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National Anthropological Archives
Guide to MS 4558 Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Francis La Flesche papers, 1873-1939
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NAA.MS4558
- Creators:
-
La Flesche, Francis, 1857-1932Fletcher, Alice C. (Alice Cunningham), 1838-1923
- Dates:
-
1873-1939
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
19 Linear feet50 boxes
- Repository:
These papers reflect the professional lives of Alice Cunningham Fletcher (1838-1923), an ethnologist with the Peabody Museum of Harvard and collaborator with the Bureau of American Ethnology, and Francis La Flesche (1856-1923), an anthropologist with the Bureau of American Ethnology. Due to the close professional and personal relationship of Fletcher and La Flesche, their papers have been arranged jointly. The papers cover the period from 1874 to 1939. Included in the collection is correspondence, personal diaries, lectures, field notes and other ethnographic papers, drafts, musical transcriptions, publications by various authors, maps and photographs.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
These papers reflect the professional lives of Alice Cunningham Fletcher (1838-1923), an ethnologist with the Peabody Museum of Harvard University and collaborator with the Bureau of American Ethnology, and Francis La Flesche (1856-1923), an anthropologist with the Bureau of American Ethnology. Due to the close professional and personal relationship of Fletcher and La Flesche, their papers have been arranged jointly. The papers cover the period from 1874 to 1939. Included in the collection is correspondence, personal diaries, lectures, field notes and other ethnographic papers, drafts, musical transcriptions, publications by various authors, maps and photographs.
The papers have been divided into three general categories: the papers of Alice Cunningham Fletcher, the papers of Francis La Flesche, and the ethnographic research of Fletcher and La Flesche. The first two categories represent personal and professional materials of Fletcher and La Flesche. The third section holds the majority of the ethnographic material in the collection.
Of primary concern are Fletcher and La Flesche's ethnological investigations conducted among the Plains Indians, particularly the Omaha and Osage. Fletcher's Pawnee field research and her allotment work for the Bureau of Indian Affairs among the Omaha, Nez Perce, and Winnebago are represented in the collection. A substantial portion of the ethnographic material reflects Fletcher and La Flesche's studies of Native American music. Much of the correspondence in the papers of Fletcher and La Flesche is rich with information about the situation of Omaha peoples in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Also included in the collection are documents related to Fletcher's work with the Archaeological Institute of America and the School for American Archaeology. Additionally, substantial amounts of Fletcher's early anthropological and historical research are found among her correspondence, lectures, anthropological notes, and early field diaries. La Flesche's literary efforts are also generously represented.
Arrangement
Arrangement
The collection is divided into the following 3 series: 1) Alice Cunningham Fletcher papers, 1873-1925; 2) Francis La Flesche papers, 1881-1930; 3) Papers relating to the anthropological research of Alice Fletcher and Francis La Flesche, 1877-1939.
Series 1: Alice Cunningham Fletcher papers is divided into the following 10 subseries: 1.1) Incoming correspondence, 1874-1923 (bulk 1882-1923); 1.2) Outgoing correspondence, 1873-1921; 1.3) Correspondence on specific subjects, 1881-1925; 1.4) Correspondence between Fletcher and La Flesche, 1895-1922; 1.5) Publications, 1882-1920; 1.6) Organizational records, 1904-1921; 1.7) General anthropological notes, undated; 1.8) Lectures, circa 1878-1910; 1.9) Diaries, 1881-1922; 1.10) Biography and memorabilia, 1878-1925.
Series 2: Francis La Flesche papers is divided into the following 6 subseries: 2.11) General correspondence, 1890-1929; 2.12) Correspondence on specific subjects, 1881-1930; 2.13) Publications, 1900-1927; 2.14) Literary efforts, undated; 2.15) Personal diaries, 1883-1924; 2.16) Biography and memorabilia, 1886-1930.
Series 3: Papers relating to the anthropological research of Alice Fletcher and Francis La Flesche is divided into the following 12 subseries: 3.17) Alaska, 1886-1887; 3.18) Earth lodges, 1882, 1898-1899; 3.19) Music, 1888-1918; 3.20) Nez Perce, 1889-1909; 3.21) Omaha, 1882-1922; 3.22) Osage, 1896-1939; 3.23) Pawnee, 1897-1910; 3.24) Pipes, undated; 3.25) Sioux, 1877-1896; 3.26) Other tribes, 1882-1922; 3.27) Publications collected, 1884-1905, undated; 3.28) Photographs, undated.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Alice Cunningham Fletcher (1838-1923) was an ethnologist with the Peabody Museum of Harvard and collaborator with the Bureau of American Ethnology. Francis La Flesche (1856-1923) was an anthropologist with the Bureau of American Ethnology.
