Finding Aid to the Washington Matthews Papers MS.561
Holly Rose Larson
Library and Archives at the Autry
2012 October 5
210 South Victory Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502
rroom@theautry.org
Contributing Institution:
Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: Washington Matthews Papers
Creator:
Matthews, Washington
source:
Lummis, Charles Fletcher
Identifier/Call Number: MS.561
Physical Description:
0.3 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1893-1945
Abstract: Major Washington Matthews, M.D., LL.D. (1881-1905) was a surgeon with the United States Army and a scholar and writer on Navajo
culture and people. This collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, magazine and newspaper clippings, and a scrapbook
from 1893-1945 related to Native Americans and Dr. Matthews' work.
Language of Material:
English
, German
.
Processed by Glenna Schroeder, circa 1977-1981. Final processing and finding aid completed by Holly Rose Larson, NHPRC Processing
Archivist, 2012 October 5, made possible through grant funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commissions
(NHPRC).
This collection consists of printed material from 1893-1945 related to Native Americans and Dr. Matthews' work. Materials
include biographical materials collected upon Matthews' death, correspondence, manuscripts, magazine and newspaper articles,
a report, and a scrapbook. The scrapbook was given to Charles Fletcher Lummis by Matthews circa 1905 and includes newspaper
clippings, programs, and photographs of Washington Matthews. Scrapbook contents are from 1893-1905, and some items are in
German.
- Letter Thomas Keam to Matthews – March 16, 1904 re: Navajo dyestuff (2 copies: original and t.c.). Other correspondence from Keam (a trader with the Indians) is in Frank D. Lewis collection MS 552. (Letter gift of Dr. Hodge).
- Letter Matthews to Charles F. Lummis – April 23, 1904 re: Navajo dyestuff
- Photostat copy of Matthews' "The Suppressed Part of 'The Mountain Chant: a Navajo Ceremony.' Extract from the Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Technology, Washington D.C. 1888" Fort Wingate, New Mexico, 1892 (suppressed because describes erotic dances)
- Two letters Matthews to Lieutenant Edward H. Plummer, U.S. Indian Agent, Fort Defiance, Arizona re: Navajo personal difficulties November 20, 1893; January 23, 1894
- Matthews - "The Basket Drum" – use among the Navajos ; - "Ichthyophobia" – fear of fish among the Navajos
- Matthews - "The Study of Ceremony" ; "Some Illustrations of the Connections Between Myth and Ceremony"
- Matthews - "Songs of Sequence of the Navajos" ; - "A Study in Butts and Tips"
- Matthews - "The Study of Ethics Among the Lower Races"
- Biographical and In Memorium articles- [Charles F. Lummis] – "Authorities on the Southwest: Washington Matthews" Land of Sunshine vol. 6 no. 3, February 1897- [Charles F. Lummis] – "Washington Matthews" The Nation vol. 81 no. 2090, July 20, 1905- Mooney, James – "Washington Matthews 1843-1905" American Anthropologist vol. 7 no. 3, July-September 1905
Copies of Washington Matthews publications are in the collections of both the Braun Research Library and the Autry Library.
Microfilm edition of the Washington Matthews Papers, Smithsonian Institution National Anthropological Archives, ca. 1864-1905,
microfilm, National Anthropological Archives.
Natloí, et al. [United States, Arizona and New Mexico, Navaho Indians, Ca. 1893-1901], Indiana University, Bloomington. Archives
of Traditional Music.
Major Washington Matthews, M.D., LL.D. (1881-1905) was a surgeon with the United States Army and a scholar and writer on Navajo
culture and people. He was stationed in Dakota Territory (1860s-70s), California (1875-1880), New Mexico (1880s and 1890s),
and Washington, D. C. (late 1880s).
In Dakota Territory, Matthews started his self-training as an anthropologist by working with the Mandan and Hidatsa. Most
of the unpublished material relating to this study was destroyed in a fire. In California, Matthews carried out limited studies
among the Modoc. In New Mexico, he undertook work for which he is perhaps best remembered among the Navajo. Conversant in
Navajo, he was one of the earliest recorders of Navajo culture.
In Washington, stationed at the U.S. Army Medical Museum, he carried on physical anthropological work, especially on the remains
excavated and collected by the Hemenway Expedition.
Donation from Washington Matthews, circa 1905; Charles Fletcher Lummis; Frederick Webb Hodge, 1932 December; Dr. F. A. Blossom,
1934 August; Richard Van Valkenburgh, 1942.
Washington Matthews Papers, 1893-1945, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.561; [folder number] [folder
title][date].
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is
given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit
https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Scrapbooks
Programs
Photographs
Navajo Indians
Manuscripts
Clippings
Dakota Territory
Indians of North America
New Mexico
California
Lummis, Charles Fletcher