National Anthropological Archives

Carlos Montezuma lantern slide collection relating to Native Americans, circa 1871-1913

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.PhotoLot.73
Creators:
Montezuma, Carlos, 1866-1923
Dates:
circa 1871-1913
Languages:
Undetermined
.
Physical Description:
171 Lantern slides
Repository:

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
The collection includes hand-colored glass lantern slides collected by Dr. Carlos Montezuma and used for his lectures on Native American rights. Many of the photographs are portraits, some made at Ft. McDowell and Fort Apache. Other images show schools, reservations, dwellings, Charles Dickens (a Yavapai store owner), Montezuma's Castle, Casa Grande, and scenic views. A special series includes photographs made during a 1913 hunting and sightseeing trip that he organized, probably including photographs made by Montezuma's guests, John T. McCutcheon and Charles B. Gibson.
Some of the images were made by Charles (Carlos) Gentile, the photographer and benefactor of Montezuma in his early years. There are also several by Father Peter Paulus Prando and John N. Choate, and one portrait each by Napoleon Sarony and Matthew Brady. Otherwise, the photographers are unidentified.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Carlos Montezuma (1866-1923, also called Wassaja) was an Native American activist and physician. He was Yavapai, though he often identified himself as Apache. He was captured by Pima Indians at a young age and sold in 1871 to Italian-immigrant and pioneer photographer Carlo (or Charles) Gentile, who adopted the child and took him to New York. Montezuma graduated from the University of Illinois (1884) and received his MD from the Chicago Medical College (1889). He developed a friendship with Richard Henry Pratt, head of the Carlisle Indian School, and took a post as reservation physician for the Bureau of Indian Services. During this time he developed an opposition to BIA policies and became an Native American advocate, speaking out against reservations. He gave numerous lectures on Native Americans at institutions around the United States, helped organize the Society of American Indians, and published a personal newsletter entitled Wassaja (1916-1922). In 1896, Montezuma established a medical practice in Chicago. He died in Arizona in 1923.

Administration

Author
Sarah Ganderup
Existence and Location of Copies note
Copy negatives and copy prints for some images, made by the Smithsonian, are available with the collection.
Custodial History note
The lantern slides were given by Montezuma's widow, Marie Keller Montezuma (later Moore) and her second husband, Bill Moore to Robert Collester, circa 1940s. They were donated to the Smithsonian by Doris Collester, circa 1961.

Digital Content

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Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use note
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Preferred Citation note
Photo lot 73, Carlos Montezuma lantern slide collection relating to Native Americans, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Location of Other Archival Materials

Location of Other Archival Materials
Correspondence from Montezuma is held in the National Anthropological Archives in the records of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
Location of Other Archival Materials
Carlos Montezuma's papers are held in the Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections; Arizona State University Libraries, Charles Trumbull Hayden Library; and University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections.

More Information

Local Call Number(s)

Local Call Number(s)
NAA Photo Lot 73

Varying Form of Title

Varying Form of Title
Carlos Montezuma-Doris Collester Collection of Lantern Slides

General note

General note
The handwriting on the slides has been identified as that of Dr. Carlos Montezuma by John Larner, the editor of Montezumaʹs papers. Information in this catalog record has been taken from Cesare Marino, Solving the Mystery: The Carlos Montezuma-Doris Collester Collection of Lantern Slides in the NAA : Report of Background Research and Interview with Mrs. Doris Collester, Donor of the Carlos Montezuma Collection of Hand-tinted Lantern Slides to the Smithsonian Institution, conducted in Williamstown, West Virginia, August 2013.

Other Finding Aids note

Other Finding Aids note
Inventory and part of Cesare Marino's report on the collection are available in repository.

Addl. KW Subj

Addl. KW Subj
Navaho
Shoshone
Sioux
Papago (Tohono O'odham)


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sioux Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America -- Great Basin Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Apache Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Piipaash (Maricopa) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Paiute Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Shoshone Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ute Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Yavapai Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tohono O'odham (Papago) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mojave (Mohave) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dwellings Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Montezuma Castle National Monument (Ariz.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Casa Grande (Ariz.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Diné (Navajo) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brady, Mathew B., approximately 1823-1896 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States Indian School (Carlisle, Pa.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sarony, Napoleon, 1821-1896 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Prando, Peter Paul Father Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Phoenix Indian School Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Choate, J. N. (John N.), 1848-1902 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gentile, Carlo, 1835-1893 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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