NMAI.AC.001: Museum of the American/Heye Foundation records
The collection was processed by Jennifer O'Neal, Rachel Menyuk, Rachel Telford, and Kristine Marconi McGee from 2004-2011. Finding aid written by Jennifer O'Neal and Rachel Menyuk in 2011.
In 2004, the Huntington Fee Library, once part of the MAI/Heye Foundation, was transferred to the Cornell University Library Rare Book and Manuscript Collection. While this collection mainly contained books, it also contained a significant amount of archival materials. The Huntington Free Library's Native American Collection contains outstanding materials documenting the history, culture, languages, and arts of the native tribes of both North and South America, as well as contemporary politics and human rights issues are also important components of the collection. Further information about the collection and links to finding aids can be found here:
The Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation was established by wealthy collector George Gustav Heye in 1908. Heye began collecting American Indian artifacts as early as 1897 and his collection rapidly increased over the next several years. Based in New York, Heye bought collections and documentary photographs, sponsored expeditions, and traveled and collected items himself. In addition, once MAI was established he sponsored numerous expeditions across the Western Hemisphere, including North American, Canada, South America and Central America.
From 1908 to 1917 Heye housed his artifacts on temporary loan at the University of Pennsylvania's University Museum, Pennsylvania, in lofts on East 33rd Street in New York City, and at other depositories. In 1917, the collections moved from his apartment to their permanent museum location at Audubon Terrace, at 155th Street and Broadway in New York City. The museum, containing ethnographic and archaeological collections from North, Central and South America, opened to the public in 1922. Less than ten years later, Heye completed a storage facility in the Pelham Bay area of the Bronx, known as the Research Branch. Heye served as Chairman of the Board and Museum Director until his death in 1957. After growing concern about the financial and other management of the collections came to a head, the museum became part of the Smithsonian Institution in 1989 and in 1994 opened exhibit space in the U.S. Customs House at Bowling Green near New York City's Battery Park. The Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Maryland later opened in 1999 and the main Washington, DC museum opened in 2004.
Please visit the following links for more information about the history of the museum;
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
These records document the governance and programmatic activities of the Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (MAI) from its inception in 1904 until its sublimation by the Smithsonian Institution in 1990. The types of materials present in this collection include personal and institutional correspondence, individual subject files, minutes and annual reports, financial ledgers, legal records, expedition field notes, research notes, catalog and object lists, publications, clippings, flyers, maps, photographs, negatives and audio-visual materials. These materials span a varied range of subjects relating to the activities of the museum which are more fully described on the series level.
The MAI, Heye Foundation records have been arranged into 21 series and 50 subseries:
The collection was originally part of the MAI Archives at Audobon Terrace in New York City. Title and custody of the collections were formally transferred to NMAI in 1990. Upon completion of the NMAI Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, MD, the collection was physically transferred to the NMAI Archive Center in 1998.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
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).
The Directors Series includes correspondence and subject files for the five directors of the Museum of the American Indian; George Gustav Heye, 1916-1956, E.K. Burnett, 1956-1960, Frederick Dockstader 1960-1974, Alexander Draper (Administrator) 1975-1977, and Roland Force, (Director of the Task Force) 1977-1990, as well as subject files for Assistant Director George Eager.
The George Gustav Heye subseries includes correspondence and subject files from before the founding of MAI through Heye's death in 1957. The bulk of his correspondence consists of purchase receipts and inquiries about Native American artifacts. There is a small amount of personal correspondence. George Heye subject files contain biographical information as well as various personal documents. Also included are eleven scrapbooks of newspaper clippings on the museum compiled by Heye between 1916 and 1947.
George Gustav Heye (1874--957) was the son of Carl Friederich Gustav Heye, a German immigrant who accumulated his wealth in the petroleum industry, and Marie Antoinette Lawrence Heye of Hudson, N.Y. George Gustav graduated from Columbia College in 1896 with a degree in electrical engineering. While on a engineering assignment on a railroad construction job in Arizona in 1897, he acquired an Apache deerskin shirt, marking the beginning of his passion for collecting. Initially, it was a hobby. Heye acquired single pieces until 1903, when he began collecting material in huge numbers. In 1901, he began a career in investment banking that would last until 1909. By then his passion for acquiring Indian cultural materials had become more important to him than banking. Throughout the remainder of his life, his energy and fortune were spent accumulating the largest private collection of Native American objects in the world. Heye enjoyed his visits to American Indian communities, buying everything in sight. While other collectors focused on what was considered to be the highly significant object, Heye often bought every object he could find, shipping the items back to New York. The collection was initially stored in Heye's Madison Avenue apartment in New York City, and later, in a rented room. Eventually, the collection was moved to the Heye Foundation's Museum of the American Indian at 155th Street and Broadway. A life member of the American Anthropological Association and the American Museum of Natural History, Heye was also a life fellow of the American Geographical Society, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an honorary fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain. He received an honorary doctorate (1929) of philosophy from the University of Hamburg. Heye's life and character is often defined by his passion for collecting. But the way he handled the collection indicates how complex and relatively unique Heye was as a museum director. Heye served as director of the Museum of the American Indian until his health failed in 1956.
Early Years: 1895-1935
A-B: 1936-1955
American Geographic Society: 1916-1926
Jim Anthony: 1948-1952
Artifact List: 1905-1925
A. F. Bandelier: 1905
Battles and Company: 1905-1913
Ethel Bellows: 1950-1954
Franz Boas: 1916-1918
British Museum: 1923
Brooklyn Museum: 1951
Howard Bullis: 1923
E.K. Burnett: 1952
C: 1948-1954
Colombia University, Butler and Boas: 1916-1918
R.P. Conkling: 1923
D-G: 1936-1955
Allen Davies: 1953-1955
Francis Dow: 1920-1953
Mrion Eppley: 1948-1955
Florida State University: 1952
S.E. Gaffron: 1912
Philip Godsell: 1951-1953
G.B. Gordon: 1907-1909, 1916
Martha Graham
H-K: 1948-1955
Dick Hagadorn: 1937
Harvard University Peabody Museum: 1950
Nasli Heeramaneck: 1943-1946
C.M. Heffner: 1949-1954
Harmon Hendricks: 1918-1928
Charles Heye: 1889-1895
Charles Heye (Father): 1899
Maria Heye, Estate: 1919-1921
William Hollander Antiques: 1952
Richard Hunt: 1949
Archer Huntington: 1906-1945
Joseph Keppler (To-Nis-Gah): 1946-1954
Byron Knoblock: 1927-1953
L-M: 1943-1954
H.V. Lemley: 1949-1952
O.T. Littleton: 1950-1951
Howard Means: 1948
Museum of Modern Art: 1948-1954
N-P: 1948-1955
B. Nebel (Bronze Doors): 1931
W.C. Orchard: 1939-1941
W.C. Orchard and James Clemens: 1922, 1948
Daisy Pecheret: 1951-1954
Stephen Polyak: 1948-1955
R-S: 1949-1955
C.F. Shuster: 1953-1954
Stock Investments: 1924
T-Z: 1947-1955
Thunderbird Museum: 1950-1951
Madge Hardin Walters: 1947-1955
Paul Warner: 1948
Virginia Department of Health: 1932
Margaret Zervas: 1950-1953
The Edwin K. Burnett series covers Burnett's years as assistant director to Heye, as well as his time as director during Heye's illness in 1955 until Dockstader's directorship began in 1960. Burnett's correspondence includes purchase receipts and inquiries on Native American objects as well as correspondence with affiliated organizations. Some of Burnett's correspondence was left integrated with Dockstader's correspondence. Burnett's subject files comprise of bibliographic sources he compiled relating to various tribes, sites and expeditions.
The Frederick Dockstader series contains material from when Dockstader joined the MAI staff as assistant director in 1955 until he resigned as director of the museum in 1975. Dockstader maintained extensive correspondence records which include purchase receipts for artifacts as well as loan and gift acknowledgements. Also included is correspondence related to his academic research and publications. Dockstader's correspondence is organized alphabetically by sender, either by individual or by organization and ranges from his years as assistant director to director. There is also a small amount of E.K. Burnett correspondence that was left intermingled in this series. Dockstader's subject files mostly contain information on his publications, particularly on
Dockstader's correspondence also contains a small amount of correspondence to and from E.K. Burnett between the years 1950-1959.
Alexander Draper's subseries includes correspondence and memos relating to the time he spent as an administrator to the museum in between the directorship of Frederick Dockstader, which ended in 1975, and Roland Force, which began in 1977.
The Roland Force series covers the time Force served as director to the museum from 1977-1990. Force's files include extensive correspondence with various museums, historical societies, organizations and individuals. This correspondence is organized alphabetically by sender, either by the name of the individual or by the organization they represent. Force's subject files reflect the time he spent as director of MAI, although also included are files on the Bishop museum where he served as director previous to his time at MAI. These records contain reports and proposals on computerization, museum relocation information, grant reviews, staff memos and various files on exhibits and conferences.
George Eager served as Assistant Director to the museum alongside Roland Force. His papers include correspondence and memos as well as various documents concerning staff, exhibits and financial information.
The Board of Trustees Series includes Board minutes, individual correspondence from Board of Trustees members and subject files.
The Board of Trustees Minutes Subseries contains meeting minutes from both the Board of Trustees and their Executive committee. From 1916 to 1959, the minutes were bound in large volumes which also included annual reports. These minutes document decisions and resolutions passed by the board regarding membership to the board and the allocation of museum funds.
This subseries consists of correspondence from individual members of the Board of Trustees. Much of this correspondence relates to the work board members conducted in relation to the museum, including scholarly research, fundraising and exhibit planning.
The Board of Trustees Subject Files contains information on the activities of the Board of Trustees. This includes correspondence sent on behalf of the board acknowledging gifts, committee information and events planned by the Board.
The Administrative Series for MAI contains records on general operation of the museum. This series has been divided into five subseries titled; subject files, personnel, legal, Task Force, and George Abrams.
The Subject Files of the Administrative series contain records relating to the everyday operation of MAI, including the running of the Research Branch (which is also referred to as the Research Annex). This subseries also contains membership information, accreditation information, attendance records, the constitution and by-laws of the museum, building floor plans and historical information on the founding and opening of MAI.
The Personnel Subseries includes information on MAI staff, research associates, interns and volunteers. These records also include job descriptions and information regarding the organization MAI personnel.
The Legal Subseries of the Administrative records focuses on legal actions taken by and against the museum. These records contain a large amount of information regarding the Attorney General's investigation of the museum on the legality of deaccessioning items. This subseries also contains trust agreements between the Heye Foundation and Archer Huntington, original property deeds and petitions made against the museum.
The Task Force was created with the goal of determining which aspects of the museum's operation required study and resolution. The Task Force subseries includes the Task Force's correspondence, research findings and reccomendations made to the Board of Trustees.
The George Abrams Subseries includes the records that Abrams kept during his time as a trustee of the Museum of the American Indian. This includes information on various organizations and personnel, clippings, memos and correspondence with museum staff, legal proceedings regarding the relocation of the museum, and meeting notes from various committees and associations.
The Financial series contains a range of financial records that document the expenses of running MAI. This includes a subseries containing original ledgers, correspondence that contains expense receipts from collectors and staff, and subject files that contain budget, tax and other fiancial information.
