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National Museum of the American Indian
Francis Gow-Smith photographs from Mato Grosso, Brazil
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NMAI.AC.001.045
- Creators:
-
Museum of the American Indian, Heye FoundationGow-Smith, Francis
- Dates:
-
1926
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
41 Negatives (photographic)17 Copy negatives
- Repository:
Negatives shot by Francis Gow-Smith over the course of eight months of fieldwork in the Mato Grosso state of Brazil in 1926. Gow-Smith was collecting ethnographic material on behalf of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. Indigenous communities photographed include the Parecís (Paressi), Nambikuára (Nambicuara) and Borôro (Bororo) peoples.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
This collection includes 41 negatives and 17 copy negatives made by Francis Gow-Smith over the course of eight months of fieldwork in the Mato Grosso state of Brazil in 1926. Indigenous communities photographed during this course of this work include the Parecís (Paressi), Nambikuára (Nambicuara) and Borôro (Bororo) peoples in such places as the Juruena Municipality, Tapirapann, São João (Sao Juan), and the Campo Grande Microgegion. The majority of the photographs are outdoor portraits of community members going about their daily lives though some are posed in groups. Man of these activities revolve around the river such as fishing and bathing. There are also a smaller amount of landscape views which showcase local plants such as the rubber tree and cow tree.
Scope and Contents
N12650-N12651, N12683, N12717, N12719, N12798, N12821, N12835, N12851, N12852, N12881, N12892-N12894, N12900, N12905, N12948, N12964-N12966, N12976, N12988, N12990, N13010, N13018, N13025, N13026, N13032-N13034, N13037, N13041, N13058-N13061, N13063-N13065, N13068, N13069, N13182-N13201.
Arrangement
Arrangement
Arranged by catalog number.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Francis William Gow-Smith (1894-1939) was an explorer and ethnologist who briefly worked on behalf of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. Born in Coldwater, Michigan, Gow-Smith studied at Purdue University and self-financed his first expedition to Brazil in 1922-1923. He returned to Brazil exploring the Karaja and Kayapo territories in 1924, selling many of the items collected from this trip to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation (MAI). The MAI offered to fund Gow-Smith's next collecting trip to Brazil in 1926. Gow Smith spent those eight months in the Xingu river region and the Mato Grosso province of Brazil making ethnological collections on behalf of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. Gow-Smith collected among the Parecís (Paressi), Nambikuára (Nambicuara) and Borôro (Bororo) peoples. Gow-Smith wrote numerous newspaper articles about his travels and was also a member of the Explorers Club. He died in 1939 after several years of poor health. For reports on his 1926 work in Brazil see Indian Notes, Volume 4, no. 2 pp 163-166 and Indian Notes, Volume 4, no. 3, pp 305-308.
Administration
Author
Rachel Menyuk
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Field collection for the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation from Francis-Gow Smith in 1926.
Processing Information
Collection record written 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); Francis Gow-Smith photographs from Matto Grosso, Brazil, Item Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Related Materials
Related Materials
Ethnographic material collected by Francis Gow-Smith can be found in NMAI's ethnographic collections with catalog numbers 15/3657 - 15/3754.
Keywords
| Keyword Terms | Keyword Types | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mato Grosso (Brazil : State) | Geographic | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Ethnology -- Brazil | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Indians of South America -- Brazil | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Photographs | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Borôro (Bororo) | Cultural Context | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Parecís (Paressi) | Cultural Context | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Nambikuára (Nambicuara) | Cultural Context | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
National Museum of the American Indian
4220 Silver Hill Rd
Suitland, Maryland 20746-2863
nmaiarchives@si.edu
