) and Paul Thorpe (1948-1964) were born during this time in Japan.
Grace and her children left Japan and arrived in San Francisco on April 20, 1950. They lived in Pearl River, New York from late 1950 to the mid 1960s. She first became employed as a Hostess with Welcome Wagon upon completing training in July of 1951 and later became a supervisor, business machine salesperson, and territorial account executive for the Yellow Pages with the Reuben H. Donnelly Corp. earning recognition in Distinguished Sales Performance. She completed a course in effective speaking and human relations conducted by the Dale Carnegie Institute and won a Best Speech Award. In 1967, Grace moved to Arizona where she became involved with American Indian tribes. Grace was appointed Economic Development Conference Coordinator for the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)'s 1968 and 1969 conferences. In 1969-1970, Grace joined Native American Activists at the occupation of Alcatraz Island for three months and managed their publicity. She then served as a Congressional Intern from 1974-1975 for Senator James Abourezk. Grace was later appointed Legislative Assistant with the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs and as a Task Force Program and Planning Analyst for the American Indian Policy Review Commission. During this time period she attended—The Antioch School of Law, Washington DC; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Research Fellow), Boston, Massachusetts; University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Northeastern University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. During this time she also began working on the restoration of her father's 1912 Olympic titles as well as other projects to recognize and honor her father.
After returning to her tribal homeland in Oklahoma she became active in tribal affairs and in 1983 successfully restored her father's Olympic record. She also conducted genealogical research on the Thorpe family. Her article "The Jim Thorpe Family' was published as a two-part series in the Chronicles of Oklahoma in 1981. In later years, Grace served her tribe as a tribal judge, health commissioner, and became an environmental activist opposing nuclear waste on tribal lands. She remained active in Native American issues, a matriarch of the Thorpe family, and involved with her granddaughter, Tena Malotte, and her great-grandchildren, Aspen and Huna.
Biographical note provided by Dagmar Seely, daughter to Grace Thorpe, with additions by Rachel Menyuk, Processing Archivist.
Separated Materials:
27 nitrate negatives have been moved offsite and are being housed at the National Anthropological Archives.
Provenance:
Donated by Dr. Dagmar Seely and Tena Malotte, 2015.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 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 Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited users to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not changed, 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.
Alcatraz Island (Calif.) -- History -- Indian occupation, 1969-1971. Search this
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Grace F. Thorpe Collection, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
National Museum of the American Indian (U.S.) Search this
Extent:
0.01 Linear feet
Container:
Box 1
Type:
Archival materials
Ephemera
Date:
1940
Scope and Contents:
This file contains 1 sheet of paper with Jim Thorpe's autograph, and is dated to 1940.
Provenance:
Gift of Robert Lantz in 2004.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 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 Archive 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); General Manuscripts and Ephemera collections, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
National Museum of the American Indian (U.S.) Search this
Extent:
0.05 Linear feet
Container:
Box 1
Type:
Archival materials
Ephemera
Date:
2003
Scope and Contents:
This file contains a copy of Dagmar Thorpe's Ancestors of Jim Thorpe: An Annotated Genealogy and Bibliography (1700-1887).
Separated Materials:
A Wheaties cereal box, featuring an image of Jim Thorpe and his daughter Grace Thorpe's autograph, was also donated to the NMAI by James Kincaid Johnson and Peggy Fontenot in 2004. This item was assigned object number 26/4641.
Provenance:
Gift of James Kincaid Johnson and Peggy Fontenot in 2004.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
This material is not for reproduction, but for reference use only.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); General Manuscripts and Ephemera collections, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
The photographs of Princess Atalie Unkalunt collection includes 75 photographic prints and postcards of Princess Atalie Unkalunt (Oklahoma Cherokee) taken by various photographers throughout her life and career. Princess Atalie Unkalunt, nee Iva J. Rider, (1895 – 1954) was a Cherokee opera singer, artist, author, and community activist.
Scope and Contents:
The bulk of the collection contains photographic prints and postcards of Princess Atalie Unkalunt (Oklahoma Cherokee) taken by various photographers throughout her life and career. Many of the photographs are undated but it is likely that most were taken between 1920 and 1950.
