This collection includes glass plate negatives, copy negatives and photographic prints taken and collected by Joseph Imhof, a lithographer and painter known for documenting Pueblo culture in New Mexico. These include images shot by Imhof in Acoma, Isleta, Santa Clara (K'apovi) and Taos Pueblos; glass plate negatives (copies) of Frank Rinehart portraits; original glass plate negatives made by Orlando Scott Goff among the Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke) in Montana circa 1894; photographic prints of Imhof artworks; and photographs of Joseph and Sarah Imhof and their home in Taos, New Mexico.
Scope and Contents:
Series 1: Glass plate negatives contains 89 glass plate negatives donated by Joseph Imhof to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation in 1930. This includes—copies of Frank Rinehart portraits; Joseph Imhof photographs made in Acoma Pueblo and Isleta Pueblo in 1912; Orlando Scott Goff Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke) photographs from Montana; and Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) photographs from Vancouver Island, British Columbia (photographer unknown). The majority of the Rinehart glass plate negatives include two portraits side by side on one 8x10 plate, though copy negatives were made of the individual portraits. The copy negatives were created by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation (NMAI's predecessor museum) during a photo conservation project in the 1960s.
Series 2: Photographic Prints includes 89 cataloged and 38 uncatalogued photographic prints from 1900-1964. This includes Joseph Imhof photographs made in K'apovi (Santa Clara) Pueblo; images of Imhof's drawings, sketches and paintings; photographs in Taos of the Imhof home and studio; and portraits of Sarah and Joseph Imhof.
The negatives have catalog numbers N19283-N19371. The prints have catalog numbers P19480-P19484, P19532-P19591.
Arrangement:
Arranged in two series by photographic type. Series 1: Glass plate Negatives, circa 1894, 1898, 1912, undated and Series 2: Photographic Prints, 1900-1964. Within the series they are arranged by catalog number with the uncatalogued prints at the end of Series 2.
Biographical / Historical:
Joseph Adam Imhof was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1871. After teaching himself lithography, Imhof was hired by Currier and Ives and eventually earned enough money from this job to buy a bookstore. In 1891 he eventually quit his job and sold the bookstore to pursue a formal art education in Europe which led to four years in Paris, Brussels, Antwerp and Munich where he apprenticed with several artists.
During this time, Imhof met Buffalo Bill Cody and was invited to join him in Antwerp to sketch and paint members of his "Wild West Show". Returning to New York, Imhof rented a studio and began to study the Iroquois Indians in New York and Canada. He spent the next ten years painting and improving his lithography, photography and color printing innovations - which financed his early painting career. He also freelanced for Allen and Ginter, painting his Indian Head Series for insertion on cards in boxes of cigarettes.
In 1897 Joseph married Sarah "Sallie" Ann Elizabeth Russell. In 1905 they visited the Southwest for the first time to record the ceremonies of the Pueblo Indians. Joseph built a studio in Albuquerque in 1906, and the Imhofs spent the next few years traveling around the region, though they eventually returned to New York. In 1929, Joseph and Sarah moved to New Mexico permanently and built their new home and studio in Taos Pueblo. There, he would have Native Puebloan models to live in his home for a time before he painted them. He also collected many artifacts and had the first lithography press in Taos. His series of paintings called Kivas and Corn, which he gifted to the University of New Mexico, was his last and most famous work. The Koshare Indian Museum also houses one of the largest collections of his paintings. Joseph Imhof died in 1955 leaving the remainder of his collection in the care of his wife and daughter.
Bibliography: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West, by Peggy and Harold Samuels; Joseph Imhof: Artist of the Pueblos, by Nancy Hopkins Reily and Lucille Enix, Koshare Indian Museum.
Related Materials:
A large collection of Joseph Imhof artwork and photographs can be found at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico.
The NMAI has a collection of Joseph Imhof artwork and lithographs donated by his wife Sarah in the 1960s.
