The manuscripts, papers and ephemera in this collection were created by many different people and organizations and concern a variety of topics. For specific biographical and historical notes please see individual collections listed in this guide.
This collection is organized in folders by accession numbers.
The General Manuscripts and ephemera collections is comprised of individual small collections of manuscripts, papers and ephemera that were acquired by the Archive Center from various sources. These small collections are presented together under a single collection for easy access and depict the historical and contemporary lives of Native peoples throughout the Western Hemisphere.
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).
The National Museum of the American Indian and its predecessor, Museum of the American Indian, acquired the manuscripts and ephemera in this collection from 1916 to the present.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); General Manuscripts and Ephemera collections, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Processed by NMAI Archives staff.
1994.0022- "The Song of Hiawatha" program
Donated by Marguerite Lavin in memory of Sylvan Katz
Rodman Wanamaker (1863-1928) was the sole surviving heir of Philadelphia-based department store magnate, John Wanamaker. Rodman, among his other philanthropic endeavors with the arts, believed that Native Americans were a "noble, though vanishing race," whose lives needed to be recorded before they disappeared. Because of this belief, he funded three expeditions (1908-1913) to "perpetuate the life stories of the first Americans." In addition, he also strove, and ultimately failed, to create a National Indian Memorial to be situated in New York City which would rival the Statue of Liberty.
Joseph K. Dixon (1858-1926) was born in New York, and received a bachelor of divinity degree from the Rochester Theological Seminary before becoming a lecturer for the Eastman Kodak photographic company in 1904. Two years later he was hired to work in Wanamaker's department store, and by 1908 he was chosen to lead the three Wanamaker expeditions (1908-1913) to document the lives and cultures of Native peoples of the United States. For the remainder of his life, Dixon frequently lectured on and continued to photograph the lives of Native Americans.
A program for the production of "the Song of Hiawatha" at the Wanamaker Auditorium in New York, New York, circa 1908-1913. The show was produced by Joseph K. Dixon.
Gift of Ann Drumheller, 2002.
This file contains the North American Indigenous Games athletes handbook for the Winnipeg, Canada games in 2002. The handbook is in English and French.
Gift of Marian Kaminitz, 2002.
This file contains two brochures from circa 2002 for the Seminole's Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum in Clewiston, Florida. One brochure is printed in English and the other in German.
Souvenirs from the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum are also held in NMAI's object collection under the catalog numbers 259664-259670.
Gift of Grace Gillette in 2003.
This file contains ephemera related to the annual Denver March Pow Wow in Colorado. The material includes brochures, posters, programs, flyers, and wall calendars from circa 1983-2002.
This file contains 1 bumper sticker that reads "September 21, 2004, Paddle or Die." The bumper sticker was commissioned for the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian's Mall Museum.
This file contains 1 sheet of paper with Jim Thorpe's autograph, and is dated to 1940.
Gift of Robert Lantz in 2004.
This file contains a copy of Dagmar Thorpe's Ancestors of Jim Thorpe: An Annotated Genealogy and Bibliography (1700-1887).
This material is not for reproduction, but for reference use only.
Gift of James Kincaid Johnson and Peggy Fontenot in 2004.
A Wheaties cereal box, featuring an image of Jim Thorpe and his daughter Grace Thorpe's autograph, was also donated to the NMAI by James Kincaid Johnson and Peggy Fontenot in 2004. This item was assigned object number 26/4641.
This file contains a Legislative Resolution Memorializing Governor George E. Pataki to Proclaim August 14, 2004, as Navajo Code Talkers Day in New York State.
Gift of Catherine Nolan in 2004.
This file contains paper and photographic materials relating to the early life and musical career of Cherokee songwriter and peformer Watie Riley Pickens, including sheet music produced by Pickens and partner Bobby Lee Cude.
Gift of Bobby Lee Cude in 2004.
This file contains modern paper prayer cards and a paper brochure about the life of Mohawk Saint Kateri Tekakwitha created in 2001.
Gift of Kenneth Tietjen in 2004.
Donated to NMAI by the Inter-American Development Bank in 2004.