The Ledgers Subseries includes ledgers from the Battles, Heye and Harrison Co., previous to MAI's founding, Heye's personal financial journals and ledgers as well as MAI ledgers until 1962. All of the ledgers are oversized and handwritten and some are in need of conservation work.
The Correspondence Subseries contains financial correspondence. The bulk of the correspondence looks at years previous to the museum's founding as well as earlier years of the museum (1905-1920) and deals with services rendered to the museum as well as expenses and receipts for those services. This includes expense receipts from collectors and staff and acknowledgements for donations and contributions to the museum.
The subject files for the financial series comprise of budget reports, treasurer's reports, financial returns and statements, tax records and dealings with the United States Trust Company. Invoices are also included, which are listed alphabetically.
The Expedition Series contains records regarding expeditions funded by the Museum of the American Indian. The expeditions are organized by date and listed by state/country, expedition title and tribe. Several collectors including M.R. Harrington, George Pepper, A.H. Verrill, E.H. Davis and S.K. Lathrop left field notes, artifact lists, financial records and maps detailing expeditions spanning both North and South America. Original information on the Hendricks-Hodge Expedition to Hawikuh, New Mexico, are included in this series however information concerning the publication of
This folder was formerly titled "Hyde Expedition: Excavation of Cave #1, Photos" and has been renamed. It is actually photographs from the Whitmore Exploring Expedition of Grand Gulch. The objects came in to MAI as part of the Hyde Collection.
This folder was formerly titled "Hyde Expedition: Field Notes (Typed)" and has been renamed. They are actually notes from the Whitmore Exploring Expedition of Grand Gulch. The objects came in to MAI as part of the Hyde Collection.
The Collectors series documents the work of collectors who contributed to the museum's collections and publications. Several notable collectors include Reginald P. Bolton, Frank and Clara Churchill, Marion Gridley, M.R. Harrington, Byron Harvey, Geroge Pepper, William Stiles, Thomas Henry Tibbles, A. Hyatt Verrill, and William Wildschut. Their papers include academic research, manuscripts, catalog records, correspondence in regards to the collection of artifacts as well as personal correspondence, notes and journals. One of the larger collections of papers belongs to M.R. Harrington. His papers include biographical and personal information as well archaeological and ethnological notes and journals regarding his work prior to and encompassing his time at the museum.
Also included in this series are biographical notes on some of the more prominent collectors to the museum.
Reginald Pelham Bolton (1856-1942) was born in London, England on October 5, 1856 Bolton was the son of James and Lydia Louise Pym Bolton. He majored as a consulting civil engineer. In 1878 Reginald married Ethelind Huyck in Sussex. They had two children Guy and Ivy. The Boltons moved to the United States and settled in Washington Heights at what is now 638 West 158th Street. In time he had not only become noted as an engineer but as an avid archaeologist.
Reginald Bolton's interest in archaeology had enabled him to excavate many acres of rural land in northern Manhattan to find thousands of artifacts of the Weckquasgeek Indians and Revolutionary soldiers. Through his efforts, Bolton became a Life Member of the New York Historical Society and of the Museum of the American Museum, Heye Foundation. He was an associate member of the Westchester County Historical Society and a Vice President of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society and of the City History Club.
Bolton was also known to have authored many books on the history of New York City and its surrounding areas. One of these is called
John Edward Borein (1873-1945) was born in San Leandro, California. He worked several ranches in Mexico as well as in California and, while working as a ranch-hand, recognized his abilities as an artist. In 1902, Borein set up a studio in Oakland. He was 29 years old and, although he had no formal training, was making a name for himself as a western genre painter. In 1907 Borein moved to New York City and studied art, including etching, with Childe Hassam and Ernest Roth at the famed Art Students League. When Borein returned to California, he set up a studio in Santa Barbara and, during the 1920s, taught at the Santa Barbara School of Art. Deeply fascinated by the Old West, Borein was acquainted with Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill Cody, Will Rogers and Theodore Roosevelt, and was also friends with the well known journalist and humorist, Irving S. Cobb. Borein is best known for his metal plate engravings, but is also appreciated for his pen and ink illustrations and watercolor paintings. (He abandoned oil painting early in his career.) Borein died in Santa Barbara at the age of 72.
John Gregory Bourke (1846-1896) was born into an Irish immigrant family that valued learning. In 1865, after serving in the Civil War for three years and earning a Medal of Honor, Bourke was appointed a cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Bourke was deeply interested in ethnological studies and had been studying the Apache Indians since the early 1870s. In April 1881, he was assigned by General Phillip Sheridan to the "the duty of investigating the manners and customs of the Pueblo, Apache and Navajo Indians." He maintained extensive diaries while in the Army, and detailed and extensive entries were devoted his observations of Native peoples. His diaries, available on microfilm, are housed at the United States Military Library at West Point, New York. Bourke also published extensively. His major historical and ethnological works are: An Apache Campaign in the Sierra Madres; (1886); On the Border with Crook (1891); and Medicine Men of the Apache (1892). Bourke served as president of the Society of American Folk-Lore from December 1895 until his death the following year. Bourke died at the age of fifty, disappointed that his scholarly work was not acknowledge by the U. S. Army through further promotions. Nonetheless, the value of his work continues to be recognized posthumously as a major contribution to the early history of Arizona, and of Apache and non-Indian relations.
William L. Bryant (c.1870-1947) was born in Buffalo, N. Y. He was trained as a lawyer and worked as a practicing attorney for 12 years, from 1897 until 1909, while living in Buffalo. In 1909 Bryant switched careers to pursue his lifelong interest in paleontology. He joined the staff of the Buffalo Museum of Science (Fort Erie Grove, Welland County, Ontario) and, in 1917, became its director. Bryant's main research and collecting interests were in paleoichthyology (fossil fish) and conodonts (a Paleozoic marine invertebrate). Bryant is best known for collecting and photographing an extremely large collection of fossil fish from the Devonian period of the Paleozoic era. He discovered these fossils in Colorado and Canada and published extensively on the subject. In 1925, Bryant became the director of the Williams Rogers Park Museum (now the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium) in Providence, Rhode Island. He was 55 years old. He served there until his death, at age 77, in 1947. Bryant is also credited with forming the last great geological collection for that museum.
Donald Cadzow (1894-1960) was born and raised in the small town of Auburn, in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State, but in 1912, when he was just 17 years old, he journeyed 80 miles north of the Arctic Circle to live with his Uncle Dan. Cadzow's uncle operated Rampart House, a Hudson Bay Company trading post. Cadzow joined the staff of the Museum of the American Indian—Heye Foundation late in 1916. The following year, George G. Heye sent Cadzow back to the Canadian Arctic and Alaska to collect for the museum. Upon returning from the arctic, Cadzow joined the Navy. He served as a navigation officer and received an Ensign's commission just before the close of the war in 1918. After the war, Cadzow rejoined the staff of the Museum of the American Indian--eye Foundation. During his 12-year tenure at the museum, Cadzow participated in several archaeological and ethnological collecting expeditions. He made 4 field trips north and collected over 2,000 objects from northern Athapaskan and Plains peoples. His most publicized fieldtrip was made in 1927, when he was a member of the Putnam Baffin Island Expedition, led by George Palmer Putnam. Cadzow made ethnographic collections from southwest Baffin Island. The expedition crew, which sailed aboard Captain Robert Bartlett's schooner, the Morrissey, kept in contact "with civilization" through radio and wireless dispatches which were published in the New York Times.
Cadzow resigned from the Museum of the American Indian—Heye Foundation on May 1st, 1928. In 1929 he became the State Archaeologist of Pennsylvania, holding that position until he retired in 1956. Cadzow was a founding member of the Eastern States Archaeological Federation. From 1945 until 1956, Cadzow served as the executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Cadzow died outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, shortly before his 65th birthday.
Milford Chandler (1889-1981) was born in Walnut, Illinois. Chandler was captivated, early on, by automotive engineering and studied engineering at the Armour Institute in Chicago. Upon graduating he went to work on developing a gasoline engine and became acquainted with Walter Chrysler, head of Buick Motors. Throughout his early career as an automotive engineer in Chicago, Chandler collected Indian art from neighboring tribes. His desire to collect was sparked by his acquaintance with George Dorsey, curator and field collector at the Field Museum of Natural History. Chandler began to collect Indian art around 1915 and continued to collect seriously until about 1926. Chandler is one of the first major collectors of Indian art to be concerned with connoisseurship. He befriended several traditional artists. In 1933 Chandler decided to work for himself, designing an automotive fuel injector pump. In 1936 he moved to Detroit where he continued his work on his fuel injector pump for the Vickers Corporation. Chandler left the Vickers Corporation during WWII. He was unemployed for several years before he eventually went to work managing the Wessel Gun Shop, also in Detroit. Chandler was a serious gun, as well as Indian art, collector and was extremely knowledgeable about firearms. Chandler retired in 1961 when the Wessel Gun Shop was sold. Chandler reproduced Indian artwork, often wooden objects such as pipe stems, war clubs or bowls. He also made two Plains shields. --ccording to Richard A. Pohrt, however, he never offered these pieces for sale (1992:306). Over the years, Chandler sold many pieces from his collection, to individuals and also to institutions, including the Museum of the American Indian—Heye Foundation. What remained of Chandler's collection was eventually bought by his life-long friend (the son of a business colleague), Richard A. Pohrt. Chandler's health started declining in early 1981. He died at the age of 92 Sierra Madre, California.
Born in Paducah, Kentucky, Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb (1876-1944) became the managing editor of the Paducah Daily News at the age of nineteen. In 1904 he moved to New York City and became a staff writer for the Evening World and Sunday World. Cobb quickly became known for his penetratingly shrewd and witty commentary. He was syndicated in several newspapers and frequently wrote features for magazines. He was extremely well known in his day. He authored thousands of columns, more than 300 short stories, and over 60 books. He even wrote plays and scenarios for films. Cobb died in New York City at the age of 68.
From the time he was in high school, Donald B. Cordry (1907-1978) was deeply interested in set design and puppetry. He attended the Minneapolis Institute of Art and started carving wooden marionettes and hand puppets in his early twenties. In 1934 Cordry moved to New York and landed work as a marionette designer for the well-known and highly-respected puppeteer, Tony Sarg. By this time, Cordry had already made his first trip to Mexico, in 1931, where he had become fascinated by contemporary Mexican Indian art, especially mask making. In New York, Cordry sought out George G. Heye and collected for Heye from 1935 until 1938. On his first collecting trip for Heye, in 1935, Cordry traveled throughout the states of Michoacan and Guerrero collecting carved and painted dance masks.
Cordry married fellow artist, Dorothy Mann, in 1936 and traveled for six months through Nayarit, Jalisco and southern Sonora, photographing the Huichol, Cora and Mayo Indians, in addition to collecting extensively. The Cordries moved to Mexico in 1938 and Cordry established his own design business and produced Mexican folk art-style crafts for home decoration. Cordry also assembled an extensive library dealing with pre- and post-conquest Mexico and had become something of a self-styled ethnographer. Together with his wife, Cordry published
Edward Harvey Davis (1862-1951) was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. In late 1884, at the age of 22, he moved to California, arriving in San Diego in January, 1885. Skilled as a draftsman, Davis became a map-maker and drawer of house plans. In 1887, with his father's assistance, he invested in local real estate and made a profit which allowed him to purchase 320 acres of land in Mesa Grande, California. It was after he purchased this land that Davis began to collect Diegueño and other Indian artifacts. Davis eventually built an abode structure just to house his collection. In 1915, his collection was purchased by the Museum of the American Indian--Heye Foundation. It numbered several hundred objects. Heye then hired Davis to work for him as a field collector of ethnological specimens. Working for the MAI--HF, Davis collected material from the native peoples of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Davis spent more than 35 years working as a professional museum field collector. He maintained field notes, artifact lists and expense accounts. He often illustrated his notes with sketches and took photographs--identifying the people in them. Davis died at the age of 89.