For a bibliography on Joseph Imhof written by his wife, Sarah Imhof, see Box 255, Folder 7 in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation records (NMAI.AC.001).
Separated Materials:
The uncataloged photographic prints in Series 2 were originally housed with documents in Box 255, Folder 7 in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation records (NMAI.AC.001). They have been moved to be with the rest of the Joseph Imhof photographic collection.
Provenance:
The glass plate negatives were a Gift of Joseph Imhof in 1930. It is still unclear how/when the photographic prints were acquired by the museum, but they were likely donated by Sarah Imhof along with a collection of Imhof artwork in the 1960s.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives 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 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.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph A. Imhof photograph collection, image #, NMAI.AC.142; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection is largely composed of photographs depicting Plains Indians, many of whom took part in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Depicted individuals include Young Man Afraid of His Horse, Low Dog, Good Horse, Clear Eyes, Rain in the Face, Crow Flies High, Trail Hunter, Sitting Bull, Crow King, Red Cloud, White Faces, Running Antelope, Red Girl, Curly, John Grass, Gall, Spotted Tail, and a group of Ghost Dancers. There are also images of Barry, General Custer, the horse Comanche, and Buffalo Bill.
Biographical/Historical note:
David Frances Barry (1854-1934) was a photographer based in Bismarck, Dakota Territory, who is most noted for his photographs of famous American Indians. In 1878, he was hired by itinerant photographer O. S. Goff, with whom he eventually partnered. From 1878 to 1883, Barry traversed the Dakota Territory, making many of his most widely known photographs of American Indians, forts and battlefields, military officers, and other people in the region. In 1883, Barry opened a new studio in Bismarck, where he began photographing members of Cody's Wild West Show.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot R81-71
Reproduction Note:
Copy prints made by Smithsonian Institution, 1981.
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Additional photographs by Barry, as well as originals of images in this collection, can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 24, Photo Lot 80-18, Photo Lot 87-2P, Photo Lot 90-1, MS 4559, and the BAE historical negatives.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
This copy collection has been obtained for reference purposes only. Contact the repository for terms of use and access.
Indians of North America -- Great Basin Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Negatives
Copy prints
Place:
Yosemite National Park (Calif.)
Washington (D.C.)
Florida
Yellowstone National Park
Colorado
Date:
mid-19th - early 20th century
Scope and Contents note:
Copies of photogaphs selected from the George Eastman House collection by Bureau of American Ethnology archivist Margaret Blaker in 1962. Many of the photographs are individual or group portraits of American Indians and some highlight pottery, baskets, and cradleboards. There are also images of American Indian dwellings, including tipis and hogans; pueblos; dances; and an encampment during the Modoc War and Plains Indian prisoners at Fort Marion, Florida (1870s).
Expedition photos in the collection were made on T. O. Selfridgeʹs Darien Expedition (1870-1871), the Wheeler surveys (1871-1874), and the Hayden Geological Survey (1871). The collection also includes portraits of Frederick Douglass, Sitting Bull, and John A. Logan; and images from Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show; Company F of New York's 140th Volunteer Infantry; and the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot R79
Reproduction Note:
Copy negatives made by George Eastman House, 1962.
Copy prints made by the Smithsonian, 1962-1963.
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds vintage prints for many of the photographs copied in this collection, including in Photo lot 4501, Photo Lot 4605, and Photo Lot 90-1.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
The images were acquired for reference purposes and cannot be reproduced. Copies may be obtained from George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film.