One exhibition catalog, "Indigenous Presence in Bolivan Folk Art," produced by the Inter-American Development Bank (an international organization supporting Latin American and Caribbean economic and social development, headquartered in Washington, D.C.). The exhibit ran at the Cultural Center Art Gallery in Washington, DC from August 23, 2004 to November 12, 2004. The catalog and exhibition featured some of the objects that were later donated to NMAI by Inter-American Development Bank. The catalog is in English and Spanish.
This booklet was donated to NMAI along with materials now housed in NMAI's object collection (catalong numbers: 265103-265118).
2005.0112- Rosebud Indian Land Sale document
Leaf out of a newspaper describing a Rosebud Indian Land Sale held on December 5, 1929. This was found inside a Sioux Tobacco bag made sometime between 1880 and 1890. The bag has catalog number 26/5468 (265468) and can be found in NMAI's ethnographic collections. It was then used as inspiration for a lithographic print "Trust and Loss" by Dyani White Hawk Polk. The print is now in NMAI's modern and contemporary arts collection with catalog number 26/9784 (269784).
The tobacco bag was given to William J. Sheehan (Director of the Defense Department Office of Economic Adjustment) by McCarthy Nowlin (Deputy Directory of the Defense Department Office of Economic Adjustment) in the 1970s; given to NMAI by William J. Sheehan's wife, Kathleen Sheehan, in 2005, on behalf of William J. Sheehan, McCarthy Nowlin, and herself.
Executive Memorandum reaffirming the federal govenrment's commitment to support and respect tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
Gift of Ruben Barrales in 2005.
Advertisement for an Arzberg Porcelain (Arzberg, Germany) manufactured "Fawn" dinnerware pattern in the 1960s. The pattern is based on an original painting by artist Tom Two Arrows [Lenape (Delaware)]. The NMAI holds a similar plate in its collection cataloged as 259750.
Advertisement is the gift of Ann McMullen, 2006.
Gift of Tom Geoghan, Robert Becker, Edward and Sharon Village Center, and students at Standing Rock College. Donated in 2007.
This booklet consists of a number of essays written by students at Standing Rock College (now renamed Sitting Bull College) in Fort Yates, North Dakota, in 1992. The essays reflect Native American perspectives and traditional knowledge.
This file contains a booklet and a poster from the National HIV/AIDS Partnership Red Ribbon Leadership Awards that took place on December 1, 2006 in Washington, DC.
Gift of Native American Management Services in 2007.
2007.0054- "Shaman Telling the Raven's Tale" poster by Marvin Oliver
Donated by Marvin Oliver in 2007.
A signed poster depicting "Shaman Telling Raven's Tale" by Marvin Oliver (Quinault/Isleta) used for the 2007 Sante Fe Indian Market.
Marvin Oliver (Quinault/Isleta-Pueblo) is a Native American glass artist, sculptor and printmaker. Oliver has a B.A. from San Francisco State University and a M.F.A. from the University of Washington.
Oliver is Professor of American Indian Studies and Art at the University of Washington, and serves as Adjunct Curator of Contemporary Native American Art at the Burke Museum.
Donated by Pat L. Helmberger in 2008.
A poster featuring three fictional sports team pennants of the Pittsburgh Negroes, the Kansas City Jews, and the San Diego Caucasians, contrasted with one real pennant of the Cleveland Indians. The poster reads, "Maybe Now You Know How Native Americans Feel. For too long, America has treated its original citizens like mascots instead of people. If you'd like to help change that, write to us at 100 N. 6th Street, Suite 531-B, Minneapolis, MN 55403 or call (612) 333-5365. Concerned American Indian Parents."
This poster was created in 1987 by the Minnesota-based group Concerned American Indian Parents, and through the efforts of member/founder Phil St. John [Sisitonwan Dakota (Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe)]. St. John distributed the posters in order to challenge racial stereotyping and to confront the negative use of Indians as mascots.
This file contains a program booklet, yearbook, and map from the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of California commemorative luncheon that took place on November 6, 2008 in Pasadena, California.