Theodore de Booy (1882-1919) was one of the original members of George Gustav Heye's scientific staff who fanned out across the Western Hemisphere to collect American Indian specimens. De Booy was born in Hellevoetsluis, Netherlands. He came to the United States in 1906 when he was 24 years old. His interest in antiquities was piqued on a trip to the Bahama Islands in 1911. While there he explored several caves and mounds and, on his return to the United States, published an article in the American Anthropologist entitled, "Lucayan Remains on the Caicos Islands." De Booy joined the staff of the Heye Museum as a field explorer working in the West Indies, in 1912. Over the next six years, until 1918, De Booy undertook a number of archaeological expeditions for Heye. He conducted excavations in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Santo Domingo, on the island of Saona, Cuba, the island of Margarita in Venezuela, and in Trinidad. After leaving Heye's employ, de Booy worked for a short time at the University of Pennsylvania Museum and then joined the State Department Inquiry, as a specialist for South America. De Booy died in Yonkers, New York at the age of 37. He was a victim of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918.
Frances Theresa Densmore (1867-1957) was born in Red Wing, Minnesota to Benjamin and Sarah Densmore. Densmore began piano lessons at an early age and became exposed to American Indian music when quite young, living close to Lakota people. Densmore attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she studied the organ and harmony, in addition to the piano. After Oberlin, Densmore became a church organist and taught music. Around 1890, she move to Boston to continue her studies in music. There, she learnt about Alice Cunningham Fletcher's work among the Omaha Indians. Densmore wrote to Fletcher and Fletcher quickly became Densmore's mentor.
Densmore's first field work was among the Chippewa of Grande Portage, in 1905. In 1908 the Bureau of American Ethnology provided Densmore with a graphophone. Densmore's association with the BAE lasted fifty years. Densmore worked among the Cocopah, Makah, Winnebago, Lakota, Mandan and Hidatsa, Northern Ute, Nootka and Quileute, Ojibwa, Onondaga, Omaha, Apache and Navajo, Santo Domingo, Cheyenne and Arapaho, Maidu, Choctaw, Pawnee, Papago, Menominee, Chippewa, Yuma, Yaqui, Seminole, Acoma, Isleta, Cochiti, Zuni, Chitimacha and Alibamu Indian peoples. She also worked with the Tule Indians of Panama. Densmore served as a founding Officer and second Vice-President of the Society for Ethnomusicology in 1956. She recorded over 2,400 American Indian songs. She died at the age of 90.
This folder had previously been mislabeled under the name "Aurora Koehler" and was formerly in B259.6.
Folder 5-6, 11-12, were msislabeled as Margaret Elliott and are now in the Septima V. Koehler collection (NMAI.AC.319). Folder 10 was mislabled as Margaret Elliott and is now in the Ida R. Fick collection (NMAI.AC.217).
June 6, 1852-June 11, 1945 George Thornton Emmons was born in Baltimore Maryland and attended the U.S. Naval Academy attaining the rank of lieutenant j.g. in 1883 and lieutenant in 1887. While being stationed in Sitka, Alaska Emmons became interested in the native cultures of the region, particularly the Tlingit and Tahltan. He collected over 11000 objects and sold his first collection of 1351 artifacts to the American Museum of Natural History in 1888. Emmons accompanied the Alaska exhibit during the World's Columbian Exposition from 1891-1893 and began writing up his Tlingit research for AMNH in 1894. Following his retirement from the Navy, Emmons continued collecting Alaskan artifacts which he sold to collectors, including George Heye. In 1932 Emmons moved to Victoria, British Columbia to work on his Tlingit book, which was still unfinished at his death in 1945. Following his death, his manuscript based on 40 years of research and writing was taken over by Frederica de Laguna and 1955 and finally published in 1991.
Notes on 00/4316 - 00/4350 (004316-004350).
Previously in B215.10 (OC058, Folder 9).
Previously in B216.1 (OC058, Folder 1) and B217.2 (OC082, Folder 9)
Notes on 00/9203-00/9301, 00/9305-009312 (009203-009301, 009305-009312).
Previously in B216.1 (OC058, Folder 1).
Notes on 00/9313-00/9410, 00/9762-009764 (009313-009410, 009762-009764).
Previously in B215.10 (OC058, Folder 9) and B217.4 (OC058, Folder 2)
Notes on 01/0853-01/1013 (010853-011013)
Previously in B215.9 (OC058, Folder 8) and B215.10 (OC058, Folder 9).
Notes on 00/9989-01/0001, 01/1207 (009989-010001, 011207)
Previously in B215.4 (OC058, Folder 6) and B217.1 (OC058, Folder 4).
Notes on 01/2168-01/2183, 01/2491-01/2534 (012168-012183, 012491-012534).
Previously in B217.3 (OC082, Folder 10).
Notes on 01/2914-01/2930 (012914-012930).
Previously in B217.1 (OC058, Folder 4).
Notes on 01/4165-01/4368, 01/4375 (014165-014368, 014375).
Previously in B215.4 (OC058, Folder 6) and B217.1 (OC058, Folder 4).
Notes on 02/6935-02/6998 (026935-026998).
Previously in B215.4 (OC058, Folder 6) and B215.9 (OC058, Folder 8).
Notes on 02/9066-02/9138 (029066-029138).
Previously in B215.10 (OC058, Folder 9).
Notes on 03/2234-03/2263, 03/3293 (032234-032263, 033293).
Previously in B215.10 (OC058, Folder 9).
Notes on 03/6648-03/6671, 03/5008-03/5036 (036648-036671, 035008-035036).
Previously in B215.9 (OC058, Folder 8).
Notes on 04/0508-04/0514 (040508-040514).
Previously in B215.9 (OC058, Folder 8) and B215.10 (OC058, Folder 9).
Notes on 04/1061-04/1077, 04/1658-04/1679, 04/3122-04/3137 (041061-041077, 041658-041679, 043122-043137).
Previously in B215.5 (OC058, Folder 7) and B215.9 (OC058, Folder 8).
Notes on 05/0835, 05/1197-05/1249 (050835, 051197-051249).
Previously in B215.4 (OC058, Folder 6), B215.8 (OC058, Folder 7C), B215.9 (OC058, Folder 8), B215.10 (OC058, Folder 9) and B217.1 (OC058, Folder 4).
Notes on 05/5017-05/5071, 05/5130, 05/6895-05/6905 (055017-05071, 055130, 056895-056905).
Previously in B215.1 (OC058, Folder 3), B215.4 (OC058, Folder 6) and B215.9 (OC058, Folder 8).
Notes on 05/8664-05/8673, 05/8805-05/8826, 05/8846-05/8848, 05/9307-05/9308, 05/9665-05/9629, 05/9697, 05/9699 (058664-058673, 058805-058826, 058846-058848, 059307-059308, 059665-059629, 059697, 059699
Previously in B215.9 (OC058, Folder 8).
Notes on 06/0524-06/0548, 06/6278-06/6301, 06/6303-06/3626 (060524-060548, 066278-066301, 066303-063626).
Previously in B215.4 (OC058, Folder 6) B215.9 (OC058, Folder 8) and B215.10 (OC058, Folder 9).
Notes on 07/4411-07/4437, 08/4483-08/4497, 08/7996-08/8016, 08/8466-08/8471 (074411-074437, 084483-084497, 087996-088016, 088466-088471)
Previously in B215.1 (OC058, Folder 3) B217.3 (OC082, Folder 10).
Notes on 09/1847-09/1856, 00/0521 (re-used catalog number) (091847-091856, 000521).
Previously in B216.1 (OC058, Folder 1) B216.8 (OC082, Folder 1).
Notes on 09/7843-09/8152 (097843-098152).
Previously in B216.1 (OC058, Folder 1) B216.8 (OC082, Folder 1).
Notes on 09/7843-09/8152 (097843-098152).
Previously in B215.4 (OC058, Folder 6).
Notes on 09/7254, 10/1776-10/1783 (097254, 101776-101783).
Previously in B216.5 (OC082, Folder 3)
Notes on 10/1805-10/1923 (101805-101923).
Previously in B215.5 (OC058, Folder 7).
Notes on 10/4575-10/104584 (104575-104584).
Previously in B215.1 (OC058, Folder 3), B215.2 (OC058, Folder 5) and B215.9 (OC058, Folder 8).
Notes on 11/0346-11/0362, 11/1745-11/1791, 11/1803, 11/1814, 11/1844 (110346-110362, 111745-111791, 111803, 111814, 111844).
Previously in B215.2 (OC058, Folder 5) and B215.3 (OC058, Folder 5A).
Notes on 11/3843-11/3929 (113843-113929).
Previously in B215.4 (OC058, Folder 6).
Notes on 11/5400-11/5463 (115400-115463).
Previously in B215.9 (OC058, Folder 8) and B215.10 (OC058, Folder 9).
Notes on 12/2448-12/2484, 13/1980-13/1993
Previously in B215.1 (OC058, Folder 3)
Notes on 12/7946-12/7951, 13/2081-13/2082, 13/3955-13/4059 (127946-127951, 132081-132082, 133955-134059).
Previously in B215.4 (OC058, Folder 6)
Notes on 14/1715-14/1719, 14/4345-14/4363, 14/3272 (141715-141719, 144345-14/4363, 143272).
Previously in B215.9 (OC058, Folder 8) and B215.10 (OC058, Folder 9)
Notes on 14/9081-14/9082, 15/1321-15/1366 (149081-14/082, 151321-151366).
Previously in B215.6 (OC058, Folder 7A) and B215.8 (OC058, Folder 7C)
Notes on 15/4397-15/4427, 15/6098-15/6147 (154397-154427, 156098-156147)
Previously in B215.6 (OC058, Folder 7A).
Notes on 15/8947-15/8998 (158947-158998).
Previously in B215.6 (OC058, Folder 7A) and B215.8 (OC058, Folder 7C).
Notes on 16/0472-16/0476, 16/1719-16/1721, 16/2069-16/2088, 16/2765-16/3335 (160472-160476, 161719-161721, 162069-162088, 162765-163335).
Previously in B215.6 (OC058, Folder 7A).
Notes on 16/6052, 16/6789-16/6795 (166052, 166789-166795).
Previously in B217.1 (OC058, Folder 4).
Notes on 17/6676-17/6681 (176676-176681).
Previously in B215.8 (OC058, Folder 7C).
Notes on 18/1053-18/1070 (181053-181070).
Previously in B215.7 (OC058, Folder 7B) and B216.1 (OC058, Folder 1).
Notes on 18/2098, 18/6534-18/6538 (182098, 186534-186538).
Previously in B215.4 (OC058, Folder 6) and B215.7 (OC058, Folder 7B).
Notes on 19/0765-19/0812 (190765-190812).
Previously in B215.5 (OC058, Folder 7), B215.11 (OC126, Folder 21), B216.1 (OC058, Folder 1) and B217.1 (OC058, Folder 4).