50 Stereographs (circa 50 printed stereographs, halftone and color halftone)
1,000 Stereographs (circa, albumen and silver gelatin (some tinted))
239 Prints (circa 239 mounted and unmounted prints, albumen (including cartes de visite, imperial cards, cabinet cards, and one tinted print) and silver gelatin (some modern copies))
96 Prints (Album :, silver gelatin)
21 Postcards (silver gelatin, collotype, color halftone, and halftone)
Photographs relating to Native Americans or frontier themes, including portraits, expedition photographs, landscapes, and other images of dwellings, transportation, totem poles, ceremonies, infants and children in cradleboards, camps and towns, hunting and fishing, wild west shows, food preparation, funeral customs, the US Army and army posts, cliff dwellings, and grave mounds and excavations. The collection also includes images of prisoners at Fort Marion in 1875, Sioux Indians involved in the Great Sioux Uprising in Minnesota, the Fort Laramie Peace Commission of 1868, Sitting Bull and his followers after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and the aftermath of the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890.
There are studio portraits of well-known Native Americans, including American Horse, Big Bow, Four Bears, Iron Bull, Ouray, Red Cloud, Red Dog, Red Shirt, Sitting Bull, Spotted Tail, Three Bears, and Two Guns White Calf. Depicted delegations include a Sauk and Fox meeting in Washington, DC, with Lewis V. Bogy and Charles E. Mix in 1867; Kiowas and Cheyennes at the White House in 1863; and Dakotas and Crows who visited President Warren G. Harding in 1921. Images of schools show Worcester Academy in Vinita, Oklahoma; Chilocco Indian School; Carlisle Indian Industrial School; Haskell Instittue, and Albuquerque Indian School.
Some photographs relate to the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, 1876; World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893; Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, 1903; and Centennial Exposition of the Baltimore and Ohio Railraod, 1876. Expedition photographs show the Crook expedition of 1876, the Sanderson expedition to the Custer Battlefield in 1877, the Wheeler Survey of the 1870s, Powell's surveys of the Rocky Mountain region during the 1860s and 1870s, and the Hayden Surveys.
Outstanding single views include the party of Zuni group led to the sea by Frank Hamilton Cushing; Episcopal Church Rectory and School Building, Yankton Agency; Matilda Coxe Stevenson and a companion taking a photographs of a Zuni ceremony; John Moran sketching at Acoma; Ben H. Gurnsey's studio with Indian patrons; Quapaw Mission; baptism of a group of Paiutes at Coeur d'Alene Mission; court-martial commission involved in the trial of Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds, 1877; President Harding at Sitka, Alaska; Walter Hough at Hopi in 1902; and Mrs. Jesse Walter Fewkes at Hopi in 1897.
Biographical/Historical note:
George V. Allen was an attorney in Lawrence, Kansas and an early member of the National Stereoscope Association. Between the 1950s and 1980s, Allen made an extensive collection of photographs of the American West, mostly in stereographs, but also including cartes-de-visite and other styles of mounted prints, photogravures, lantern slides, autochromes, and glass negatives.
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Portraits of Native Americans made by Charles Milton Bell in his Washington, DC studio. Depicted individuals include Red Cloud, Oglala; Spotted Tail, Brule; Quanah Parker, Comanche; Nawat, Arapaho; Scabby Bull, Arapaho; Wolf Robe, Cheyenne; D. W. Bushyhead, Cherokee; John Jumper, Seminole; Plenty Coups, Crow; Rushing Bear, Arikara; Gall, Hunkpapa; John Grass, Sihasapa; Lean Wolf, Hidatsa; Chief Joseph, Nez Perce; and Lone Wolf, Kiowa; as well as people associated with Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show. The collection also includes copies of some images by other photographers, including G. G. Rockwood and F. T. Cummins.
Biographical/Historical note:
Charles Milton Bell (circa 1849-1893) was the youngest member of a family of photographers that operated a studio in Washington, DC, from around 1860-1874. Bell established his own studio on Pennsylvania Avenue in 1873 and it rapidly became one of the leading photography studios in the city. Bell developed the patronage of Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, who sent Native American visitors to the studio to have their portraits made. Bell also made photographs of Native Americans for the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of American Ethnology.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 80, NAA MS 4661
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Copy prints previously filed in MS 4661 have been relocated and merged with Photo Lot 80. These are also copy prints of Bell negatives that were acquired from Boyce and form part of this collection.
