National Museum of the American Indian

George Hight collection of negatives and slides, circa 1963-1964

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAI.AC.039
Creators:
Hight, George C.
Dates:
circa 1963-1964
Languages:
No linguistic content; Not applicable
.
Physical Description:
23 Slides (photographs)
color
38 Negatives (photographic)
black and white
Repository:
Images include domestic and ceremonial scenes of Navajo Indians. Ceremonies include Blessing Way Ceremony, Enemy Way Ceremony,and Hoop Ceremony.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The collection consists of negatives and color slides made in Arizona by Hight from 1963 to 1964 while on assignment for the Christian Science Monitor. The materials depict Diné (Navajo) men and women preparing for and participating in ceremonies and Diné women caring for and preparing sheep for butcher. In addition, Hight apparently made two negatives from nineteenth-century prints by Timothy O'Sullivan that depict Diné women; these too are in the collection.

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Negatives Arranged by negative number (N33156-N33191, N34851, N34855)
Slides Arranged by slide number (S03709-S03719, S03730-S03741)

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Born in Gallup, New Mexico, Hight worked during World War II as an illustrator and photographic coordinator for Convair in Ft. Worth, Texas. After the war, he and his wife returned to Gallup and opened a photography studio. Hight was a successful photographer and painted in his spare time. In 2007, he and his wife retired to Albuquerque. In the same year he received the MasterWorks Lifetime Achievement Award from MasterWorks of New Mexico, the sponsor of a prestigious annual New Mexico art show.

Administration

Author
Heather Shannon
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Historically, the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation managed all photographic materials separately. This collection description represents current management practices of organizing and contextualizing related archival materials.
Processing Information note
Processed by Heather Shannon, Photo Archivist, 2012.

Using the Collection

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 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.
Conditions Governing Access note
Access is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use note
Restricted: Cultural Sensitivity
Preferred Citation note
George Hight collection of negatives and slides, circa 1963-1964, National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Smithsonian Institution (negative, slide or catalog number).

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Navajo Indians -- Rites and ceremonies -- Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Navajo Indians -- Domestic animals -- Arizona -- Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Black-and-white negatives Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Diné (Navajo) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Color slides Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sheep -- Arizona -- Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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