Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1545

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

.2 linear_foot (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Collection of Native American photographs, circa 1900-1907, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

circa 1900-1907 (inclusive)

Form:

Photographs

Abstract:

This collection consists of nine images which, to a very limited degree, document indigenous people of the Acomoa Pueblo, Apache, Hopi, Laguna Pueblo, and Navaho tribes in the American southwest, in current day Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Images are of peublos and people (including Juanita, widow of Chief Manuelito; unidentified women; Hopi dancers preparing for the Snake Dance; and unidentified people preparing horses for travel). The identity of the photographer and whether they were documenting the indigenous culture or traveling as a tourist is unknown.

Toward the end of the 19th century and into the early 20th century, the United States was working actively to assimilate indigenous peoples into mainstrean American society. At the same time, "nostalgia for things Indian began to grow, particularly in the East where Indians had all but disappeared from view," (Herman). Some white Americans, including photographer, Edward S. Curtis, feared "that Anglo culture would soon overwhelm all American Indian cultures" (Smithsonian), and actively worked to document those cultures.

The identity of the photographer and whether they were documenting the indigenous culture or traveling as a tourist is unknown. The images, to a very limited degree, document indigenous people of the Acomoa Pueblo, Apache, Hopi, Laguna Pueblo, and Navaho tribes in the American southwest, in current day Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

Works referenced:

Herman, Doug. "Denali and America's Long History of Using (or Not Using) Indian Names," Smithsonian Magazine, September 3, 2015 (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/denali-america-history-using-indian-nomenclature-180956497/)

Smithsonian: "Edward S. Curtis: Frontier Photographer," https://www.sil.si.edu/Exhibitions/Curtis/curtis-navigation.htm

This collection consists of nine photographs presented on cardstock which were captioned, presumbably, by the photographer. The images were taken using the Kodak No. 2 camera, which was first sold in 1900 and served as one of the first widely available cameras, being both portable and inexpensive.

Images document, to a very limited degree, the indigenous people of the Acomoa Pueblo, Apache, Hopi, Laguna Pueblo, and Navaho tribes in the American southwest, in current day Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Images are of peublos and people (including Juanita, widow of Chief Manuelito, unidentified women, Hopi dancers preparing for the Snake Dance, and unidentified people preparing horses for travel). White Americans are present in the photographs, including General Alexander McDowell McCook (1831-1903) and spectators who were apparently watching the Hopi Snake Dance.

Folder titles are taken directly from the captions on the images and the language should be considered in the context of the time in which the images were created. Mispellings and variations of spellings within the original captions were retained.