This collection is comprised of the professional papers of Gordon D. Gibson. The collection contains his correspondence, field notes, research files, museum records, writings, photographs, sound recordings, and maps.The bulk of the collection consists of Gibson's southwestern Africa research. This includes his field notes, film scripts, photographs, sound recordings, and grant proposals he wrote in support of his fieldwork in Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. In addition, the collection contains his research notes, maps, drafts, publications, and papers presented at conferences. While most of his research focused on the Herero and Himba, the collection also contains his research on the Ovambo and Okavango and other southwestern African groups. In the collection is a great deal of photocopies and microfilms of literature on southwestern African ethnic groups, many of which are in Portuguese and German and which he had translated for his files. He was also interested in African material culture, especially Central African headgear. His research on African caps is well-represented in the collection, and includes photos of caps at various museums, source materials, research notes, and textile samples of knots and loop work. Gibson's files as the curator of African ethnology at the National Museum of Natural History also make up a significant portion of the collection. Among these records are his files for the museum's Hall of African Cultures and other African exhibits; his files on the museum's African collections, early donors and collectors of the collections; his personnel files; documents relating to his committee work; department and museum memos; meeting minutes; and his records as head of the Old World Division and acting chair of the department. The collection also documents the efforts to establish the Smithsonian's National Anthropological Film Center, now the Human Studies Film Archives, as well as his work on the planning committee to establish the Museum of Man at the Smithsonian. Memos and minutes relating to the Smithsonian's Center for the Study of Man are also present in the collection. In addition to Gibson's field photos, the collection also contains African photos taken by others. Among these are Herbert Friedmann's photos of Kenya; Hausmann's Libya photos; photos by Ralph Kepler Lewis during the Morden Africa Expedition in Kenya; and photos by Lawrence Marshall, Volkmar Wentzel, Alfred Martin Duggan Cronin, and Father Carlos Estermann. There are also photos of the exhibit cases from the Hall of African Cultures; photos of Smithsonian and non-Smithsonian African artifacts; and copies of photographs he obtained from different archives, including the National Anthropological Archives. Other materials in the collection include his files as film reviews editor for the American Anthropologist during the 1960s and 70s and his activities in different organizations.
Arrangement:
Arranged into 19 series: (1) Correspondence, 1938-1998; (2) Southwestern Africa Research, 1951-2004; (3) Caps Research; (4) Nineteenth Century Collectors; (5) General Research Files; (6) Exhibits, 1959-2007; (7) Curatorial Files, 1936-1984; (8) National Anthropological Film Center, 1965-1983; (9) Museum of Man, 1952-1981 [bulk 1968-1981]; (10) Center for the Study of Man (1967-1979); (11) Writings, 1947-1981; (12) Organizations; (13) Daily Log, 1958-1983; (14) Personal Files ; (15) Card Files; (16) Photographs, circa 1904-1983 [bulk 1953-1983]; (17) Microfilm; (18) Maps; (19) Sound Recordings
Biographical Note:
Gordon D. Gibson (1915-2007) was trained at the University of Chicago (Ph.D., 1952) and joined the staff of the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology in 1958 as its curator of African ethnology. He served in that capacity until 1983. During the 1960s, he undertook a major renovation of the National Museum of Natural History's African exhibits, which had been on display since the 1920s. He developed the Hall of African Cultures, which opened in 1969 and remained on view until 1992. He was also instrumental in establishing the National Anthropological Film Center, now the Human Studies Film Archives. During his tenure, he also served as the first chairman of the Senate of Scientists of the National Museum of Natural History (1963-1964), chairman of the museum's photographic facilities committee (1968), member of the Center for the Study of Man, and member and chairman of the Department of Anthropology collections committee and its photographs records committee (1970s-1980s). He also had special interests in the department's library and processing lab. In 1980, he was chairman of a committee which studied the feasibility of establishing a Smithsonian Institution Museum of Man. Gibson held several offices and committee memberships with the Anthropological Society of Washington during the during the 1960s and 1970s and served as film review editor of the American Anthropologist. Gibson conducted fieldwork among the Herero and Himba in Botswana (1953, 1960-61), Namibia (1960-61, 1971-73), and Angola (1971-73). Articles produced from his field research include "Bridewealth and Other Forms of Exchange Among the Herero," "Double Descent and Its Correlates among the Herero of Ngamiland," "Herero Marriage," and "Himba Epochs." While in the field, he also filmed footage of the Herero, Himba, Zimba, and Kuvale. His edited films include Herero of Ngamiland (1953), Himba Wedding (1969), and The Himba (1972). In addition to the Herero and Himba, he also conducted research on the Okavango and Ovambo people. He edited and translated Carlos Estermann's Ethnography of Southwestern Angola (published in 3 volumes in 1976-81) and edited and contributed to The Kavango Peoples (1981). Gibson's research interests also included Central African headgear, coauthoring High Status Caps of the Kongo and Mbundu (1977) with Cecilia R. McGurk.