Additional C. M. Bell photographs held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 4420, Photo Lot 24, Photo Lot 60, Photo Lot 81-44, Photo lot 87-2P, and Photo Lot 90-1.
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 80, Charles Milton Bell photographs of Native Americans, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Biographical material; diaries; correspondence, financial material; notes; writings; art work; printed material; and photographs
REEL D30 (fr. 420, 521, 542): Three letters from Bruce Crane, 1930, mentioning his election to the Allied Artists of America, from Will Hicok Low, 1930, concerning Cole's election into an art organization, and from Chauncey Foster Ryder, 1921, saying "You may count on me."
REEL 420 (fr. 453-652): Letters written by Timothy Cole, 1885-1928, primarily to Alphaeus and to painter Edward Ertz of Sussex, England, discussing engraving, work for the CENTURY, World War I, and personal matters; a letter to Alphaeus from sculptor John Angel, 1946, discussing Alphaeus' portrait of him; a poem and notes for a speech by Timothy Cole; writings by Alphaeus describing his engraving techniques and his recollections of his father; printed material, including a program for a dinner honoring collector Alexander Wilson Drake, 1913, an address by Timothy to the National Arts Club, 1916, 11 exhibition catalogs for Timothy, 1927-1931, and for Alphaeus, 1922-1952, a catalog from the Grand Central School of Art, and a few clippings; and 2 photos of Alphaeus, ca. 1912 and 1970.
REEL 3481 (fr.467-700): 64 letters, 1910-1927, and 2 sonnets from his father Timothy Cole and a letter to his future daughter-in-law regarding her upcoming marriage to Alphaeus; a letter to Timothy Cole from Calvin Coolidge thanking him for an engraved bookplate; 12 letters to Cole, 1931-1964, from Maurice Bloch, Paul Bransom, A. B. Butts, Will H. Low, Hermann Dudley Murphy, Hudson Strode, R. P. Tolman, and Mahonri Young; a typescript of an article by Cole on Charles C. Curran; 2 photographs of Cole at work, and a photograph of 26 members of the National Academy of Design, ca. 1925, including 19 autographs on the mat; and miscellaneous printed material and writings.
REELS 4783-4791: Biographical accounts and documents; 70 diaries, 1889-1982, containing accounts of Cole's daily activities and 7 photographs; correspondence, 1891-1988, including letters from his father, Timothy Cole, and other family members, 2 notes from Jean Paul Laurens and Benjamin Constant, comments by Cole about his colleagues in 1901-1902, Solon Borglum, Joseph Pennell, Edward Steichen, and a Mr. Yeats, and a description of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, 1902; receipts for art expenses and doctor bills; 4 income tax returns, 1936-1980; an address book, ca. 1933; 6 notebooks on the German language, travels in Orvieto, religious symbols in art, and art history, 1889-1898;
writings by Cole and others, including poems to Eugene and Anita Higgins; prints and drawings by Cole, 1899-1958, including a self-portrait and a portrait drawing of Jean Paul Laurens; 2 prints by John W. Evans, 1935, and Keith Shaw Williams; 26 prints of religious paintings by Italian masters; printed material, including clippings, exhibition catalogs for others, reproductions of art work, material concerning Anita Rio, a postcard album, 1901-1934, and picture postcards, and miscellany; and photographs of Cole, Anita Rio, family, friends, models, residence, travels, art work by Cole and others, and gallery installations.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, portrait painter; New York, N.Y. Born in New Jersey, Cole was the son of wood engraver Timothy Cole. After studying under Isaac Craig in Italy, he began studies at the Academie Julian in 1892, under Jean Paul Laurens and Benjamin Constant. His painting of Dante was exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1900. He moved to England and married sculptress Margaret Ward Walmsley in 1903. They moved to the United States in 1911, where Cole joined the Salmagundi Club, 1918, and served as president of the New York Water Color Club from 1931 to 1941. He taught at Cooper Union, 1924-1931, and was elected a National Academician in 1941. A widower in 1962, Cole married Anita Rio, the widow of painter Eugene Higgins.
