Title:

[Photographs from the Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California records.]

Photographs from Fort Yuma Reservation

Creator/Contributor:

Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California, creator, creator.

Creator/Contributor:

Collier, John, 1884-1968, creator.

Creator/Contributor:

Binkley, E. W. (Edwin Worman), 1872-1944, photographer.

Creator/Contributor:

Buehman, H. (Henry), photographer.

Creator/Contributor:

Gabriel Moulin Studios, photographer.

Miscellaneous files, apparently kept by John Collier, pertaining to a range of Native American groups and activities. Topics include portraits of Native Americans in traditional regalia; press photographs of Gertrude Bonin (Zitkala Sa) and a Hopi snake dance performed in Washington, D.C.; an event attended by Native Americans and others at Villa Montalvo, the estate of James D. Phelan (Phelan is depicted in a few photographs); various traditional Native American dances; the church of the Santo Domingo Pueblo (later known as Kewa Pueblo); various Pueblo artisans (jewelers, weavers, potters, etc.) at work; two Native Americans displaying the shackles they were chained by; publicity photographs depicting actors Esther Gilbert and Francis Hickson who played Native American roles in productions "His voice is a whisper" and "Carved Woman"; students of the Kern County Indian School, and their exhibit at the 1925 Kern County fair; miscellaneous snapshots, taken chiefly at various Pueblo Indian locations; and postcards pertaining to various Native American subjects, most from the southwestern U.S. Also includes a file pertaining to inhabitants of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation, their housing, and their land use, photographs which were uesd in a publication titled "Land leasing practices of the Indian Bureau", a report on an investigation of conditions at the reservation in 1926. Also includes correspondence from Collier pertaining to his collection of photographs depicting Native Americans. Negatives include additional snapshots from Pueblo Indian locations and also overlap with other subjects present in prints.

Date:

1920 (issued)

Subject:

n-us-ca -- n-us-az

Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California -- Archives

Pueblo Indians -- Photographs

Yuma Indians -- Photographs

Indians of North America -- Photographs

Indians of North America -- Southwest, New -- Photographs

Indians of North America -- California -- Photographs

Indians of North America -- Land tenure -- California

Fort Yuma Reservation (Ariz. and Calif.) -- Pictorial works

Title devised by cataloger.

Identified photographers include E.W. Binkley (Mill Valley, Calilf.), Gabriel Moulin Studios, Henry H. Buehman (Arizona), J.R. Willis (Gallup, N.M.), Cross (Santa Fe, N.M.), and Underwood & Underwood.

Nitrate material includes images of subject matter similar to that found in prints, particularly snapshots of Pueblo Indians, and of living conditions in various Native American communities.

Many original envelopes annotated with name of John Collier.

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for use.

NITRATE NEGATIVES: CLOSED TO RESEARCH DUE TO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESTRICTIONS.

The Indian Defense Association was founded in 1923 by John Collier, an emerging critic of the federal Indian policies that had taken shape in the wake of the 1887 Dawes General Allotment Act. In 1920, Mabel Dodge Luhan invited Collier, then a social worker and adult educator in California, to Taos, New Mexico, where he observed Pueblo Indian culture and developed a strong interest in its preservation. Shortly after his stay in Taos, Collier was appointed field worker for the General Federation of Women's Club's Committee on Indian Welfare, a position that allowed him both to investigate the living conditions of Indians in the Southwest and in California and to formulate ideas for reforming Indian policy. The Indian Defense Association was founded, with initial funding from prominent women in the California women's club movement, to investigate and educate the public about Indian living conditions as well as to promote government policies that, in the words of the IDA, "would permit the Indian to remain spiritually and physically on this earth" (see founding documents in carton 4, folder 15). Collier and the IDA sought to protect Indian rights to their land as well as their rights to practice their own religions. The IDA would over the course of its existence advocate and lobby on issues relating to all aspects of Indian life in the United States, including land, religion, housing, health, and education. The IDA had its main headquarters in Washington, D.C., where it could be close to the government bodies and agencies that shaped Indian policy. The Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California (with offices in San Francisco) acted as a west coast headquarters. The IDA also had other California branches in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. The California branches were active in issues relating to California Indians but were also crucial advocates for Indians throughout the Southwest.

Transferred from the Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California records (BANC MSS C-A 360).

Type:

graphic

Nitrate negatives.

Portraits.

photonegative

photoprint

approximately 200 photographs in 1 box : chiefly gelatin silver prints ; sheets 20 x 26 cm or smaller

approximately 65 negatives in 1 box : nitrate film ; sheets 13 x 18 cm or smaller

English

BANC PIC 1962.020--NNEG(5x7) NNEG box 1

BANC PIC 1962.020--PIC PIC box 1

BANC PIC 1962.020

BANC PIC 1962.020

Origin:

California

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for use.

NITRATE NEGATIVES: CLOSED TO RESEARCH DUE TO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESTRICTIONS.