These papers reflect the professional lives of Alice Cunningham Fletcher (1838-1923), an ethnologist with the Peabody Museum of Harvard and collaborator with the Bureau of American Ethnology, and Francis La Flesche (1856-1923), an anthropologist with the Bureau of American Ethnology. Due to the close professional and personal relationship of Fletcher and La Flesche, their papers have been arranged jointly. The papers cover the period from 1874 to 1939. Included in the collection is correspondence, personal diaries, lectures, field notes and other ethnographic papers, drafts, musical transcriptions, publications by various authors, maps and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
These papers reflect the professional lives of Alice Cunningham Fletcher (1838-1923), an ethnologist with the Peabody Museum of Harvard University and collaborator with the Bureau of American Ethnology, and Francis La Flesche (1856-1923), an anthropologist with the Bureau of American Ethnology. Due to the close professional and personal relationship of Fletcher and La Flesche, their papers have been arranged jointly. The papers cover the period from 1874 to 1939. Included in the collection is correspondence, personal diaries, lectures, field notes and other ethnographic papers, drafts, musical transcriptions, publications by various authors, maps and photographs.
The papers have been divided into three general categories: the papers of Alice Cunningham Fletcher, the papers of Francis La Flesche, and the ethnographic research of Fletcher and La Flesche. The first two categories represent personal and professional materials of Fletcher and La Flesche. The third section holds the majority of the ethnographic material in the collection.
Of primary concern are Fletcher and La Flesche's ethnological investigations conducted among the Plains Indians, particularly the Omaha and Osage. Fletcher's Pawnee field research and her allotment work for the Bureau of Indian Affairs among the Omaha, Nez Perce, and Winnebago are represented in the collection. A substantial portion of the ethnographic material reflects Fletcher and La Flesche's studies of Native American music. Much of the correspondence in the papers of Fletcher and La Flesche is rich with information about the situation of Omaha peoples in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Also included in the collection are documents related to Fletcher's work with the Archaeological Institute of America and the School for American Archaeology. Additionally, substantial amounts of Fletcher's early anthropological and historical research are found among her correspondence, lectures, anthropological notes, and early field diaries. La Flesche's literary efforts are also generously represented.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into the following 3 series: 1) Alice Cunningham Fletcher papers, 1873-1925; 2) Francis La Flesche papers, 1881-1930; 3) Papers relating to the anthropological research of Alice Fletcher and Francis La Flesche, 1877-1939.
Series 1: Alice Cunningham Fletcher papers is divided into the following 10 subseries: 1.1) Incoming correspondence, 1874-1923 (bulk 1882-1923); 1.2) Outgoing correspondence, 1873-1921; 1.3) Correspondence on specific subjects, 1881-1925; 1.4) Correspondence between Fletcher and La Flesche, 1895-1922; 1.5) Publications, 1882-1920; 1.6) Organizational records, 1904-1921; 1.7) General anthropological notes, undated; 1.8) Lectures, circa 1878-1910; 1.9) Diaries, 1881-1922; 1.10) Biography and memorabilia, 1878-1925.
Series 2: Francis La Flesche papers is divided into the following 6 subseries: 2.11) General correspondence, 1890-1929; 2.12) Correspondence on specific subjects, 1881-1930; 2.13) Publications, 1900-1927; 2.14) Literary efforts, undated; 2.15) Personal diaries, 1883-1924; 2.16) Biography and memorabilia, 1886-1930.
Series 3: Papers relating to the anthropological research of Alice Fletcher and Francis La Flesche is divided into the following 12 subseries: 3.17) Alaska, 1886-1887; 3.18) Earth lodges, 1882, 1898-1899; 3.19) Music, 1888-1918; 3.20) Nez Perce, 1889-1909; 3.21) Omaha, 1882-1922; 3.22) Osage, 1896-1939; 3.23) Pawnee, 1897-1910; 3.24) Pipes, undated; 3.25) Sioux, 1877-1896; 3.26) Other tribes, 1882-1922; 3.27) Publications collected, 1884-1905, undated; 3.28) Photographs, undated.
Biographical / Historical:
Alice Cunningham Fletcher (1838-1923) was an ethnologist with the Peabody Museum of Harvard and collaborator with the Bureau of American Ethnology. Francis La Flesche (1856-1923) was an anthropologist with the Bureau of American Ethnology.
