National Museum of the American Indian

Field photographs from Seneca Nation Reservations in Pennsylvania and New York

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAI.AC.001.055
Creators:
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation
Stiles, William F., 1912-1980
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956
Sinclair, David
Dates:
1939 October
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
22 Negatives (photographic)
Repository:
Photography taken by George Heye, Joseph Keppler, David Sinclair and William Stiles during a trip to the Cornplanter Reservation in Pennsylvania and Onondaga, Allegheny, Cattaraugus, Tuscarora, and Tonawanda Reservations in New York October 1939.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection includes 22 photographic negatives (acetate) made by David Sinclair, William Stiles and Joseph Keppler in October 1939 during a trip in New York and Pennsylvania. The negatives were shot on the Tonawanda Reservation, Cattaraugus Reservation and Allegany Reservation in Erie County, New York as well as the Cornplanter Reservation in Warren County, Pennsylvania. Many of the photographs include images of the log Seneca cabin donated to the Museum of the American Indian by Nicodemus Bailey (Seneca [Tonawanda]), NMAI object number 20/2211. Some of these photograph also feature images of Nicodemus Bailey and his wife Edna Bailey. There are also images of an elm bark tipi made in 1936, NMAI object number 02/6026, views of a monument to Chief Red Jacket in the Forest Lawn Cemetery and views of the Cornplanter Monument on the Cornplanter Reservation. Joseph Keppler is also photographed with Alice White (Seneca) and Mrs. George.
Scope and Contents
N21785-N21806.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Arranged by catalog number.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
In October 1939, George Gustav Heye, director of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation took a trip with Joseph Keppler, William Stiles and David Sincair to several Iroquois Nation (Seneca) reservations in Pennsylvania and New York. This included the Tonawanda Reservation, Cattaraugus Reservation and Allegany Reservation in Erie County, New York as well as the Cornplanter Reservation in Warren County, Pennsylvania. During this trip many Seneca ethnographic items were obtained, most notably the gift of a log cabin from Nicodemus Bailey (Seneca [Townawanda]). The cabin (NMAI 20/2211) was reconstructed on the grounds of the MAI Research Branch in the Bronx, New York and Nicodemus Bailey was elected a Life Member of the Museum. See the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, Annual Report (April 1, 1939 to April 1, 1940).

Administration

Author
Rachel Menyuk
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Field collections obtained by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation in 1939.
Processing Information
Processed by Rachel Menyuk, Processing Archivist, in 2019.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Thursday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Conditions Governing Use
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 users to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not changed, 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.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Field photographs from Seneca Nation Reservations in Pennsylvania and New York, Item Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
Ethnographic materials obtained during this trip can be found in NMAI's ethnographic collections.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Seneca Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Seneca [Tonawanda] Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Seneca [Cattaraugus] Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Seneca [Allegany] Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Iroquois Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Negatives (photographic) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Heye, George G. (George Gustav), 1874-1957 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bailey, Nicodemus Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Museum of the American Indian
4220 Silver Hill Rd
Suitland, Maryland 20746-2863
nmaiarchives@si.edu