Notes on 20/6175-20/6195 (20/6175-20/6195).
Previously in B216.5 (OC082, Folder 3).
Previously in B216.7 (OC082, Folder 8).
Previously in B216.6 (OC082, Folder 7).
Previously in B216.3 (OC082, Folder 11).
George Jackson Fisher (1825-1893) was born into a prosperous and prominent Dutch family in Westchester County, New York. His father had been a merchant in New York City and fought against the British as the captain of a company in the war of 1812. Fisher studied medicine at the University of New York and graduated in 1849. In 1851 he was appointed physician and surgeon to Sing Sing Prison. He was U. S. examining surgeon for twenty years, from approximately 1854 to 1874. At the request of President Lincoln, Fisher attended wounded at the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day in the history of the Civil War. Thousands of Confederate and Union soldiers were killed and wounded. Fisher later became the president of Ossining Hospital. He also served as the president of the New York State medical society. Fisher died of blood poisoning contracted while treating a patient.
Leo Joachim Frachtenberg (1883-1930) was born in Austria. He moved to the United States and became well respected as an anthropologist, publishing articles in scholarly journals including the American Anthropologist and Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin. Frachtenberg worked mainly among the native peoples of Oregon. His interests were primarily linguistic. In 1907, Frachtenberg was working under the auspices of the Bureau of American Ethnology among the Tutelo on the Grand River Reservation in Ontario. Following in the footsteps of Edward Sapir, he collected what he could of Tutelo vocabulary. In 1909 Frachtenberg was the Assistant United States Commissioner of Immigration and in 1910 he was chief of the foreign population census of New York City. In 1911 Frachtenberg was again working under the auspices of the Bureau of American Ethnology and also of Columbia University. He was conducting a study of the Siuslawan language on Siletz reservation in Oregon. In the summer of 1915 and fall of 1916, Frachtenberg conducted ethnological and linguistic studies among the Quileute on the Quileute reservation at Lapush, Washington. During the latter part of the 1920s Frachtenberg was the national field director for the Palestinian Foundation Fund (later known as the United Jewish Appeal). The Palestinian Foundation Fund was an arm of the World Zionist Fund, whose purpose was to help build and develop a Jewish homeland. Frachtenberg died in Waterloo, Iowa at the age of 47.
Charles Wellington Furlong (1874-1967) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Atherton Bernard and Carletta Eleanor Furlong. He studied drawing and painting at the Massachusetts Normal Art School and, after teaching studio art a short time at Cornell University, he began to travel through Africa and much of South America. In South America Furlong explored Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Bolivia, French, Guiana, Surinam and Venezuela. Furlong served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army and as an aide to president Wilson during the Paris Peace Conference. Furlong was a member of the Explorers Club, as was George G. Heye. He died in Hanover, New Hampshire.
CORRESPONDENCE AND CATALOG NOTES PERTAINING TO AN OGLALA SIOUX TEEPEE SKIN LOANED TO MAI FROM GREELY. PREVIOUSLY MIS-LABLED AS HARROWER MATERIAL AND ENTERED AS BOX 247, FOLDER 2.
George Bird Grinnell (1849-1938) was born into a prominent family in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Yale University, receiving his B.A. in 1870 and a Ph.D. in paleontology in 1880. While at Yale, Grinnell participated in a paleontological expedition to the central Plains, Wyoming and Utah. In 1874 he served as naturalist and paleontologist in Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer's Black Hills expedition and, in 1875, was a member of William Ludlow's expedition surveying the Yellowstone. In 1899 Grinnell was a naturalist on Edward H. Harriman Expedition to Alaska. In 1876, four years before he earned his Ph.D., Grinnell became the editor-in-chief and soon-to-be owner of Forest and Stream magazine. Under his leadership, it became the country's foremost natural history magazine. Grinnell was the magazine's editor from 1876 until 1911, and he used its pages to help promote the creation of national parks. He was deeply interested in Plains Indians and spent his summers visiting different reservations. He had befriended Frank North and his Pawnee scouts, and accompanied them on buffalo and elk hunts. Grinnell, a prolific writer, authored several books and many articles on Cheyenne, Blackfoot, and Pawnee Indians.
Grinnell was a founding member of both the Audubon Society and Boone and Crockett Club. He chaired the Council on National Parks, Forests and Wildlife, and was president of the National Parks Association. He was a trustee of the New York Zoological Society. Grinnell was also a prominent member of many other associations, such as the American Association of the Advancement of Science and New York Academy of Science. Grinnell was 89 years old when he died in New York City.
After high school, Irving A. Hallowell (1892-1974) attended the University of Pennsylvania where he met Frank G. Speck. Intrigued by Speck's accounts of his field experiences among American Indians, Hallowell enrolled in several of Speck's anthropology classes. With Speck as his mentor, Hallowell began conducting field research among the St. Francis Abenaki in eastern Canada and attended one of Franz Boas' seminars at Columbia University. Immersed in the study of "culture traits" and "trait complexes," Hallowell wrote his dissertation on the geographical distribution of traits associated with bear ceremonies in both the Old and New Worlds. It was published in 1926 as "Bear Ceremonialism in the Northern Hemisphere" in the American Anthropologist.
Hallowell became a highly respected and influential anthropologist. His theoretical formulations were almost always based upon ethnographic field research with North American Indians, especially the Ojibwa. Hallowell served as president of the American Anthropological Association in 1949. In 1965 a festschrift,
M. R. Harrington (1882-1971) was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on July 6, 1882, to Rose Martha Smith Harrington and Mark Walrod Harrington, astronomer, meteorologist, and then director of the University of Michigan's Detroit Observatory. The family later lived in Washington DC; Seattle, Washington; and Mount Vernon, New York. Harrington's early interest in Indians and the discoveries of ancient sites and artifacts near his home in New York led him to F. W. Putnam of the American Museum of Natural History. While still a teenager, Harrington worked for Putnam, excavating sites around New York City. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in anthropology from Columbia University in New York, writing his 1908 master's thesis on Iroquois archaeology.
Harrington met and worked for George Gustav Heye in collecting ethnological and archaeological artifacts even before Heye transformed his extensive collection into the Museum of the American Indian. In February 1916, Harrington came to Fulton (Hempstead County) to lead an archaeological expedition in the Red River valley for the newly formed museum. Harrington's team explored Caddo mound and village sites in Hempstead, Howard, and Garland counties. Harrington then published descriptions of the sites, interpreted sequences of building and mound construction, and illustrated representative artifacts in Certain Caddo Sites in Arkansas. Harrington's work in northwest Arkansas began after the Museum of the American Indian purchased a collection from W. C. Barnard of Missouri, including Indian basketry and other organic objects preserved by the unusually arid conditions of some Ozark Mountain rock shelters. Harrington directed an expedition to the area for the museum in 1922 and 1923. Harrington published an article on this work in American Anthropologist in 1924, but his book on the subject,
M.R. Harrington: Catalog and Specimen List, Various Tribes
M.R. Harrington: Catalog and Specimen List, Various Tribes
M.R. Harrington: Catalog and Specimen List, Various Tribes
M.R. Harrington: Catalog and Specimen List, Various Tribes
M.R. Harrington: Correspondence, Big White Owl
M.R. Harrington: Correspondence, Bureau of American Ethnology
M.R. Harrington: Correspondence, Cuba
M.R. Harrington: Correspondence, Cuba
M.R. Harrington: Correspondence, General
M.R. Harrington: Correspondence, General
M.R. Harrington: Correspondence with G.G. Heye
M.R. Harrington: Correspondence, Laidlaw and Macdonald
M.R. Harrington: Correspondence, Personal
M.R. Harrington: Correspondence, Professional, A-G
M.R. Harrington: Correspondence, Professional, Hurst
CORRESPONDENCE WITH Nelson, O'Fallon, Ortiz, Park, Parsons, Philhower, Prada, Rey, Robinson, Rodriguez, Sanders, Skinner, Skye, Smith, Speck, Valdes.
Thea Heye (1888-1935) grew up in Virginia and had previously been married to a Mr. Page and had one daughter by that marriage. She married George Gustav Heye in 1915 and they spent their honeymoon excavating the Nacoochee Mound site in Georgia. She was the first woman to be elected to the board of the MAI before her death in 1935.
Frederick Hodge (1864-1956) was an editor, anthropologist, archaeologist, and historian born in Plymouth, England to Edwin and Emily (Webb) Hodge. His parents moved to Washington, D.C. when Frederick was seven years old.
In Washington, he attended Cambridge College (George Washington University). Hodge was employed by the Smithsonian Institution in 1901 as executive assistant in charge of International Exchanges, but transferred to the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1905, where he worked until February 28, 1918. Hodge was the editor for Edward S. Curtis's monumental series
He was associated with Columbia University, Hemenway Southwestern Archaeological Expedition, and the U.S. Geological Survey. He was the director of the Southwest Museum of the American Indian in Los Angeles. He served as executive officer at the Smithsonian Institution, chairman of the Committee of Editorial Management and the Committee dealing with the Linguistic Families North of Mexico. He was a member of the Committee on Archaeological Nomenclature, the Committee of Policy, the National Research Council, and the Laboratory of Anthropology, School of American Research, Journal of Physical Anthropology, and the Museum of the American Indian.
Dr. Joseph Jones was born in 1833 in Liberty County, Ga., graduated from Princeton in 1853 and received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1856. Jones worked as a professor at the University of Georgia at Athens (1858), the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta (1859-1966) and the Institutes of Medicine in the University of Nashville (1866-1868) before becoming a professor of chemistry and clinical medicine at the University of Louisiana, now Tulane University. Jones served as president of the Louisiana State Board of Health from 1800 to 1884 and was involved with several scientific and historical societies. Jones maintained an interest in studying archaeological research on Indian mounds and kept correspondence with MAI Director E.K. Burnett. Additional personal papers can be found at Cornell. http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/RMM09152.html
April 12, 1872 --July 4, 1956 Joseph W. Keppler (1872-1956) or "Kep," was the son of Joseph Keppler, the great political cartoonist and founder and publisher of the popular and highly influential magazine, Puck. The younger Keppler was born in St. Louis, Missouri and educated in Munich, Germany and New York City. Like his father, he too was a political cartoonist. He became the art director at Puck and, when his father died in 1894, took over as publisher. Joseph W. Keppler ran the magazine until he sold it in 1914. The younger Keppler's two great interests in life were said to be Puck and American Indians. Evidently, Keppler's deep interest in Indians and Indian affairs developed out of his desire to collect Indian relics—and his friendship with Mrs. Harriet Maxwell Converse, an early advocate for native rights. Through Converse, Keppler built friendships with Iroquois living on reservations in New York State and Canada, but especially with Senecas living on the Cattaraugus and Tonawanda reservations in New York. At Converse's funeral in 1903, the 31-year-old Keppler was adopted by the Seneca Nation and made a member of the Wolf Clan. Like Converse, Keppler served as an advocate for Senecas. Most importantly, he worked to help defeat or modify plans to allot Iroquois reservations in New York State.
Overtime, Keppler became a major collector of American Indian objects and his passion to collect led to an association with George G. Heye. Keppler served as a trustee and also vice-president of the Museum of the American Indian—Heye Foundation. He became a trustee in 1927 and resigned from the board in 1942. In 1944 Keppler and his (second) wife Vera left New York and moved to California. Keppler died in La Jolla, California at the age of 84.