Chronology of the Life of Alice Cunningham Fletcher
1838 March 15 -- Born in Havana, Cuba
1873-1876 -- Secretary, American Association for Advancement of Women
1879 -- Informal student of anthropology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University
1881 -- Field trip to Omaha and Rosebud Agencies
1882 -- Assistant in ethnology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University
1882 -- Helped secure land in severalty to Omaha Indians
1882-1883 -- Begins collaboration with Francis La Flesche on the Peabody Museum's collection of Omaha and Sioux artifacts
1883-1884 -- Special Agent, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Omaha Agency
1886 -- Bureau of Education investigation of Alaskan native education
1887-1888 -- Special Disbursing Agent, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Winnebago Agency
1889-1892 -- Special Agent for allotment, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Nez Perce Agency
1890-1899 -- President, Women's Anthropological Society of America
1891-1923 -- Mary Copley Thaw Fellow, Peabody Museum, Harvard University
1892-1893 -- Department of Interior consultant, World's Columbian Exposition
1896 -- Vice-President, Section H, American Association for the Advancement of Science
1897 -- Collaborator, Bureau of American Ethnology
1899-1916 -- Editorial board, American Anthropologist
1900 -- Published Indian Story and Song from North America
1901-1902 -- Advisory committee, Anthropology Department, University of California at Berkeley
1903 -- President, Anthropological Society of Washington
1904 -- Published The Hako: A Pawnee Ceremony with James Murie
1908-1913 -- Chair, Managing Committee of School of American Archaeology
1911 -- Honorary Vice-President, Section H, British Association for Advancement of Science
1911 -- Published The Omaha Tribe with Francis La Flesche
1913 -- Chair Emeritus, Managing Committee of School of American Archaeology
1915 -- Published Indian Games and Dances with Native Songs Arranged from American Indian Ceremonials and Sports
1923 April 6 -- Died in Washington, D.C.
Chronology of the Life of Francis La Flesche
1857 December 25 -- Born on Omaha Reservation near Macy, Nebraska
1879 -- Lecture tour, Ponca chief Standing Bear
1881 -- Interpreter, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
1881-1910 -- Clerk, Bureau of Indian Affairs
1891 -- Informally adopted as Fletcher's son
1892 -- LL.B., National University Law School
1893 -- LL.M., National University Law School
1900 -- Published The Middle Five: Indian Boys at School
1906-1908 -- Marriage to Rosa Bourassa
1910-1929 -- Ethnologist, Bureau of American Ethnology
1911 -- Published The Omaha Tribe with Alice Fletcher
1921 -- Published The Osage Tribe, Part One
1922 -- Member, National Academy of Sciences
1922-1923 -- President, Anthropological Society of Washington
1925 -- Published The Osage Tribe, Part Two
1926 -- Honorary Doctor of Letters, University of Nebraska
1928 -- Published The Osage Tribe, Part Three
1932 -- Published Dictionary of the Osage Language
1932 September 5 -- Died in Thurston County, Nebraska
1939 -- Posthumous publication of War Ceremony and Peace Ceremony of the Osage Indians
Related Materials:
Additional material related to the professional work of Fletcher and La Flesche in the National Anthropological Archives may be found among the correspondence of the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) and the records of the Anthropological Society of Washington.
Sound recordings made by Fletcher and La Flesche can be found at the Library of Congress. The National Archives Records Administration hold the Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), including those relating to allotments in severalty for the Nez Perce by Alice Fletcher. The Nebraska Historical Society has diaries, letters and clippings regarding the La Flesche family, including correspondence of Francis La Flesche and Fletcher. The Radcliffe College Archives holds a manuscript account of Alice Fletcher's four summers with the Nez Perce (1889-1892). Correspondence between Fletcher and F. W. Putnam is also located at the Peabody Museum Archives of Harvard University.
Separated Materials:
Ethnographic photographs from the collection have been catalogued by tribe in Photo Lot 24.
Glass plate negatives from the collection have been catalogued by tribe in the BAE glass negatives collection (Negative Numbers 4439-4515).
Provenance:
The papers of Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Francis La Flesche have been received from an undocumented number of sources. Portions of Fletcher's ethnographic papers were donated to the archives by Mrs. G. David Pearlman in memory of her husband in 1959.