Chronology of the Life of Alice Cunningham Fletcher
1838 March 15
Born in Havana, Cuba
1873-1876
Secretary, American Association for Advancement of Women
1879
Informal student of anthropology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University
1881
Field trip to Omaha and Rosebud Agencies
1882
Assistant in ethnology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University
1882
Helped secure land in severalty to Omaha Indians
1882-1883
Begins collaboration with Francis La Flesche on the Peabody Museum's collection of Omaha and Sioux artifacts
1883-1884
Special Agent, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Omaha Agency
1886
Bureau of Education investigation of Alaskan native education
1887-1888
Special Disbursing Agent, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Winnebago Agency
1889-1892
Special Agent for allotment, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Nez Perce Agency
1890-1899
President, Women's Anthropological Society of America
1891-1923
Mary Copley Thaw Fellow, Peabody Museum, Harvard University
1892-1893
Department of Interior consultant, World's Columbian Exposition
1896
Vice-President, Section H, American Association for the Advancement of Science
1897
Collaborator, Bureau of American Ethnology
1899-1916
Editorial board,
American Anthropologist
1900
Published
Indian Story and Song from North America
1901-1902
Advisory committee, Anthropology Department, University of California at Berkeley
1903
President, Anthropological Society of Washington
1904
Published
The Hako: A Pawnee Ceremony
with James Murie1904
Member, ethnology section, Louisiana Purchase Exposition
1905
President, American Folk-lore Society
1908-1913
Chair, Managing Committee of School of American Archaeology
1911
Honorary Vice-President, Section H, British Association for Advancement of Science
1911
Published
The Omaha Tribe
with Francis La Flesche1913
Chair Emeritus, Managing Committee of School of American Archaeology
1915
Published
Indian Games and Dances with Native Songs Arranged from American Indian Ceremonials and Sports
1923 April 6
Died in Washington, D.C.
Chronology of the Life of Francis La Flesche
1857 December 25
Born on Omaha Reservation near Macy, Nebraska
1879
Lecture tour, Ponca chief Standing Bear
1881
Interpreter, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
1881-1910
Clerk, Bureau of Indian Affairs
1891
Informally adopted as Fletcher's son
1892
LL.B., National University Law School
1893
LL.M., National University Law School
1900
Published
The Middle Five: Indian Boys at School
1906-1908
Marriage to Rosa Bourassa
1910-1929
Ethnologist, Bureau of American Ethnology
1911
Published
The Omaha Tribe
with Alice Fletcher1921
Published
The Osage Tribe, Part One
1922
Member, National Academy of Sciences
1922-1923
President, Anthropological Society of Washington
1925
Published
The Osage Tribe, Part Two
1926
Honorary Doctor of Letters, University of Nebraska
1928
Published
The Osage Tribe, Part Three
1932
Published
Dictionary of the Osage Language
1932 September 5
Died in Thurston County, Nebraska
1939
Posthumous publication of
War Ceremony and Peace Ceremony of the Osage Indians
Administration
Author
Joy Elizabeth Rhode
Processing Information
In encoding the finding aid for upload into the Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives (SOVA) in 2017, the archivist re-assigned series and subseries numbers to the categories in this collection. The three "collection" hierarchies assigned by the original archivist were re-labeled series (Series 1: Alice Cunningham Fletcher papers; Series 2: Francis La Flesche papers; Series 3: Papers relating to the anthropological research of Alice Fletcher and Francis La Flesche). Nested series under those divisions were re-labeled as subseries, though retaining the original numbering system (i.e., series 23 became subseries 3.23).
Also in 2017, index file boxes and oversize boxes were re-numbered consecutively to other boxes in the collection. Index Files #1-7 became boxes 34-40. Oversize boxes 1 and 2 became boxes 41 and 42.
Collection processed by Joy Elizabeth Rhode, 2000. Finding aid updated by Loraine Wang, 2013 July. Finding aid updated and encoded by Katherine Madison, 2017 August.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The papers of Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Francis La Flesche have been received from an undocumented number of sources. Portions of Fletcher's ethnographic papers were donated to the archives by Mrs. G. David Pearlman in memory of her husband in 1959.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of the collection have been microfilmed, including the entirety of Fletcher's incoming correspondence.
Separated Materials
Ethnographic photographs from the collection have been catalogued by tribe in Photo Lot 24.
Glass plate negatives from the collection have been catalogued by tribe in the BAE glass negatives collection (Negative Numbers 4439-4515).
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Use
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Conditions Governing Access
The Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Francis La Flesche papers are open for research.
Access to the Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Francis La Flesche papers requires an appointment.