The material previously in Box 259, Folders 4-7 marked as "Aurora Koehler" are now part of the Septima V. Koehler collection (NMAI.AC.319).
For almost fifteen years, from 1909 until 1923, Norwegian Christian Leden (1882-1957), explored Greenland and the northernmost parts of Canada making ethnographic studies of little known Eskimo societies—and commercial studies of their environment. Born near Trondheim, Norway, Leden was educated in Oslo and Berlin. He studied music and anthropology. Leden's expeditions were supported by the King of Norway, the Norwegian government, the University of Christiania, the Ethnographic Museum of Berlin, the Royal Museum of Berlin, the University of Berlin, Danish Societies, the Geological Society of Canada, Columbia University, the American Museum of Natural History and private backers. Leden's primary anthropological concern was to prove the relationship—the common ancestry—between Eskimos and North American Indians. Leden sought to accomplish this by comparing the structure of their music. Traveling with a "phonographic outfit" as well as "motion picture machine", Leden made over 6,000 wax cylinder recordings.
Leden traveled to the far north in 1909, 1910, 1912, 1913, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, and 1923. He gave frequent lectures to help publicize and fund his expeditions. Despite the number of expeditions he led, Leden published very little. His major work, a travelogue more than an ethnography, is,
Samuel Kirkland Lothrop (1882-1965) was born in 1892. Upon his graduation from Harvard College, he joined A.V. Kidder's archaeological dig at Pecos (New Mexico), thus beginning a long and illustrious career at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. After earning a PhD in anthropology (Harvard), Lothrop was appointed Director of the Museum's Central American Expedition (1916-1917). Between 1922 and 1931, Lothrop conducted archaeological and ethnological studies for the Museum of the American Indian in New Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Central America. In 1940, Lothrop assumed the position of Assistant Curator (Middle America Archaeology) of the Peabody Museum and became Curator of the Department in 1943. He assumed the position of Curator for Andean Archeology from 1947 until his retirement in 1960
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges (1882-1959) is known for both his success as a big-game deep-sea fisherman and as a gentleman explorer. Looking for adventure, he and Lady Richmond Brown undertook at least six expeditions, beginning in 1922, to Panama where they visited and collected among the San Blas Cuna. They believed that they had discovered an unknown race of Indians. Lady Brown and Mitchell-Hedges' expeditions were often taken under the auspices of the British Museum or Museum of the American Indian—Heye Foundation. In 1924, Mitchell-Hedges and Lady Brown accompanied Dr. T. W. F. Gann on his expedition to southern British Honduras (Belize) when Dr. Gann explored the Late Classic Mayan city of Lubaantun. Mitchell-Hedges authored five books and several magazine articles. He died in Shaldon, England at the age of 76.
After the death of both her parents at a young age, Grace Nicholson (1877-1948) supported herself as a stenographer and then as a manager of an amusement casino in Atlantic City. In 1902, Nicholson moved to California and started collecting baskets and other Indian artifacts with Carol S. Hartman, a family friend. They later opened a small shop to sell the baskets they collected. Between 1903 and 1910, she traveled throughout California, Oregon, Washington and the Southwest to collect from weavers and opened a larger shop in Pasadena. In 1909 she received a silver medal for her collections displayed in Seattle at the Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exposition. Throughout her collecting career, Nicholoson maintained a correspondence with George Heye until her death in 1948.
Grace Nicholson: Correspondence, Wm. Benson
Grace Nicholson: Correspondence, Wm. Benson
Grace Nicholson: Inventories and Clippings
Image number 011 "Holiday Handcraft" has been removed from the slideshow due to culutral sensitivity.
Grace Nicholson: Notes and Photos
Grace Nicholson: Pomo Indian Creation Myths
Grace Nicholson: Pomo Indian Stories
Geoffrey O'Hara folders (Box 263, Folder 3 to Box 264, Folder 4) have been removed from the MAI records NMAI.AC.001 and are now in their own collection, NMAI.AC.287. They, along with additional photographs and sound recordings, make up the Geoffrey O'Hara collection.
W.O. Oldman: Correspondence, Catalog Lists
Born in Tottenville, Staten Island, George Hubbard Pepper (1873-1924) became interested in archaeology and the "prehistory" of American Indians as a boy. When Pepper was 22 years old, he spent a winter working at the Peabody Museum of Harvard University. The next year, in 1896, Pepper became assistant curator of the Department of the Southwest in the American Museum of Natural History. From 1896 until 1900, Pepper conducted archaeological work, during the summer months, at Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, as part of the AMNH's Hyde Exploring Expedition. Although Pepper's interests were always primarily archaeological, while he was working in the Southwest he visited several Pueblos. He also visited the Navajo and, becoming interested in Navajo weaving techniques, began collecting Navajo textiles to build his own study collection. He eventually gave his collection to the Museum of the American Indian—Heye Foundation.
While still employed by the American Museum of Natural History, Pepper participated in at least two archaeological expeditions sponsored by George G. Heye for the Heye Museum. Pepper excavated in Michoacan, Mexico in 1904 and, with Marshall H. Saville, in Manabi, Ecuador, in 1907. Pepper left the American Museum of Natural History in 1909 and joined the staff of the Department of American Archaeology at the University Museum in Philadelphia. The following year, in 1910, he began working full-time for George G. Heye and became part of the staff of the Museum of the American Indian—Heye Foundation when it was established in 1916. Pepper worked at the Museum of the American Indian—Heye Foundation until his death at the age of 51. He seems to have had an especially close relationship with George G. Heye. Pepper took part in numerous archaeological expeditions for the Museum of the American Indian—Heye Foundation, including the Hendricks-Hodge Expedition at the Zuni site of Hawikuh. Pepper was involved in several professional associations and was a founding member of the American Anthropological Association.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Warren K. Moorehead, James Terry, Marshall Saville, E.T. Jeffrey, Richard Wetherill, W.J. Holland, H. Cushing, Frederic Ward Putnam, Washington Matthews, Sumner Matteson, George Wharton James, Daniel H. McMillan, William Hornaday, Charles Lummis, Ales Hrdlicka.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: George Dorsey, George Wharton James, Washington Matthews, C.V. Hartman, Phoebe Hearst, Rudolf Cronau, Frederic Ward Putnam, Richard Andree, Joseph Thompson, Harlan Smith, Charles C. Willoughby, D.F. Tozier.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Frederic Ward Putnam, Walter L. Johnson, F.J. Skiff, A.N. Marquis, Franz Boas, C.F. Millspaugh, Rudolf Cronau, John Lloyd Thomas.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: H.F. Robinson, John Lloyd Thomas, D.F. Tozier, Elizabeth Putnam Herse, T. Mitchell Prudden, Archibald Reid, Homer Sargent.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Minnie E. Thompson, Homer Sargent, S. Mcleod, T. Mitchell Prudden, Frederic Ward Putnam,, Stephen Peet, Charles C. Willoughby, University of Chicago Library, E.P. Ripley.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Edward P. Valentine, Homer Sargent, H.C. White, Glenn Marston, W.C. Witte, T. Mitchell Prudden, P.M. Pearson, William Caldwell, Archibald Reid, Frederic Ward Putnam.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Isaac Wetherill, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, Willis Cloitte, Homer Sargent, Frank P. Sauerwen, Eastman Kodak Company.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: George Kunz, John Swanton, Isaac Wetherill, Frank Strowger, Frank P. Sauerwen, Mary Schenk Woolman, Richard Wetherill, G.E. Stechert, Fred Volz, Homer Sargent, Edgar L. Hewett, Charles Lummis, Frederick W. Hodge, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, C. Hart Merriam, Otis T. Mason, William Henry Holmes, Sumner Matteson.
George Pepper: Correspondence, St. Agatha School Visit
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Frederick Starr, G.E. Kastengren, Walter Hough, George Bird Grinnell, L.O. Howard, Homer Sargent, William H. Goodyear, William Curtis Farabee, Thomas S. Dozier, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, George Grant MacCurdy, Louis Agassiz Fuentes, J.W. Volz, E. H. Thompson, Frederick W. Hodge, Frederick E Hyde, Jr., Grace Nicholson, Franklin W. Hooper, Mr. Fuller, Charles de Kay, Henry M. Whelpley, Frederic Ward Putnam, Henry Hales, Otis T. Mason, George Dorsey, Warren K. Moorehead, John F. Kerr, Antonio Penafiel, F. Stanley Livingston, M.C. Long, A. Fogg, Romiett Stevens, Sumner Matteson.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: M.C. Long, George DeForest Smith, L.O. Howard, Romiett Stevens, Richard Wetherill, James E. Lough, George Kunz, Zelia Nuttall, Lizzie Fulton, Edgar L. Hewett, T. Mitchell Prudden, Frederick W. Hodge, Frederic Ward Putnam, William Henry Holmes, Constance Goddard DuBois, Evelyn Valentini, Franklin W. Hooper, W. J. Andrus, Charles W. Mead, C.H. Townsend, Homer Sargent, John H. Cobbs, L. H. Brittin, Walter L. Johnson.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Albert Grignard, W.C. Witte, Zelia Nuttall, L.O. Howard, A. Froidevaux, C.H. Townsend, Charles H. Ward, John H. Cobbs, Charles Lummis, W. J. Andrus, W. J. McGee, William H. Goodyear, E. Snyder, Thomas S. Dozier, Frederick W. Hodge, Luis Garcia Pimental, T. Mitchell Prudden, Richard Dodge, Frederic Ward Putnam, Homer Sargent, George Dorsey, Frank Stowger, John Frederick Huckel, William Henry Holmes, Charles C. Willoughby, Nicolas Leon, D. McGuire.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: DeLancey Gill, William Henry Holmes, Frederic Ward Putnam, Frederick W. Hodge, P.E. Goddard, Alfred L. Kroeber, W.J. Holland, John H. Cobbs, E.P. Ripley, E.T. Jeffrey, Homer Sargent, M.C. Long, W.C. Witte, Anita M. Earl, Franklin W. Hooper, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, Hermon C. Bumpus, George Gustav Heye,, George Lentz, John Frederick Huckel, Clarence B. Moore.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: George Gustav Heye, M.C. Long, John Frederick Huckel, Frederick W. Hodge, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, George Lentz, John H. Cobbs, Harlan Smith, Clarence B. Moore, Homer Sargent, Emily de Forest, Hodgson Bros., Anselm Weber.