Restrictions:
The Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Francis La Flesche papers are open for research.
Access to the Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Francis La Flesche papers requires an appointment.
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New Search this
Indians of North America -- Great Basin Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Stereographs
Photographs
Place:
Zuni (N.M.)
Chelly, Canyon de (Ariz.)
Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
Colorado River
Date:
1871-1874
Scope and Contents note:
Photographs made on the Geographical Explorations and Surveys west of the 100th meridian, under Lieutenant George M. Wheeler, War Department, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A. 1871-74. They include images of expedition party members, archeological sites, pueblos and puebloan and other Indigenous people of the southwest (including Zuni, Navajo, Apache, Coyotero Apache, Jicarilla Apache, Ute, and Mohave), and scenic views in Canyon de Chelly, canyons of the Colorado River (including the Grand Canyon and Black Canyon), Apache Lake, and the Cerro Blanco Mountains.
The collection includes two complete sets of the stereographs published by the War Department Corps of Engineers, which were collected by John R. Swanton and Alice C. Fletcher, and an incomplete set donated by Vincent McMullen. It also includes lists and notes (circa 1935-1948) regarding the photographs prepared by F. M. Fryxell and Bruno Klinger, as well as stereographs published by the Corps of Engineers.
Biographical/Historical note:
The geographical surveys west of the 100th meridian were operated under the United States Army Corps of Engineers and supervised by First Lieutenant (later Captain) George Montague Wheeler from 1869 through 1879. They documented Native American tribes and geography in the region, in order to make accurate maps; selected possible sites for military installations and rail or common roads; and noted resources in the area. In total, the surveys analyzed the region now covered by Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon, and the expeditions produced 164 maps, 41 publications, and a series of stereoviews. Timothy H. O'Sullivan began photographing geographical surveys in 1867-1869 when he was official photographer for Clarence King's United States Geological Exploration of the 40th Parallel. He served as official photographer for the Wheeler surveys in 1871, 1872, and 1874, with William Bell taking over in 1873. O'Sullivan would go on to become the United States Geological Survey's first photographer in Washington, DC.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 4501, NAA MS 4500, NAA MS 4499, NAA Photo Lot 4558
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Descriptive lists and notes relating to the expedition photographs, previously filed in MS 4499, have been relocated and merged with Photo Lot 4501.
Complete sets of Wheeler Expedition stereographs published by the Corps of Engineers, previously filed in MS 4500 and Photo Lot 4558, have been relocated and merged with Photo Lot 4501.
Additional O'Sullivan and Bell photographs held in National Anthropological Archives Photo lot 40, Photo Lot 37, Photo Lot 90-1, Photo Lot 24, Photo Lot 97, and Photo Lot 167.
Contained in:
Numbered manuscripts 1850s-1980s (some earlier)
See others in:
Timothy H. O'Sullivan and William Bell photographs from the Geographical Surveys West of the 100th Meridian, 1871-1874
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Stereographs
Photographs
Citation:
Photo Lot 4501, Timothy H. O'Sullivan and William Bell photographs from the "Geographical Surveys West of the 100th Meridian" and associated papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Fletcher, Alice C. (Alice Cunningham), 1838-1923 Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1904-1921
Scope and Contents:
Materials have been divided into three subjects to encompass the act to preserve American antiquities, the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), and the Colorado Cliff Dwellings Association. Materials include correspondence, committee proposals and Congressional documents.
Fletcher was actively involved in the business and development of the Archaeological Institute of America throughout her career. Of particular interest is rich information in the form of correspondence and newspaper clippings on the character defamation controversy between Edgar Hewett and Franz Boas in 1911. Related materials are located among Fletcher's incoming correspondence in 1911 (subseries 1.1).
The formation of the School of American Archaeology (later the School of American Research), which Fletcher avidly supported, created friction between herself and F. W. Putnam. These issues are reflected in the folder relating to the formation of the school, the contents of which consist of drafts of letters from Fletcher to Putnam and Charles Bowditch.
The Colorado Cliff Dwellings material may relate to Fletcher's work for the preservation of antiquities.
Arrangement:
The material is arranged chronologically by subject.
Collection Restrictions:
The Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Francis La Flesche papers are open for research.
Access to the Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Francis La Flesche papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Manuscript 4558 Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Francis La Flesche papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
