National Museum of the American Indian

U.S. Indian Congress of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition photograph album

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAI.AC.118
Creators:
Rinehart, F. A. (Frank A.)
Muhr, Adolph F., -1913
Dates:
1898
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.25 Linear feet
18 Photographic prints
Repository:
This photograph album contains 18 photographic portraits of American Indian delegates at the U.S. Indian Congress of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska, 1898. Frank A. Rinehart and Adolph F. Muhr's photographs of the Exposition are considered one of the most comprehensive photo documentations of American Indian leaders at the turn of the century.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection contains 18 photographs arranged in an album. The photographs depict portraits of American Indians delegates at the U.S. Indian Congress of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition held in Omaha, Nebraska, between June 1 and October 31, 1898. During the Congress, Frank A. Rinehart (ca. 1862-1928) and/or his assistant Adolph F. Muhr (ca. 1858-1913) photographed more than 500 delegates and groups representing the estimated thirty-five tribes represented at the Exposition.
The photographs that Rinehart and Muhr shot during the Exposition depict the largest gathering of American Indian leaders at the turn of the century. This collection contains only 18 of the hundreds of photographs that Rinehart and Muhr shot at the event.
The photographers assigned the photograph titles.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition World's Fair was held in Omaha, Nebraska from June 1 to October 1898. Over 500 Indian delegates from over thirty-five different tribes were present at the Fair.
James Mooney (Bureau of Ethnology) and Captain William A. Mercer organized and managed the Indian Congress in conjunction with the Exposition. It included "living exhibitions," with mock Indian villages and demonstrations of dances, daily activities, and sham battles.
The official photographer of the U.S. Indian Congress was Frank A. Rinehart (ca. 1862-1928) with his assistant Adolph F. Muhr (ca. 1858-1913). Rinehart shot the majority of the outdoor battles, dance scenes, and events, while Muhr photographed the majority of the delegate portraits. Rinehart copyrighted the photographs under his own name in 1899 and 1900. The Rinehart and Muhr photographs are considered one of the most comprehensive photo documentations of American Indian leaders at the turn of the century.

Administration

Author
Emily Moazami
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Margaret Cross in 2001.
Processing Information
Processed by Emily Moazami, Assistant Head Archivist, 2018.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); U.S. Indian Congress of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition photograph album, Photo Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
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. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.

Related Materials
The Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas has a large collection of Frank Rinehart photographs from U.S. Indian Congress of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, including the original glass plate negatives.
The National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center also holds other photographs shot by Rinehart and Muhr at Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, including collection NMAI.AC.119.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition (1898 : Omaha, Neb.) -- Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chiricahua Apache Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pikuni Blackfeet (Piegan) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Southern Inunaina (Arapaho) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hunkpapa Lakota (Hunkpapa Sioux) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oglala Lakota (Oglala Sioux) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Southern Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Assiniboine (Stoney) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Niitsitapii (Blackfoot/Blackfeet) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sicangu Lakota (Brulé Sioux) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photograph albums Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Museum of the American Indian
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