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, E.P. Ripley, George Gustav Heye, George Lentz, William C. Orchard, Henry Switzer, John Lorenzo Hubbell, Mary Schenck Woolman, G. Carlisle Breckenridge, Hermon C. Bumpus, Harlan Smith, Emily de Forest, Adolph Bandelier, John W. Winser, Homer Sargent, John H. Cobbs, Marshall Saville.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Hermon C. Bumpus, H.U. Mudge, A.G. Wells, John W. Winser, John H. Cobbs, George Gustav Heye, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, Wilhelm (Guillermo) Bauer, Joseph Hagemeister, Emily de Forest, F. Schillinger, Sumner Matteson.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Frank M. Chapman, John H. Cobbs, John Lorenzo Hubbell, Nicolas Leon, Frederick W. Hodge, Ales Hrdlicka, John H. Hinton, Juan B. Ambrosetti, George Gustav Heye, Wilhelm (Guillermo) Bauer, George Grant MacCurdy, William Newell, William L. Brown, Sumner Matteson, George W. Buskirk, Alma P. Kraft, Otis T. Mason, Edgar L. Hewett, Cyrus Thomas, Zelia Nuttall, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, Homer Sargent, Harriet Parsons, Frederic Ward Putnam, J. T. Pike, H. Van Altena, Emily de Forest, Caroline M Hills, Hermon C. Bumpus, Arthur Seligman, William Henry Holmes, J. Dynley Prince, Marshall Saville.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: James M. Goulding, Frederick W. Hodge, Alma P. Kraft, Beutenmuller, Alfred, John H. Cobbs, G. Armeny, Alfred L. Kroeber, Edgar L. Hewett, Frederic Ward Putnam, John Lorenzo Hubbell, Sumner Matteson, L.O. Howard, Anita M. Earl, Hermon C. Bumpus, Emil Berolzheimer, H. Van Altena, L.H. Brittin, G.E. Kastengren, William L. Brown, J. McKeen Cattell, Tappan Adney, J.S. Bartle, Marion Hurlbert, Wilhelm (Guillermo) Bauer.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: W. J. Andrus, Mary E Robbins, J. McKeen Cattell, Marion Hurlbert, Anita Earl, Zelia Nuttall, Albert Grignard, Frederic Ward Putnam, Edgar L. Hewett, Wilhelm (Guillermo) Bauer, G. Armeny, Mary Schenk Woolman, Helen Leah Reed, Thomas Dozier, John H. Cobbs, Hermon C. Bumpus, L.H. Brittin, John Lorenzo Hubbell, George Gustav Heye, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, G.E. Kastengren, Frederick W. Hodge, Alfred L. Kroeber, Emily de Forest, Charles C. Willoughby, Franz Boas, William L. Brown, L.O. Howard,E.S. Belknap.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Wilhelm (Guillermo) Bauer, Alfred L. Kroeber, Willis C. White, John H. Cobbs, Frederick W. Hodge, Caroline M. Hills, Clarence B. Moore, Frederic Ward Putnam, Otis T. Mason, A.E. Bowen, George Grant MacCurdy, Albert Grignard, James Mooney, John Lorenzo Hubbell, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, J.H. Sharp, Mary E. Ridenhaugh, T. Mitchell Prudden, John Hackmann, Homer Sargent, Anita Earl, J. Walter Fewkes, M.C. Long, H. Stadthagen, Frederic Landsberg, J.E. Standley, L.L. Bales, Frank Kendall, Pat Ryan, J.W. Benham, George Sherwood, Howard Clarke, De Lancey Ellis.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: George Lentz, J.F. Arthur, Frederick W. Hodge, C.H. Dye, D.M. Ellis, H. Stadthagen, John Lorenzo Hubbell, C.D. Pickering, Lowdermilk & Co., Otis T. Mason, Pat Ryan, L.H. Brittin, Lincoln National Bank, L.O. Howard, Bennett Bishop, Arthur D. Pickering, Howard Clarke, J.E. Linde, Frederic Ward Putnam, Frederic Landsberg, William L. Brown, T. Mitchell Prudden, Zelia Nuttall, G.W. Geisel, J. Walter Fewkes, Wilhelm (Guillermo) Bauer, John H. Cobbs, Clarence B. Moore, George Grant MacCurdy, Francis E. Vaughan.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Clarence B. Moore, J.F. Arthur, Frederic Ward Putnam, Howard Clarke, Anita Earl, Cyrus Thomas, Francis E. Vaughan, Frederic Landsberg, Charles C. Willoughby, H. Stadthagen, T. Mitchell Prudden, James M. Goulding, J.E. Linde, Franz Boas, Matilda Garretson Rea, Frank Leib, John H. Cobbs, John Winser, Thomas Dozier, Marie Leib, James E. Mullen, J. Walter Fewkes, Charles Lummis.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Frederic Ward Putnam, J. Walter Fewkes, Senor Escude, J. Jungmann, Anita Earl, J.W Benham, H. Stadthagen, Wilhelm (Guillermo) Bauer, Frederick W. Hodge, Walter Hough, John H. Cobbs, George Grant MacCurdy, James E. Mullen, L.O. Howard, Charles C. Willoughby, Charles Lummis, Otis T. Mason, Alfred L. Kroeber, H.H. Harrison, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, Fred A. Musehenheim, Clark Wissler, M.C. Long, Alfred Beutenmuller, E. Pauline Johnson, Tim F. Barnes, Homer Sargent, Berthold Laufer, Fannie Morrisl, M.R. Harrington, W.L. Calver, Fred Schoenbach, George Gustav Heye.
Correspondents: A.J. Moria, Lila Delano, C.H. Nead, Joseph Keppler, Raymond Detwars, George Dorsey, William Ridgeway, Alice Fletcher.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: M.T. Farley, Frederick Monsen, Alice Fletcher, Franz Boas, E.F. Dawson, H. Ernestine Ripley, Matilda Stevenson, Berthold Laufer, Wilhelm (Guillermo) Bauer, W.C. Mills, Nicolas Leon, Mrs. George P. Way, Clark Nissler, W.M. Cary, Clarence B. Moore, George Bird Grinnell, W.C. Curtis, Edward Schernikow, John Frederick Huckel.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Louis Agassiz Fuentes, Henry Fairfield Osborn, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, Otto T. Mallery, George Gustav Heye, Thomas B. Donaldson.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Zelia Nuttall, Thomas B. Donaldson, B. Franklin Pepper, R. Etzenhouser, Warren K. Moorehead, G.A. Paul, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, Edward Sapir, R. Valentini, Department of the Interior (re: Richard Wetherill's death), DeWitt Hubbard Pepper (Brother).
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Richard Van Vredenburgh, Theodoor de Booy, Charles Heuser, J. Walter Fewkes, George Gustav Heye, Bennett Young, Samuel G. Tate, George Payne, Otto B. Giers, Francis LaFlesche, Clarence B. Moore, G.L. Berg, William Curtis Farabee, F.W. Skiff, Charles Furlong, V.T. Hammer, James B. Ford, P.E. Goddard, Fred E. Sander, Edgar L. Hewett, J.E. Standley, Henry D. Paxson, John W. Harrington, Frederick W. Hodge, F.W. Waugh, William J. Seever, Elliot E. Haaseman, V. May White, Henry G. Bayer, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, W.J. MacKAy, Clark Wissler.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Clark Wissler, William Griffiths, Benjamin Talbot Babbitt Hyde, Bob Ritchie, David Ross McCord, William G. Richardson, E.M. Nusbaum, Carl Schondorf?, M.L. Bind, A.V. Kidder, Henry Paxson, Arthur C. Parker, F.K. Swain?, George Gustav Heye, Edgar Thomson, M. Van Epps, Elsie Clews Parsons, James Mooney, W. de Haynes, Charles Nessler, Adelaide Nash Sipperley, Neil M. Judd, Levi W. Merigel, V.T. Hammer, Alanson Skinner.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: David McCord, Neil M. Judd, William M. Stone, G.B. Gordon, Frederick Houghton, Clark Wissler, Malcolm Stone, R.B. Orr, Charles B. Harendeen, Joseph Keppler, Ellis Soper, Joseph H. Shaffner, Charles Sargent, A.V. Kidder, Stephen Van Rensselaer, Harmon Hendricks, E.B. Renaud, George Gustav Heye, John Clarke, John B. Stetson, Arthur C. Parker, Warren K. Moorehead, S.J. Guernsey?, Internal Review, Arthur Hardin, Maggs Bros.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Berthold Laufer, Bella Weitzner, Maggs Bros., R.B. Orr, W.C. Park, Burton Thompson, Harmon Hendricks, F.W. Skiff, Alanson Skinner, Thea Heye, Charles Lummis, George Gustav Heye, Glen Stewart, Jon R. Swanton, Mrs. Frank C. Churchill.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: George Gustav Heye, Harlan Smith, Frank Speck, Benjamin W. Bead, W. Wenzel, Mrs. Mary Livingston, Lillian Hathaway Means, T.A. Joyce, A.E. Jenks, Mrs. Collingswood, Arthur C. Parker, J.W. Benham, Joseph T. Gleason, Anderson Galleries, Zebalon Bartleman, Harmon Hendricks, Thea Heye, Charles A. Neff, Henry D. Paxson, W.A. Hunter, E. Louise White.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Ellis Soper, Collier's National Weekly, C.W. Taylor, W. de F. Haynes, R.B. Twitchell, A.L. Lissburger, A.V. Kidder, Edward Robinson, H.W. Palm, Lilliam Hathaway Mearns, Henry D. Paxson, University of Minnesota, Pathe Review, Joseph Auerbach, E.F. Shanbacker, Ales Hrdlicka, W.C. Park, Berger and Gutowski, George Gustav Heye, Laidlaw.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Ales Hrdlicka, George T. Emmons, George Gustav Heye, James Tregaskis, American Philosophical Society, Arthur C. Parker, Mrs. M.H. Riggs, Alanson Skinner, Henry Andrews, Henry Paxson, Ernest V. Stevens, Frank C. Higgins, Charles S. Mason.
George Pepper: Correspondence
Correspondents: Frank Vorhies, William E. Hawks, Esther Putnam, George Gustav Heye, Teluli, Mary Atwell Moore, Pierre Lecomte du Noüy, Samuel K. Lothrop, Albert G. Heath, Mr. Carlton, Kaj Birket-Smith.
1867-1935 Marshall H. Saville (1867-1935) began work at the Peabody Museum at Harvard in 1888 as "Assistant in the Museum" under the tutelage of Frederic W. Putnam. In 1890 he was awarded the first "Visiting Committee Fellowship," at the Peabody and trained in laboratory work and field work methodology, conducting field work in Cape Cod, Ohio and Honduras, Between 1894 and 1907 Saville worked for the American Museum of Natural History as Assistant Curator of Mexican and Central American Archaeology, conducting field work throughout Mexico. After resigning from AMNH, yet maintaining the title of Honorary Curator, Saville spent nine field seasons in South America for Geroge Heye while teaching at Colombia the rest of the year. When the Museum of the American Indian opened in 1916, Saville was hired full time as "scientific staff" and worked for MAI until shortly before his death in 1932.
Born in Buffalo, New York, but raised on Staten Island, Alanson Buck Skinner (1886-1925) became interested in Indians during his boyhood. While still in high school, Skinner found his way to the American Museum of Natural History, in New York City, and became known to F. W. Putnam and George H. Pepper. Skinner assisted in two Museum-sponsored collecting expeditions before he even graduated from high school: a 1902 excavation of a shell heap on Long Island sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History and led by Arthur C. Parker; and a 1904 ethnological expedition to Cattaraugus, in western New York, led by Mark R. Harrington for the Peabody Museum. In 1907, shortly after graduating from high school, Skinner became an assistant in the anthropology department in the American Museum of Natural History. In 1908 the American Museum of Natural History sent Skinner to James Bay, located between northern Ontario and Quebec, Canada, to conduct ethnographic field research and collect among the eastern Cree. In 1909 he was sent back to James Bay (returning via Wisconsin) to work among the Saulteaux. While still at the American Museum of Natural History, Skinner was enrolled at Columbia University. He studied under Franz Boas, Marshall Saville and Adolf Bandolier. He also studied anthropology at Harvard University on a fellowship for one year, from 1911-1912.