Gift of Kevin Gover in 2008.
2008.0062- Native Vote (Obama) 2008 poster and postcards
Donated by Kevin Gover, NMAI Director in 2008.
Poster and post cards for Native Vote 2008 with red image of a seated Barack Obama in suit with pin reading "Native Vote" in front of a large orange feather design on the left with text "Native Vote 2008" at top, all on yellow background. The poster was designed by Ryan Red Corn (Osage).
This file contains a menu for the Great Northern Railway, produced circa 1950-1959. The menu cover includes an illustration of Many White Horses and Eagle Calf, Pikuni (Piegan) men of the Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana.
Gift of Ann W. Rose in 2008.
This file contains a pamphlet created by the Muscogee (Creek) National Counil in 2010. Included are brief addresses from the Principal Chief, Second Chief, and Speaker, as well as a History of the Creek Council House, and a Creek Council House Time Line.
Gift of Muscogee (Creek) National Council in 2010.
In addition to this pamphlet, the Muscogee (Creek) National Council also donated 4 objects including a t-shirt, a pen, a coin, and an ink well, which are now in the NMAI Object Collections. These items have been assigned object numbers 26/7961 - 26/7964.
Transferred from the National Anthropological Archives in 2012.
Between 1863 and 1866, the U.S. Army forced almost 12,000 Diné (Navajo) people from their ancestral homelands and relocated them 400 miles away to Fort Sumner, Bosque Redondo Reservation in New Mexico. On June 1, 1868, General William T. Sherman and Colonel Samuel F. Tappen met in Fort Sumner with Diné (Navajo) leaders led by Chief Barboncito to negotiate a treaty to allow the Diné (Navajo) to return to their ancestral homelands.
A poster-size calendar published by the Diné (Navajo) tribe in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of June 1, 1868. The calendar is in English and the Diné language and features photographs and timelines of historic dates.
This file contains the program booklet from the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony in honor of Native American Code Talkers that took place November 20, 2013 at the United States Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, DC.
Gift of Kevin Gover in 2014.
2017.0008- "We the Resilient" poster by Ernesto Yerena Montejano
Donated by Kevin Gover in 2017.
A poster featuring artist Ernesto Yerena Montejano's artistic rendition of photographer Ayşe Gürsöz's photograph of Helen "Granny" Redfeather (Lakota) protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock Reservation. The poster features the title "We the Resilient Have Been Here Before," and was used during the Women's March on January 21, 2017.
Ernesto Yerena Montejano identifies himself as a Chicano/Native/Indigenous artist, and was born and raised in El Centro, CA. Yerena's work explores and challenges issues of identity, gender norms, and politics, and he regularly produces politically and socially conscious images. Yerena is the founder and curator of the Alto Arizona Art campaign as well as a founding member of the We Are Human campaign.
2017.0048- Trail of Broken Treaties protest march poster
Gift of Steve Hudziak in 2017.
A poster commemorating the 1972 Trail of Broken Treaties protest march. The poster was created for a 1973 exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California in Oakland, California. The poster reads, "Trail of Broken Treaties/ Co-Sponors: Indians of all tribes and Special Exhibits and Education Department/ Cultural Activities Oakland Auditorium March 31- April 1/ Special Exhibition The Oakland Museum April 27-May 20."
The Trail of Broken Treaties cross-country protest began on the west coast in the fall of 1972 and ended in early November in Washington, DC. Participants traveled via car, bus, and van to bring attention to issues affecting American Indians and to advocate for better housing, education, and employment. Organizations that sponsored the protest included the American Indian Movement (AIM), the National American Indian Council, and the Native American Rights Fund.
This series contains 1 booklet entitled, "East Baltimore's Historic American Indian 'Reservation': An Urban and Intertribal American Indian Community illustrated guide." This guidebook was researched and written by Ashley Minner Jones (Lumbee), PhD. It includes a detailed map, walking tours, and descriptions of sites in East Baltimore, Maryland that have important American Indian connections and history.
Various Posters
This folder contains an assortment of posters collected by NMAI, circa 1975-2006.