Provenance:
Material on reel D30 donated 1955-1962 by Charles E. Feinberg, an active donor and friend of the Archives of American Art. Material on reels 420, 3481, and 4783-4791 donated 1965-1989 by Alphaeus Cole, in part through his nephew Orlando, and by his estate.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Portrait painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Case, Leland D. (Leland Davidson), 1900-1986 Search this
Extent:
52 Photographs
Culture:
Minneconjou Lakota (Minniconjou Sioux) Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Black Hills (South Dakota)
Date:
1955
Summary:
This collection contains 54 photographs that were shot by amateur photographer John M. Kauffmann in 1955. The photographs depict Dewey Beard (also known as Iron Hail and Wasu Maza) and the Black Hills in South Dakota.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains 54 photographs (53 negatives and 1 gelatin silver print) that were shot by amateur photographer John M. Kauffmann in 1955 in South Dakota. Kauffmann accompanied his photographer friend Bates Littlehales, who was on assignment to illustrate a National Geographic article authored by Leland Case about the Black Hills of South Dakota. Littlehales invited Kauffmann to join him on his assignment, so that Kauffmann could practice his photography.
The collection contains two series. Series 1 contains photos that depict the interview with Dewey Beard (also known as Iron Hail and Wasu Maza) that was conducted by Leland Case on June 18, 1955 at the Alex Johnson Hotel, Rapid City, South Dakota. At the time of the interview, Dewey Beard was the last Sioux survivor of the Battle of Big Horn. Series 2 contains photographs shot around the Black Hills of South Dakota and includes depictions of Leland Case, possibly Bates Littlehales, and other unidentified people on horseback; exploring landscapes and caves; and looking at tree rings.
Kauffmann used a Rolleiflex medium format camera to photograph the images in this collection. Leland Bates' National Geographic article was published in the October 1956, vol. CX, no. 4 issue.
Arrangement:
Negatives arranged in a box and photograph arranged in a folder.
Biographical / Historical:
John M. Kauffmann grew up in Washington, DC and graduated from Princeton University. He worked for the National Park Service for many years serving in Washington, DC and Alaska. His work led to the conservation of 100 million acres through the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. He also played a vital role in the creation of the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. He passed away on November 16, 2014 at the age of 91.
Dewey Beard, also known as Wasu Maza or Iron Hail, was a member of the Minneconjou Lakota (Minniconjou Sioux) tribe and was the last known survivor of the Battle of Little Bighorn. He was also present during the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, where many of his family members were killed and he was wounded. Born in 1858, Wasu Maza changed his name to Dewey Beard when he converted to Roman Catholicism. For 15 years, he also was a member of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. He died in November 1955 at age 96.
Related Materials:
The Library of Congress has the recorded interview with Dewey Beardthat took place on 18, 1955 at the Alex Johnson Hotel, Rapid City, South Dakota.
Provenance:
Gift of John M. Kauffmann, 1999.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives 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 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.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); John M. Kauffmann photographs of Dewey Beard, image #, NMAI.AC.225; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Cowboys and Indians on horseback in front of grandstand; possibly a rodeo or Wild West show.
Local Numbers:
RSN 7944
General:
Currently stored in box 1.2.14 [19].
Collection Restrictions:
The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment.
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.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Pikuni (Piegan) [Blackfeet Nation, Browning, Montana] Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Germany -- Bavaria -- Munich
Date:
bulk 1868-1926
Summary:
This collection consists of 38 photographic prints of Native and non-Native peoples involved with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, primarily in the years 1890-1891.