Skinner resigned his position at the American Museum of Natural History to join the staff of the Museum of the American Indian--Heye Foundation in 1916. While at the Museum of the American Indian--Heye Foundation, Skinner worked among the Menomini, Ojibwa, Oneida, Winnebago, Eastern Dakota, Bungi, Plains Cree, and Seminole. In 1920, Skinner took a position as assistant curator in anthropology at the Milwaukee Public Museum. He was promoted to curator in 1922 and succeeded Samuel A. Barrett as department head. (Barrett was made director of the museum.) In June of 1924, Skinner returned to the Museum of the American Indian--Heye Foundation and worked there until his death in August 1925. Skinner died in an automobile accident in North Dakota. He was on a field collecting expedition with his long time friend, Amos One Road. He was 38 years old
Frank Gouldsmith Speck (1881-1950) was born in Brooklyn, New York, but raised in Mohegan, Connecticut. Concerned about his health, his parents had sent him to live in the country with Fidelia A. Fielding, a native woman and family friend. Fielding was one of the last native speakers of the Mohegan language and, moreover, of any native language spoken in New England and Speck grew up speaking Mohegan. When Speck attended Columbia University as an undergraduate, he took a philology course with the linguist, John Dyneley Prince. Prince was interested in American Indian languages and was impressed that Speck knew a Native American language long thought extinct. Dyneley introduced Speck to Franz Boas, and Dyneley and Boas both encouraged Speck to study anthropology. Speck received an M.A. from Columbia University and Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. Boas, a profound influence on Speck, supervised his dissertation research. It concerned the ethnography of the Yuchi Indians of Oklahoma and was published by the University Museum.
In 1908, Speck was offered a research fellowship at the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. Speck was fired from the University Museum in 1911 for reasons that remain cloudy, but was immediately hired as an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. Speck began serving as acting department chair in 1913 and was appointed full professor and chairman in 1925. Speck conducted fieldwork throughout his life. In fact, he spent as much time in the field as he possibly could, focusing his attention on the Algonkian peoples of the eastern woodlands. Speck was also deeply interested in culture change and the contemporary lives of the people with whom he worked. While his major work was among the Algonkian peoples, his field research and collecting ranged from north of the Canadian border down to North Carolina and Louisiana. Speck served as Associate Editor of the American Anthropologist for over ten years and was Vice-President of the American Anthropological Association in 1945-46. He also served as President of the American Folk-Lore Society. His major monographs were:
William F. Stiles (1912-1980) worked for the Museum of the American Indian—Heye Foundation for 40 years. Before joining the staff in May of 1938, Stiles was George G. Heye's personal driver. Stiles retired from the museum in March of 1978. By then he was Curator of Collections. Throughout his tenure at the museum, Stiles took part in numerous collecting expeditions, often making repeat visits to the same communities. For example, Stiles collected among the Florida Seminoles in the 1930s, 40s, 60s and 70s. Stiles also participated in many archaeologist expeditions. Although he was an active field collector, Stiles published very little. Stiles died in the Bronx at the age 67.
Charles Turbyfill (1888-1966) started as a field hand for the Museum of the American Indian prior to its founding in 1915. Unlike many of his cohorts, Turbyfill was a man of little formal education from Waynesville, North Caroline. By 1923 Turbyfill was conducting excavations by himself and his field notes were as meticulous and "scientific" as those of the other "Scientific Staff". Between 1926 and his health failed in 1965, Turbyfill served as a live-in janitor-curator at the Research Branch.
Alpheus Hyatt Verrill (1871-1954) known as Hyatt Verrill was an American archaeologist, explorer, inventor, illustrator and author. He was the son of Addison Emery Verrill (1839--926), the first professor of zoology at Yale University. Hyatt Verrill wrote on a wide variety of topics, including natural history, travel, radio and whaling. He participated in a number of archaeological expeditions to the West Indies, South, and Central America. He travelled extensively throughout the West Indies, and all of the Americas. Between 1916 and 1926 Verrill Collected for George Heye in British Guyana, Surinam, Panama, Peru, Bolivia and Columbia. Heye also commissioned him to paint 48 portraits of Indians from these areas. In 1926 Heye fired Verrill believing him to be dishonest and unethical in his collecting practices.
It was Thomas Talbot Waterman (1885-1936) who brought Ishi, the last surviving member of the Yahi people, from the town of Oroville to the University of California Museum of Anthropology—where Ishi would live until his death five years later. Waterman was born in Hamilton, Missouri, and raised in California. His father was an Episcopalian clergyman and it was expected that Waterman too would enter the clergy, but a class in phonetics and fieldwork with P.E. Goddard was all Waterman needed to change his vocation. Waterman received his PhD in Anthropology at Columbia University in 1913. He studied under Boas. Waterman held several positions at several institutions throughout his career. He first worked at the University of California and then at the University of Washington. He held both teaching and curatorial positions at those institutions from 1907 until 1921. He joined the staff of the Museum of the American Indian—Heye Foundation in June 1921 and worked for George G. Heye as a field collector until February 1922. He worked for a while at the National Museum of Guatemala and then at Fresno State College. He worked for a year at the University of Arizona and them moved to Honolulu where he taught at both the Territorial Normal College and University of Hawaii. He served for a short time as the Territorial Archivist of Hawaii. Waterman died in Honolulu at the age of 50.
William (nee Willem) Wildschut (1883-1955) was born and educated in Holland. He emigrated to Canada in 1910 and after living in Montreal for a short while moved, with his wife Ellen, to Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1916, Wildschut began working for the Dutch Hypoteek Bank in Spokane, Washington and in 1918 the bank transferred Wildschut to its office in Billings, Montana—not far from the Crow reservation. Wildschut started collecting Crow Indian objects and, somehow, George G. Heye learnt of his collecting activities and hired him to work as a field collector for the Museum of the American Indian—Heye Foundation. Wildschut worked for the museum until 1929, when Heye was no longer able to afford to keep him on staff. Wildschut was not only a field collector but a self-trained ethnographer. Throughout the 1920s Wildschut maintained detailed artifact lists, almost always identifying the name of the person from whom he purchased objects and including extended descriptions of the objects he purchased. He also maintained expense accounts. But most importantly, Wildschut interviewed Crow elders, most notably Two Leggings, with whom he had clearly developed a close rapport. Wildschut's field notes and manuscripts have resulted in three books that were edited and published after his death;
W.C. Witte: Correspondence, Letter Book I
W.C. Witte: Correspondence, Letter Book II
Arthur Woodward (1898-1986) graduated from the University of California Berkeley in 1922 with studies in anthropology, history and English. Following his graduation, Woodward moved to New York City to pursue journalism and was hired by the Museum of the American Indian in 1926 as part of the scientific staff. There he shared an office with D. Cadzow and worked at MAI for two years until he was hired as Curator of History and Anthropology at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum.
The Registration Series provides provenance documentation on the objects in the MAI collection that are not part of expedition or collectors records. These files include purchase, exchange, gift and loan records as well as catalog information, correspondence and permanent case inventories. Whole collections purchased from one individual are listed under the name of that individual for instance, "W.C. Barnard Collection," whereas specific objects may be listed by object name, "Army Buffalo Coat, Sadie Doyle." Also included are lists and inventories grouping together types of artifacts, "Dolls" and "Gold Collection" are two examples. The purchase records in this series contain receipts and object information however, much of the correspondence regarding object purchases is located in the correspondence of George Heye, E.K. Burnett and Frederick Dockstader under the name of the seller.
A large group of loan records were transferred from registration to the archive center in 2018 and were processed by Maria Galban, Maia Truesdale-Scott and Rachel Menyuk.
Labels for 17/1380, 17/1382, 17/1395, 17/1418, 17/1423, 17/1425, 17/1444, 17/1449, 17/2873, 17/3243
Labels for 17/3258, 17/3336, 17/3345, 17/3349, 17/3350, 17/3352, 17/3355, 17/3356, 17/3357, 17/3361
Labels for 17/3364, 17/3365, 17/3368, 17/3369, 17/3371, 17/3372, 17/3374, 17/3438, 17/3466, 17/3474
Labels for 17/3475, 17/3615, 17/3619, 17/3624, 17/3653, 17/3670, 17/3682, 17/3687, 17/3700, 17/3713
Labels for 17/3714, 17/3719, 17/3720, 17/3724, 17/3778, 17/4036, 17/4050, 17/4113, 17/4119
Labels for 17/4124, 17/4126, 17/4148, 17/4156, 17/4201, 17/4202, 17/4215, 17/4226, 17/4248, 17/4284
Labels for 17/4289, 17/4311, 17/4355, 17/4356, 17/4358, 17/4359, 17/4364, 17/4401, 17/4403, 17/4422
Labels for 17/4425, 17/4433, 17/4491, 17/4554, 17/4600, 17/4611, 17/4614, 17/4621, 17/4633, 17/4658
Labels for 17/4660, 17/4662, 17/4749, 17/4729, 17/4739, 17/4740, 17/4770, 17/4771, 17/4793, 17/4801
Labels for 17/4816, 17/4857, 18/0329, 18/0412, 18/0329, 18/0412, 18/0424, 18/0427, 18/0429, 18/0430, 18/0432, 18/0433, 18/0438, 18/0461, 22/0934
These cards were cataloged under the name Thomas F. Burnett, however it was determined that are actually associated with collector Lewis Hotchkiss Brittin.
See NMAI.AC.311 for related photographs.
The Collections Management Series consists of records documenting the court-ordered inventory process in the 1970's following the resignation of Frederick Dockstader and many Board of Trustees members due to questionable deaccessioning and accounting policies. Also included are records on the computerization of the MAI collection in the 1980's, correspondence on new accession/deaccesion policies, information on the Museum's Computer Network, repatriation information and security improvement records.
The Curatorial Series includes information on the Curatorial Council and the Curatorial staff who oversaw the care of the museum's object collection. Records from Gary Galante, Mary Jane Lenz, James G.E. Smith, U. Vincent Wilcox, and Anna C. Roosevelt include information on the loaning and researching of objects.
The Curatorial Council Subseries is mostly comprised of meeting minutes for the curatorial council. These minutes include discussions on accession/deaccession policies, object loans, exhibit locations and acceptance of gifts. In addition to the council minutes this Subseries also contains information on the appointment of council members, memos to and from the curatorial council and various correspondence.
Gary Galante's Subseries mostly includes correspondence to and from Galante during his time at the museum. The second box of Galante material, 325, has been sent to the Smithsonian Institution Archives since it contained records from the National Museum of the American Indian.
The Mary Jane Lenz Subseries includes Lenz's records during her years at the museum. This includes exhibit information, correspondence, internship work, loan requests, memos and travel information.
The James G.E.Smith Subseries contains correspondence, memos and other curatorial information from the years Smith was Head Curator. Much of the correspondence consists of loan and information requests as well as donation and sale offers. Smith's papers also include the work and research he conducted in Canada regarding the Chipewayan People as well as documenting his involvement as an expert witness for the Lubicon Lake Court Case.
The U. Vincent Wilcox Subseries contains Wilcox's records as curator of the museum. This includes a sizeable amount of correspondence, arranged alphabetically, and Curator's Reports from 1969 to 1976. In addition, memos, proposal and research request forms are part of this subseries as well.
