Douglas E. Evelyn worked for several decades in senior-level management positions with the Smithsonian Institution, including the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of American History, and the National Museum of the American Indian. Evelyn is also the author of a number of scholarly articles and books, among them
This collection is arranged into 9 series, organized thematically and then regionally by location or culture group.
The Douglas E. Evelyn photograph and ephemera collection consists of 42 NABISCO Straight Arrow cards, 30 postcards, and 25 stereographs, with dates ranging 1880 – 1960. The images depict indigenous peoples of the Americas, and spans a large geographical breadth extending from the Arctic in the north to El Salvador in Central America in the south. The bulk of the collection consists of images of Native communities throughout the United States, and includes portrait images, dwellings, and landscape views. Of particular note are the NABISCO Straight Arrow cards, marketed towards children from 1949 to 1952, which depict outdoor activities as romanticized constructions about American Indian identity and life.
Please note that the language and terminology used in this collection reflects the context and culture of the time of its creation, and may include culturally sensitive information. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
The following images are restricted due to cultural sensitivity: 226_pht_010_003; 226_pht_010_004; 226_pht_012_002; P33114; P33116; P33120.
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's
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).
This collection was donated by Douglas E. Evelyn in 2006.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Douglas E. Evelyn photograph and ephemera collection, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Processed by Nathan Sowry, Reference Archivist, in 2018.
NABISCO Straight Arrow cards
This series contains 42 NABISCO Straight Arrow cards, produced by NABISCO, and packaged in NABISCO Shredded Wheat boxes. These cards were produced in sets of 36 per year for the years 1949 to 1952, were marketed towards children, and depict outdoor activities as romanticized constructions of American Indian identity and life. Language on the cards states the following: "This Injun-uity Manual will help you be resourceful in the woods, in open country, at home, in school, in play, and at work. This manual was prepared by Fred L. Meagher, Indian illustrator and authority, for NABISCO Shredded Wheat." Examples of outdoor activities include Indian Bow Making, Archery, Help Signals, Tracking Game, Points of a Horse, Indian Dances, Fire Prevention, and many more.
Arctic/Subarctic
P33117
This series contains 1 Keystone View Company stereograph depicting Alaska Natives and sled dogs posed with sled and snowshoes at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, also known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
Northwest Coast
Postcards: 226_pht_004_001; Stereographs: P33112; P33131
This series contains 2 stereographs and 1 postcard. The images include depictions of Tlingit (Sitka) peoples engaged in a potlatch in 1904, two Tlingit (Sitka) men in a boat in Sitka Bay, and a group of Native men on horseback in Tacoma, Washington.
California
226_pht_005_001
This series contains 1 postcard depicting the Ramona Outdoor Play or The Ramona Pageant which takes place annually in Hemet, California. The play is based on the 1884 novel
Southwest
Postcards: 226_pht_006_001; 226_pht_006_002; 226_pht_006_003; 226_pht_006_004; 226_pht_006_005; 226_pht_007_001; 226_pht_007_002; 226_pht_007_003; 226_pht_007_004; 226_pht_007_005; 226_pht_008_001; 226_pht_008_002; Stereographs: P33115; P33116 (Restricted); P33119; P33120 (Restricted); P33122; P33123; P33124; P33125; P33130; P33135
This series contains 12 postcards and 10 stereographs. The images include depictions of activities such as weaving, basket making, and horse-racing. Communities represented include Diné (Navajo), Hopi Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, and Taos Pueblo. The images also include depictions of a number of buildings and structures such as the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde, the Lagoon Indian School in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Indian Building in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A number of the stereographs were produced by the Keystone View Company and feature educational, though not always accurate or factual, classroom information on the reverse. A number of the postcards were produced by the Fred Harvey Company which partnered with the Santa Fe Railroad in the early 20th century to generate tourism in the American Southwest.
The following images in this series are restricted due to cultural sensitivity: P33116; P33120.
Plains
Postcards: 226_pht_009_001; 226_pht_009_002; 226_pht_009_003; 226_pht_009_004; 226_pht_009_005; 226_pht_010_001; 226_pht_010_002; 226_pht_010_003 (Restricted); 226_pht_010_004 (Restricted); Stereographs: P33121; P33126; P33127; P33128; P33132; P33133; P33134
This series contains 9 postcards and 7 stereographs. The images include depictions of Kiowa, Lakota (Teton/Western Sioux), Niuam (Comanche), Southern Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne), and White Mountain Apache communities. Individuals specifically identified are Bald Eagle (Sioux), Ho-Wear [Niuam (Comanche)], Horseback [Niuam (Comanche)], and Min-nin-ne-wah or Whirlwind [Southern Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)]. Also represented in this series are a landscape image of the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, as well as an exterior view of the buildings at the Kickapoo Mission in Horton, Kansas.
The following images in this series are restricted due to cultural sensitivity: 226_pht_010_003; 226_pht_010_004.
Northeast/Great Lakes
Postcards: 226_pht_011_001; 226_pht_011_002; 226_pht_011_003; 226_pht_011_004; 226_pht_011_005; Stereographs: P33113; P33114 (Restricted); P33129; 226_pht_016_001
This series contains 5 postcards and 4 stereographs. The images include depictions of Mille Lacs (Minnesota Chippewa), Seneca (Allegany), and Wendat (Huron) communities, as well as interior and exterior views of unidentified families with wigwams. Also represented in this series are a stereograph of a Wendat (Huron) community at the 1894 Quebec Winter Carnival, and views of the Kickapoo Indian Cavern Trading Post in Wauzeka, Wisconsin, and the Mille Lacs Indian Trading Post Museum in Onamia, Minnesota.
The following image in this series is restricted due to cultural sensitivity: P33114.
Please note that the language and terminology used in this collection reflects the context and culture of the time of its creation, and may include culturally sensitive information. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Southeast
226_pht_012_001; 226_pht_012_002 (Restricted)
This series contains 2 postcards. The images depict a Seminole family and the Fountain of Youth Park in St. Augustine, Florida.
The following image in this series is restricted due to cultural sensitivity: 226_pht_012_002.
Central America
P33118
This series contains 1 Keystone View Company stereograph depicting a woman and child using a metate to grind corn in El Salvador.