Related Materials:
Other materials relating to Gordon Gibson at the National Anthropological Archives can be found in the Records of the Department of Anthropology, Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and the Records of the American Anthropological Association.
The Human Studies Film Archives holds his films on the Herero, Himba, Kuvale, and Zimba.
The Smithsonian Institution Archives has materials relating to Gibson's work as the first chairman of the Senate of Scientists.
Provenance:
The papers of Gordon D. Gibson were received in three separate accessions. The first accession (comprised of correspondence; committee files; and materials relating to the Herbert Ward collection, the National Anthropological Film Center, the Center for the Study of Man, and the Museum of Man) was transferred to the National Anthropological Archives by Gibson after his retirement. A guide to this accession was created in 2001. An accretion (consisting of correspondence, fieldwork and research files, curatorial files, writings, photographs, sound recordings, and maps) was transferred to the archives by Gibson's family in 2007. His exhibition and museum specimen files were transferred to the archives in 2008 by the Department of Anthropology.
Restrictions:
The Gordon Davis Gibson papers are open for research. Access to the computer disks in the collection are restricted due to preservation concerns. The personnel files of Smithsonian staff have also been restricted.
Access to the Gordon Davis Gibson papers requires an appointment.
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.
Gibson, Gordon D. (Gordon Davis), 1915-2007 Search this
Container:
Box 7
Type:
Archival materials
Text
Date:
1936 - 2007
Collection Restrictions:
The Gordon Davis Gibson papers are open for research. Access to the computer disks in the collection are restricted due to preservation concerns. The personnel files of Smithsonian staff have also been restricted.
Access to the Gordon Davis Gibson papers requires an appointment.
Collection Citation:
Gordon Davis Gibson papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Gibson, Gordon D. (Gordon Davis), 1915-2007 Search this
Container:
Box 7
Type:
Archival materials
Text
Date:
1936 - 2007
Collection Restrictions:
The Gordon Davis Gibson papers are open for research. Access to the computer disks in the collection are restricted due to preservation concerns. The personnel files of Smithsonian staff have also been restricted.
Access to the Gordon Davis Gibson papers requires an appointment.
Collection Citation:
Gordon Davis Gibson papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Audio
Sound tape reels
Songs
Date:
1960-1961
Scope and Contents:
Performers: Curtis Pequano, Charles Harrison, in Mayetta, Kansas, 1961; Bill Shawnee, Randy Carpenter, Sadie Weller in Turkey Ford, Oklahoma; and James Wahbnosh.
MPM tape 5 includes: Side One. 1. Flute Melodies (played and sung), by Curtis Pequano (Prairie band, Potawatomi); 2. Winnebago Love Song, by Charles Harrison; 3. Flute Melodies (played and sung), by Curtis Pequano; 4. Round Dance Songs, by Curtis Pequano; 5. Sawanoge Dance Songs; 6. Moccasin Game Songs; 7. Cherokee Dance Songs, by Bill Shawnee, Randy Carpenter (Shawnee tribe), and Sadie Weller (Caddo tribe) [recorded in Turkey Ford, Oklahoma]; 8. Oklahoma Stomp Songs, by Jack King (Oneida); 9. Quapaw pow-wow. Side Two. 1. Stomp Dance contest; 2. Quapaw pow-wow; 3. Miscellaneous Songs (love songs/dance songs), by James Wahbnosh (Prairie band, Potawatomi).
Local Numbers:
Howard Sound Recording 5
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in Mayetta, Kansas
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
MPM tape 12: 1. Skeleton Dance Song. 2. Story in Delaware with explanationin English: how church lasts for 12 nights and ceremonies. 3. Story in Delaware with explanation in English: Big House Ceremony, False Face. 4. War Dance Songs.
Local Numbers:
Howard Sound Recording 12
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.