Included in the collection are studio portraits of Princess Atalie, both headshots and full length shots. In many of the studio shots Princess Atalie is wearing a beaded headband, or a full headdress, a hide dress and moccasins and is frequently posed with additional props. However there are a number of studio portraits where she is wearing non-native dress, often wearing a hat and stole. Princess Atalie was also photographed at the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, circa 1920, modeling hide dresses and moccasins from the collection (see related materials note). There are also photographs of Princess Atalie posed with groups or individuals she met throughout her career. This includes photographs with Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox), famed Olympian and athlete; Charles Curtis (Kaw), Vice President to Herbert Hoover; the Girl Scouts of East Orange, Oklahoma; as well as several groups of unidentified children.
Of note are several postcards from Princess Atalie (signed Iva) written to her sisters from her time in the Business Women's Unit of the Y.M.C.A during WWI. There are also photographs that include a note to Atalie's sister Mary as well as a portrait of Mary that had previously been mis-identified as Atalie. In addition to photographs of Princess Atalie, there are portraits of other opera performers who were contemporaries of Princess Atalie. These include portraits of Chief Yowlachie (Yakama), a bass singer and soloist with the Seneca Orchestra; and Yma Sumac, a Peruvian-American soprano.
Known photographers and photo studios include—Albert R. Dupont, Jack Gordon, Del Ankers, Bryant E. Sherman, Albert Green Heath, Pierson Studio, Strand Studio, Chdnoff Studio, Underwood and Underwood Co., Watton Studio (Oklahoma City), Apeda Studio, Sands Studio and Roege Photo.
Arrangement:
Arranged by catalog number P23844-P23911.
Biographical / Historical:
Princess Atalie Unkalunt, nee Iva J. Rider, (1895 – 1954) was a Cherokee opera singer, artist, author, and community activist. Also known as Sunshine Rider, Atalie was born in Stilwell, Oklahoma to Thomas L. Rider (Domgeske Unkalunt), a Cherokee state senator and chairman of Indian affairs, and Josephine Pace Rider. As a child attending Indian schools, Atalie saw the need for a cultural missionary to educate the world about Native people and their place in history. She developed a gift for song at a young age and after finishing her high school studies spent time in California where she gained experience in film and then moved to Boston to begin vocal studies. After the U.S. entered World War I, Atalie joined the Business Women's Unit of the Y.M.C.A. secretly advancing her age several years in order to meet the age requirements. She served 18 months overseas working as an entertainer and secretary. Upon her return to the United States, she settled in New York City to continue her vocal studies and quickly became an acclaimed opera singer. She sang at concert venues around the country and performed at the White House.
Her desire to be a cultural missionary never wavered and she became a lecturer for the New York Board of Education where she spoke to audiences about Native American customs and songs. She broadcasted a radio program to countries in Europe singing both classical arias as well as Native songs. She founded the Society of the First Sons and Daughters of America Foundation whose mission was to recognize and promote the contributions of Native people and give them opportunities to promote their talents in the arts. In addition to her vocal talents, she was a skilled painter and designer and in 1942, she wrote and illustrated the book "The Earth Speaks", a collection of tales adapted from Cherokee legends. In the late 1940s, Atalie moved to Washington D.C. where she spent her time digging through government archival records in order to research claims due the Cherokee Indians from the United States government. Atalie passed away in 1954.
Related Materials:
Three photographs in the collection include images of objects currently in the NMAI collection. These include Princess Atalie wearing a Nimi'ipuu (Nez Perce) hide dress (NMAI 029996), a Ute beaded hide dress (NMAI 050958) and Ute mocassins (NMAI 006986) and Ethyl E. Schellbach wearing a Niuam (Comanche) beaded hide dress (NMAI 021803) and Niuam (Comanche) legging moccasins (NMAI 021132).
Provenance:
Donated by Mrs. Dale Hall to the C.H. Nash Museum (Chucalissa) in 1967. Donated by the C.H. Nash Museum (Chucalissa) to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation in 1978. It is unclear how Mrs. Hall came into the posesssion of the photographs though it is possible she was a friend of the family or a distant relative.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 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 Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited users to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not changed, 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.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Photographs of Princess Atalie Unkalunt collection, Photo Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