Preferred Citation
Manuscript 4558 Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Francis La Flesche papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Related Materials
Related Materials
Additional material related to the professional work of Fletcher and La Flesche in the National Anthropological Archives may be found among the correspondence of the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) and the records of the Anthropological Society of Washington.
Sound recordings made by Fletcher and La Flesche can be found at the Library of Congress. The National Archives Records Administration hold the Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), including those relating to allotments in severalty for the Nez Perce by Alice Fletcher. The Nebraska Historical Society has diaries, letters and clippings regarding the La Flesche family, including correspondence of Francis La Flesche and Fletcher. The Radcliffe College Archives holds a manuscript account of Alice Fletcher's four summers with the Nez Perce (1889-1892). Correspondence between Fletcher and F. W. Putnam is also located at the Peabody Museum Archives of Harvard University.
More Information
Appendix: Previous Organization of This Collection
Appendix: Previous Organization of This Collection
The following list is intended for researchers seeking items based upon the previous draft register. Noted are the old series numbers of the collection in order as correlated with new series numbers. New folder titles are included when the location of an item in the new organization is not immediately clear from the finding aid.
OLD SERIES, TITLE
NEW SERIES, LOCATIONALICE FLETCHER PAPERS
1. Letters received:
subseries 1.1, box 1-2.2. Outgoing correspondence:
letter books relative to allotment have been placed in new subseries 1.3, boxes 3-5.3. Fletcher to La Flesche:
subseries 1.4, box 5.4. La Flesche to Fletcher:
subseries 1.4, box 5.5. Omaha papers:
subseries 1.3, box 3.6. Winnebago papers:
subseries 1.3, box 4.7. Sacred Hide theft
subseries 1.3, box 5.8. California anthropology:
subseries 1.3, box 5.9. Letters neither to/from Fletcher:
subseries 1.3, box 3 (included with Omaha correspondence. The two letters between Sheldon Jackson and William Thaw were filed with Alaska papers, box 18).10. AIA official business:
subseries 1.6, box 7-8.11. Fletcher to Putnam and Bowditch:
subseries 1.6, box 8, folder:School of American Archaeology, founding.12. Fletcher and Hewett:
subseries 1.6, box 7.13. Colorado Cliff Dwellings:
subseries 1.6, box 8.14. Washington, AIA:
subseries 1.6, box 7, folder: AIA official business.15. Clippings, AIA:
subseries 1.6, box 8.16. Act to preserve antiquities:
subseries 1.6, box 7.17. Leo Tolstoy:
subseries 1.10, box 13.18. Clippings:
subseries 1.10, box 12-13.19. Bibliographic notes:
subseries 1.10, box 12.20. Clippings about work:
subseries 1.10, box 12-13.21. Clippings, Harvard:
subseries 1.10, box 12.22. Indian music clippings:
subseries 1.10, box 12.22a. AAAS 1896 clippings:
subseries 1.10, box 12-13.23. Mementoes and souvenirs:
subseries 1.10, box 12-13.24. Photos of family, friends:
subseries 3.28, box 33.25. Papers relative to death:
subseries 1.10, box 13.26. Diaries, etc.
subseries 1.9, box 12; oversize box 1.27. Address books, calling cards:
subseries 1.9, box 12 and oversize box 1.28. Reprints of publications:
subseries 1.5, box 5-7.29. Historical lectures:
subseries 1.8, box 9-10.30. Archaeological lectures:
subseries 1.8, box 9-10.31. Lectures on Indians:
subseries 1.8, box 10.32. Armenia materials:
subseries 1.8, box 10.33. Anthropological notes:
subseries 1.7, box 8.34. Misc. notes, clippings:
subseries 1.10, box 12-13, except story, "Over the Border, in subseries 1.5, box 7.FRANCIS LA FLESCHE PAPERS
35. General correspondence:
subseries 2.11, box 14.36. Government correspondence:
subseries 2.12, box 14 (employment).37. Pettigrew correspondence:
subseries 2.12, box 15.38. The Middle Five:
subseries 2.12, box 14.39. La Flesche family:
subseries 2.12, box 14.40. Omaha tribal affairs:
subseries 2.12, box 15.41. Inquiries and responses:
subseries 2.12, box 15.42. Osage dictionary:
subseries 2.12, box 15.43. Misc. business letters:
subseries 2.12, box 15.44. Diaries
subseries 2.15, box 16.45. Clippings of reviews:
subseries 2.16, box 17.46. Membership certificates:
subseries 2.16, box 17.47. Clippings, life and work:
subseries 2.16, box 17.48: Short stories
subseries 2.14, box 15-16.49. Reprints by La Flesche:
subseries 2.13, box 15.ETHNOGRAPHIC PAPERS
50. ALASKA
subseries 3.17, box 18.51. EARTH LODGES
subseries 3.18, box 18.MUSIC
52. Music lectures:
subseries 3.19, box 18.53. Field notes:
subseries 3.19, box 18-19 and oversize box 2. Buffalo ceremony notes, subseries 3.23, oversize box 2.54. Transcriptions by others:
subseries 3.19, box 19; oversize box 2.55. Music derivative of Indian music
subseries 3.19, oversize box 2.56. Misc. and clippings:
subseries 3.19, box 19.NEZ PERCE
57. "Ethnologic Gleanings"
subseries 3.20, box 20.58. Billy Williams map materials:
subseries 3.20, box 20.59. Manuscript of map materials:
subseries 3.20, box 20.60. Nez Perce vocabulary:
subseries 3.20, box 20.61. Photos
NAA Photo Lot 24.62. Notebook, Nez Perce
subseries 3.20, box 19.63. Misc. ethnography:
subseries 3.20, box 19-20.OMAHA
64. Maps
subseries 3.21, box 22.65. Ethnography, general life:
subseries 3.21, box 21-22 (general papers); "Life Among the Omahas," moved to subseries 1.5, box 7. 66. Social practices:
subseries 3.21, box 21-2 (general papers).67. Myth:
subseries 3.21, box 21.68. Field notes:
subseries 3.21, box 20-21.69. Informants notes:
subseries 3.21, box 20-21.70. Reading notes, history:
subseries 3.21, box 22.71. Misc. notes:
subseries 3.21, box 22.72. Allotments
subseries 1.3, box 3.73. Language:
subseries 3.21, box 21; index file 1.74. Photographs:
NAA Photo Lot 24.OSAGE
75. Maps
subseries 3.22, box 28.76. Social practices:
subseries 3.22, box 22; "Marriage Customs," box 23.77. Hunting:
subseries 3.22, box 22. 78. Myth:
subseries 3.22, box 23.79. 36 Annual Report:
subseries 3.22, box 23-4.80. 39 Annual Report:
subseries 3.22, box 24.81. 45 Annual Report:
subseries 3.22, box 25-6.82. 43 Annual Report:
subseries 3.22, box 25.83. War and Peace:
subseries 3.22, box 27-8.84. War bundles:
subseries 3.22, box 23.85. Tattooing rite:
subseries 3.22, box 23.86. Peyote rite:
subseries 3.22, box 23.87. General ritual:
subseries 3.22, box 23. 88. General notes:
subseries 3.22, box 22 (field notes); box 28 (reading notes).90. Letter extracts:
subseries 3.22, box 22 (general ethnography).91. Osage Magazine articles:
subseries 3.22, box 28.92. Osage-U.S. relations:
subseries 3.22, box 23 (general papers).PAWNEE
93. General ethnography:
subseries 3.23, box 29.94. Ha-ko Ceremony:
subseries 3.23, box 29.95. Star of the West:
subseries 3.23, box 29.96. Buffalo ceremony:
subseries 3.23, box 29.97. General notes:
subseries 3.23, box 29 (general papers, reading notes).98. PIPES:
subseries 3.24, box 29.DAKOTA
99. Archaeology:
subseries 3.25, box 30 (Pettigrew mound survey).100. Ethnology:
subseries 3.25, box 30.101. TRIP: OMAHA TO SOUTH DAKOTA
1. "Fletcher's Scientific Work:"
subseries 2.13, box 15.subseries2-3. Original notebooks and drawings:
subseries 1.9, box 11.4-5. Transcripts of notebooks:
subseries 1.9, box 11-12.6. "Life Among the Indians:"
subseries 1.5, box 7.WINNEBAGO
102. Ethnology:
subseries 3.26, box 31.103. Allotments:
subseries 1.3, box 4.OTHER TRIBES
104. Apache:
subseries 3.26, box 30.105. Arapaho:
subseries 3.26, box 30.106. Biloxi:
subseries 3.26, box 30.107. Caddoan:
subseries 3.26, box 30.108. Cherokee
subseries 3.26, box 30.109. Cheyenne:
subseries 3.26, box 30.110. Creek:
subseries 3.26, box 30.111. Mexican notes:
subseries 3.26, box 30.112. Hopi:
subseries 3.26, box 30.113. Oto:
subseries 3.26, box 30.114. Ponca:
subseries 3.26, box 30.115. Quapaw:
subseries 3.26, box 30.116. Wichita:
subseries 3.26, box 30.117. Zuni:
subseries 3.26, box 30.REPRINTS AND MAPS
118. Maps:
subseries 3.27, box 33.119. Foster's Indian Record:
subseries 3.27, box 31 ("F").120. Reprints:
subseries 3.27, box 31-32.Keywords
Repository Contact
National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu
