National Museum of the American Indian

Leuman Maurice Waugh collection, 1909-1963

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAI.AC.003
Creators:
Waugh, Donald.
Waugh, Leuman Maurice, 1877-1972.
Dates:
1909-1963
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2.1 Linear feet
(5 boxes; 1 map case drawer)
1,749 Photographic prints
1,035 Lantern slides
1579 Negatives (photographic)
80 Film reels
16mm
Repository:
The Leuman Maurice Waugh collection contains papers, photographs, and film holdings that were created by Waugh during his dental research expeditions to indigenous communities in Newfoundland and Labrador in eastern Canada and in Arctic Alaska.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The Leuman Maurice Waugh collection contains materials created and compiled by Dr. Leuman Waugh during his research expeditions to Arctic Alaska and the Newfoundland and Labrador regions of Eastern, Canada circa 1909-1963. During these trips, Waugh studied the dental health of Indigenous communities in the region and treated patients.
The collection contains materials that were created and collected by Waugh during his research trips and include raw dental data and community census information; professional and personal correspondence; clippings, articles, and essays; reports and lectures; logistics and trip planning documents; postcards; journals; and sketches and drawings, among other materials.
The collection also contains over 4,000 photographs and 80 16mm film reels that were shot by Waugh during his research trips and document his work with Indigenous communities in Alaska and eastern Canada.

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Waugh's original order was disturbed over the years after his death and during transfer from the Waugh family to the Rankin Museum. NMAI archivists elected to arrange the collection chronologically.
The records are organized in the following series: I. Dental study data and logistics, II. Correspondence, III. Writings, IV. Realia and ephemera, V. Press clippings and public relations materials, VI. Maps and other oversized materials.Chronological arrangement.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Born on March 6, 1877 in New Dundee, Ontario, Canada, Leuman Maurice Waugh, moved to Rochester, New York, with his family at the age of nine. He acquired his love for photography in Rochester, which always attributed as the "Kodak city." Following in his father's dentistry footsteps, Waugh attended the University of Buffalo, from which he received his D.D.S. in 1900. He took post-graduate studies in Histology, Bacteriology, and Pathology at Buffalo's School of Medicine, and within two years was appointed Professor of Histology and Embryology at his alma mater. In 1912, Waugh pioneered the design of a unit-type x-ray machine for use at the dental chair, which was later studied and adopted by large dental apparatus manufacturers. By the time he left Buffalo in 1914 to specialize in the infant field of orthodontics in New York City, he had served as Professor of Special Pathology and Officer of the Governing Faculty at the university.
In 1915, Waugh served on the Organization Committee of the Columbia Dental School and shortly thereafter became its Secretary of the Dental Faculty, and sequentially Secretary of the Administrative Board and Professor of Histology and Embryology. In 1921 he was appointed Professor and Director of the Orthodontic Division of the school, and later served as Associate Director, Acting Director and Associate Dean. Waugh's affiliation with Columbia lasted through 1945. He served as Director of the American Board of Orthodontics from 1949 to 1953, and was asked to serve as Secretary-Chairman of the Orthodontia section of the American Association of Dental Schools in 1930, and as President in 1935. Waugh married Helen "Esty" Marshall, and had a son, Donald (also a dentist), and a daughter, Dorothy.
An active member of the Explorer's Club and Commodore of the Yachting Department of the New York Athletic Club, Waugh volunteered to undertake Alaskan studies on caries research among the Inuit for the U.S. Public Health Service. In 1929, the Health Service appointed Waugh Dental Director (Reserve) at the rank of Colonel. Waugh was apparently inspired by a lecture he heard as a student in 1908 from Dr. Ales Hrdlicka, Smithsonian Curator of Physical Anthropology at the Institute of Dental Pedagogics, on the dental conditions of human populations. Waugh privately carried out a Labrador study between 1921 and d1927 over the course of five summers. Under the sometimes-partial aegis of the U.S. Public Heath Service, Waugh also studied twelve Alaskan Inuit communities between 1929 and 1938. He was the first dental officer in the U.S. Public Service ever assigned to the Coast Guard Cutter Northland's cruise area of the Bering Sea and Alaska Arctic regions. During his trips, Waugh compiled data on the teeth, mouth, and diet of indigenous communities. In addition, he took many photographs and films of both dental subjects and indigenous communities.
Waugh's son, Donald, accompanied him on his 1935 expedition up the Kuskokwim River (Alaska) in their custom designed and built 29 foot yacht Nanuk Mi-kin-inni (Polar Bear Cub). In 1936, Waugh was appointed to a position with the Alaska Health Service by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior via the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. This position allowed him to further his studies of tooth decay throughout Alaska and the Bering Sea region. Waugh's 1937 expedition included three dentists (one a biochemist), a physician and a nurse, and involved extensive air travel in small planes. A popular lecturer and prolific writer, Waugh continued to advocate for the health of the northern indigenous communities he visited long after his trips ended. He spent the remainder of his professional career at Columbia University, where he rose from Professor of Orthodontia (1923-19435) to (concurrently) Chief of Orthodontia and Director of the Department of Orthodontics. Waugh continued to be active in professional organizations well after his retirement, until a few years before his death at his home in Betterton, Maryland, on May 6, 1972.

Administration

Author
Gayle Yiotis, Michael Pahn, and Emily Moazami
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
The National Museum of the American Indian purchased the Waugh collection in 2001 from the Rankin Museum of American and Natural History in Ellerbee, N.C.
Processing Information note
Processed by Gayle Yiotis and Michael Pahn with various updates by Jennifer O'Neal in 2010. Photographs described by Emily Moazami in 2017.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
Access restricted. Researchers should contact the NMAI Archivist for an appointment to access the collection.
Access restricted. Some dental records may be restricted from access, reproduction, or publication under personal health information privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. Researchers should contact the NMAI Archies Center 301-238-1400 or nmaiarchives@si.edu for an appointment to access the collection.
Preferred Citation note
Leuman Maurice Waugh collection, 1909-1963. National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Use
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadbast materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.

Related Archival Materials note
The National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution hold twenty Waugh photographs which located in the Division of Physical Anthropology Photograph Collection #NAA2223a. NAA also has Waugh material in the Henry Bascom Collins, Jr. Papers, #NAA3131. The Archives and Special Collections at the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library, Columbia University holds the School of Dental and Oral Surgery Records, 1892, 1915-1976 as well as the School of Dental and Oral Surgery, Historical Collection, 1892-1989.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Dentists Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Missions, Medical -- Kuskokwim River (Alaska) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Labrador (N.L.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nutrition and dental health -- Alaska Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Missions, Medical -- Labrador (N.L.) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dentists Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Alaska Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anthropology -- Alaska Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dentistry -- Alaska Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inuit Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Writings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dentistry -- Labrador (N.L.) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
dental records Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Orthodontists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inuit -- Names, Personal Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anthropology -- Labrador (N.L.) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Missions, Medical -- Alaska Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Printed ephemera Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inuit -- Census -- Alaska Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Maps Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Teeth -- Radiography Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inuit -- Dental care -- Alaska Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nutrition and dental health -- Labrador (N.L.) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Realia Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
American Association of Dental Schools Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Northland (Coast Guard cutter: WPG-49) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Columbia University Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States. Public Health Service Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New York Athletic Club Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
American Board of Orthodontics Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nanuk Mi-kin-inni (Yacht) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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