Scope and Contents:
The Frank Lehner photographs of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show collection consists of 38 photographic prints (and 5 copy negatives created at a later date by the NMAI staff). The images portray Native and non-Native peoples involved with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show primarily in the years 1890-1891, and include a number of publicity and studio portrait shots. Notable photographs include King Ludwig III of Bavaria and his daughter, Princess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria, visiting with and even photographing some of the Wild West performers in Munich, Germany, in 1890. Although the bulk of the photographs date to either 1890 or 1891, images in the collection encompass a time period of approximatey a half-century, from 1876 to 1926.
The specific identity of the photographers of these images is not certain. While these photographs have historically been attributed to Frank Lehner, it is more likely that he was the collector rather than the photographer. It appears that at least one image (P10215) was probably taken by Bavarian Royal Court Photographer J. Seiling, and one image (P10192) or possibly two (P10193) were taken by Charles Henry Braithwaite, a portrait photographer in Leeds, England, in 1891.
Arrangement:
The materials in this collection are organized into folders.
Biographical / Historical:
William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody opened the first Wild West show in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1883. Within four years the fame of the Wild West had grown so great that Cody took his fellow performers on an international tour of Europe, performing between 1887 and 1906 in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Austria, and a host of other countries.
Undeniably, Cody's Wild West constructed and promoted inaccurate views of Native Americans, defining "real Indians" as only those who lived in tipis, rode horses, and wore feather headdresses. Such stereotypes have sadly been perpetuated in dime novels, television shows, and major motion pictures down to the present, ignoring the staggering cultural diversity of the Indigenous peoples of North America.
In spite of the Wild West show's culpability in creating and perpetuating narrow views of who Native peoples are and what they look like, several recent scholars have argued that there were some upsides for those Native Americans who chose to perform with this traveling show. One of the major bonuses was the relative freedom Wild West performers experienced compared with their community members who had to remain on the reservations. L.G. Moses in Wild West Shows and the Images of American Indians, 1883-1933 and Michelle Delaney in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Warriors both note Native performers' opportunities to not only see the world and earn an income, but also to practice their beliefs and live their days free from the interference of the ever-present missionaries, politicians, and BIA agents back at home.
In addition, Wild West performers experienced opportunities otherwise unimaginable to many Americans of their day, including being presented to Queen Victoria at her Golden Jubilee in London in 1887, attending the 1889 World's Fair in Paris with its debut of the newly constructed Eiffel Tower, and having their photograph taken by the daughter of the future King of Bavaria, Ludwig III, in Munich in 1890.
Provenance:
This collection was exchanged with Frank Lehner in 1932.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives 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 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.
Identification of specific item; 1890; Frank Lehner photographs of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, NMAI.AC.147; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Front view of coat with quill decoration belonging to One Bull. RESTRICTED: The object depicted in this photograph is not held in NMAI's collection.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives 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 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; 1890; Frank Lehner photographs of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, NMAI.AC.147; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Studio photographic portrait of an unidentified Inunaina (Arapaho) Wild West performer, possibly Black Heart. Photographed at Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives 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 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; 1890; Frank Lehner photographs of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, NMAI.AC.147; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Studio photographic portrait of two unidentified Sioux Wild West performers. Photographed at Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives 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 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; 1890; Frank Lehner photographs of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, NMAI.AC.147; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Studio photographic portrait of an unidentified Sioux Wild West performer. Photographed at Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives 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 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; 1890; Frank Lehner photographs of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, NMAI.AC.147; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Photographic print of two unidentified Sioux Wild West performers relaxing in camp. Photographed at Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives 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 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; 1890; Frank Lehner photographs of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, NMAI.AC.147; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Photographic print of a group of Sioux Wild West performers on horseback. Photographed at Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives 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 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; 1890; Frank Lehner photographs of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, NMAI.AC.147; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Photographic print of William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody and Wild West performers on horseback. Photographed at Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives 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 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; 1890; Frank Lehner photographs of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, NMAI.AC.147; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