The Anna C. Roosevelt Subseries documents her time as curator of Middle and South American Archaeology and Ethnology at the museum. The records deal with acquisitions, exhibits, and research on the museum's collections, as well as a small amount relating to loan and repatriation requests. The material, including correspondence, research request forms, notes, and memos, is arranged primarily by geographic area.
This material had been seperated from the rest of the collection and was processed at a later date. That is the reason why the box numbers were added at the end of the collection and do not follow the numbering order of the rest of the series.
The Exhibits series contains records for exhibits that were sponsored by MAI as well as information regarding outside exhibits.
This MAI Exhibits subseries includes information on the major exhibits produced by MAI such as; The Ancestors: Native Artisans of the Americas, Echoes of the Drum: Native Treasures of the Americas, Out of the Mists: Northwest Coast Art, Indian Art of Americas, Arctic Art: Eskimo Ivory, The Stuff of Dreams: Native American Dolls, Star Gods of the Ancient Americas, I Need No Blanket: Painted Hide Robes, A Gift from the Heart: Two Pomo Basketmakers and Glimpses of Algonkian Culture. Also included are smaller exhibits as well as travelling exhibits. Files on the exhibits include object lists, budget and promotion information as well as catalogs and brochures pertaining to the exhibits. Additional files in the subseries include minutes from the exhibits committee and information on the permanent exhibit cases.
The subseries on Non-MAI exhibits includes information on exhibits produced by other institutions. Some of the exhibits included were aided by MAI personnel or made use of objects from the MAI collection.
The Public Programs Series documents public programs that were supported by the museum. This includes external use of the collection, work done by Friends of MAI, film festivals, workshops art programs and lectures. Several specific events documented are; "The Ancestors Film Festival", "Native American Film Festival", and "Voices: New Works on Native American Cultures Lecture Series."
The Publications series contains records relating to all publications produced by MAI as well as publications produced by affiliated collectors and researchers. Many of the publications contained in the "Non-MAI" subseries were collected by various directors and staff as resources on Native American studies. These include articles and books as well as newspaper and magazine clippings. The administrative subseries includes information on the publications department of the MAI, including distribution lists of MAI sponsored publications.
The Annual Reports were originally published by the Board of Trustees to George G. Heye in compliance with the provisions of subdivision 10 of article III of the foundation deed (1916). The annual reports include information on trustee meetings, new membership, staff changes, expeditions, new collections, gifts, publications, exchanges, loans, the treasurer's report, income information and individual department reports for the given year.
Annual Reports: 1917-1920
Annual Reports: 1921-1924
Annual Reports: 1925-1927
Annual Reports: 1927-1930
Annual Reports: 1931-1934
Annual Reports: 1935-1937
Annual Reports: 1938-1941
Annual Reports: 1942-1945
Annual Reports: 1946-1950
Annual Reports: 1951-1954
Annual Reports: 1955-1958
Annual Reports: 1959-1960
Annual Reports: 1961-1962
Annual Reports: 1963-1965
Annual Reports: 1966-1967
Annual Reports: 1968-1969
Annual Reports: 1970-1971
Annual Reports: 1972
Annual Reports: 1973
Annual Reports: 1974
Annual Reports: 1975-1976
Annual Reports: 1977-1983
Annual Reports: 1984-1986
Annual Reports: 1987-1989
The Publications by MAI subseries contains information about works published by the museum. This includes brochures, newsletters and research findings. Of notable interest are the museum periodicals
The Publications by Other Sources Subseries includes articles, journals and other manuscripts that focus on Native American research and issues and were not officially published by the museum. Many of these publications were donated to the museum by collectors and museum members. Also included in this subseries are bibliographies and scrapbooks that are often centered around a theme.
The Administration Subseries in the Publication Series documents the workings of the publications department. This includes committee meetings, correspondence, expenses, distribution and mailing lists, sales and publication mechanicals. This Subseries also contains several large bound books of correspondence on the receipt of publications the museum, particularly Thea Heye, sent out as gifts.
Extra sets of MAI publications, listed in chronological order.
The Public Affairs Series details the public relations work done at the museum. This includes brochures and newsletters published by MAI as well as press clippings about the museum. This series also contains press releases covering new exhibits and museum events beginning in 1957 as well as press packets. Additionally, news and radio spots are listed by channel and news source.
The Development Series records are divided into five subseries that document the fundraising processes for the museum. Prior These include the administration files, donor files, fundraising information, grants, and subject files. Included within these subseries' are proposals and applications for funding, memos and reports, lists of donors and grant giving organizations, and membership appeals. The bulk of these files date between 1975 and 1990 following the resignation of director Frederick Dockstader and the implementation of a development plan at the museum.
The Administration Subseries contains memos and funding reports in regards to the development of the museum's exhibits and programs.
The Donors Subseries includes donor records for foundations, corporations and individual donors. This subseries also lists those in the "Calumet Circle" and contains information on corporate appeals and gift matching.
The Fundraising Subseries documents the work done to fundraise. This includes annual appeals, lists of contributions and donations, fundraising reports and membership mailings.
The Grants Subseries includes records for the major grant giving organizations involved with the museum. In particular are proposals and applications to the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts. Also included are documents from the Institute of Museum Services and miscellaneous grant information.
The Subject Files Subseries includes budget projections, case statements, correspondence and proposals relating to museum development.
The Other Departments Series is divided into seven departments which include; archives, conservation, education, the Indian Information Center, the museum shop, photography and physical anthropology. Within each department are records describing the activities of said department including memos, correspondence and reports.
The Archives Subseries details the running of the archive including annual reports, correspondence with the archivists, memos and policies, and reference documentation. Also included are staff research requests and information on tribal archives.
The Conservation Subseries documents the work done by the conservation department. This includes annual reports, committee meeting notes, conservator's reports, storage information and financial information. The conservation department also kept records on the conservation of specific mediums including baskets, beads, canoes, ivory, metal and textiles, among others. Also included are files documenting totem pole and buffalo robe conservation as well as files on the collection care pilot program which began in the 1980's.
The Education Subseries consists of records on the activity of the education department as well as educational materials used for both exhibits and outside distribution. Records on the education department include committee minutes and reports, correspondence with educational organizations, grant applications to the Department of Education, memos, tour schedules for school groups and visitor records. Educational materials are listed by tribe, region or theme and include curriculums, information sheets and bibliographies.
The Indian Information Center series documents the work of the Indian Information Center which provided information about Native American artists, lecturers and performers as well as lists of Native American special events. The bulk of files consists of correspondence with Nancy Henry, manager of the Indian Information Center. Also included in this subseries are information requests, bibliographic reference cards, and mailing lists.
The Museum Shop Subseries contains information on the running of the museum shop including; annual reports, museum postcards, greeting card proofs, purchase orders, sales and shop staff.
The Photography Subseries consists of the photography department records which included both photo archives and photo services. The files in this subseries do not include the actual photograph collections, those can be found in the Photographs series. Included are documents on the accession of photograph collections, brochures and forms on photo services as well as policies, proposals and reports regarding photo preservation and requests. Of note are the records regarding the Carter photo collection which was donated to the museum over several years in the late 1960's through the 1970's. Included in these records are extensive correspondence between Ernest Carter and Frederick Dockstader as well as detailed field notes regarding the photographs. However, in addition to photograph records, Carter's papers also contain a list of gifts made to the museum which includes objects.
The Physical Anthropology Subseries includes a small amount of documentation regarding the physical anthropology department. The records contain correspondence from George Heye and E.K. Burnett as well as photocopies of ledgers listing skull and bone information (restricted).
The Huntington Free Library Series documents the history of the Huntington Free Library, located in Audubon Terrace, New York, as well as its relationship to the Museum of the American Indian. These records include the original trust agreement establishing the library in 1892. The archival records in this collection also list periodicals, journals and books kept at the library but the bulk of the Huntington Collection can now be found at Cornell.
In 1930, Archer Huntington signed a trust agreement with George Heye to house the Museum of the American Indian's library collection, which had outgrown its space. Between 1930 and 1990, the Huntington Free Library served the museum staff and researchers as its collection continued to grow. However, following the transfer from MAI to NMAI, the ownership of the Huntington collection was contested by the Huntington board of trustees and the city of New York. After fifteen years of litigation, the Huntington Library won its appeals and in 2004 the library collection was given to Cornell.
The Museum Relocation Series is divided into six subseries'; 'Subject files,' 'American Museum of Natural History,' 'Dallas, Texas,' 'Smithsonian Institution,' 'U.S. Custom House' and 'Other Locations.' These files document the search for a new museum location and financier, which began following Roland Force's appointment in 1977. Correspondence, proposals and legal documents all outline the struggles with the City of New York, prospective locations and those against the final decision to become a part of the Smithsonian Institution.
The Subject Files for the Museum Relocation Series contain general records regarding museum relocation negotiations. This includes meeting notes from the Master Planning Committee, memos and correspondence with museums and city officials as well as architecture planning for future locations.
The American Museum of the Natural History Subseries contains correspondence, memos and legal documents outlining AMNH's attempt to relocate MAI's collection to a wing in their museum. This includes the offer AMNH made to MAI as well as proposals and responses to this offer.
The Dallas, Texas Subseries in the Museum Relocation Series includes documents regarding H. Ross Perot's attempt to have MAI relocated to Dallas, Texas. This includes correspondence with Perot as well as notes and clippings publicizing the relocation proposal.
The Smithsonian Subseries documents the legal transfer of the Museum of the American Indian to the National Museum of the American Indian. This includes proposals and correspondence between board members and lawmakers, the affiliation agreement signed by the museum and the memorandum of understanding signed in 1989. These files also contain materials requested by the Smithsonian including financial statements, lists of assets and liabilities and insurance and pension obligations. In addition, personnel files, budget information, and public relations information relating to the transfer can also be found in this subseries. Any records following the creation of the National Museum of the American Indian can be found at the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
The U.S. Custom House Subseries includes documents pertaining to the battle of relocating MAI's collection to the U.S. Custom House which, following MAI's absorption into the Smithsonian, became an exhibit space that was renamed the George Gustav Heye Center. The records in this subseries highlight the opposition to MAI's relocation to the Custom House including correspondence, memos and reports spanning over ten years. Also included are hearing transcripts, planning committee notes, budget projections and blue prints.
The Other Locations Subseries lists prospective museums and locations that MAI considered relocating to. This includes locations ranging all over the United States, but mostly in the New York area. This subseries consists mostly of correspondence with the institutions in question.
A current project is underway to document and inventory all media in the MAI/Heye Foundation collection. When this work is completed it will be included in this finding aids. If you have questions about the media holdings, please contact us via email NMAIArchives@si.edu or call 301-238-1400.
A current project is underway to create collection level records and finding aids for related MAI/Heye Foundation photographs. Those completed can be found on the
If you have questions about the photograph holdings, please contact us via email NMAIArchives@si.edu.
The Miscellaneous Series contains records and documents that did not fit categorically within another series. This includes information about New York City, information about various museums, miscellaneous clippings, visitor's log books to MAI and the Research Branch, as well as various documents pertaining to Native Americans.
The maps in this Subseries can all be found in drawer 5 of the map case, but have not been identified as pertaining to a particular expedition funded by the Museum of the American Indian. These maps include excavation sites, linguistic maps, and general land maps. Many of these maps are fragile and are in need of preservation.
This Miscellaneous Subseries includes objects that were considered oversize and could not fit in the general collection. This includes certificates, lithographs, posters, awards and original illustrations.