Non-Military Photographs of Native Americans Within the Records of the Chief Signal Officer

Photographs of Native Americans can be found throughout the holdings of the National Archives in many record groups and series. Most of the records pertaining to Native Americans can be found in record group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1793-1999. An interested researcher should certainly not overlook these records when conducting a search. However, a diligent search over multiple record groups and series will return greater rewards. In this blog post I will highlight some of the late 19th and early 20th century photographs that are located in the series 111-SC, Photographs of American Military Activities, ca. 1918-1981 from record group 111, Records of the Chief Signal Officer, 1918-1981. Although this series consists primarily of photographs of a military nature, and the early part of the series deals with World War I in particular, other subjects appear in many of the images found within. If one is searching for photographs of important historical events from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as the discussions surrounding the signing of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, they can certainly be found in series 111-SC:

111-SC-85728 Sitting Bull (Tatonka-I-Yatanka), a Hunkpapa Siouxhttps://catalog.archives.gov/id/530896

111-SC-100552 Red Tomahawk, a Yanktonai Sioux policeman at Standing Rock Reservation who may have fired the shot that killed Sitting Bull; bust-length, wearing hat. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/531111

111-SC-82537 Red Cloud (Maqpeya-luta), Chief of the Oglala Sioux; full-length, seated, holding cane. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530816

111-SC-87722 Quanah Parker, a Kwahadi Comanche chief; full-length, standing in front of tent. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530911

111-SC-85763 Paliwahtiwa, Governor of Zuni; full-length, seated. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530901

111-SC-83726 Geronimo (Goyathlay), a Chiricahua Apache; full-length, kneeling with rifle. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530880

111-SC-87744 Looking Glass, a Nez Perce’ chief, on horseback in front of a tepee. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530914

Perhaps a bit more unexpectedly, an interested researcher will also find photographs of a more personal or familial nature:

111-SC-103737 Eskimos Harpooning a Whale, Point Barrow, Alaska. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/531123

111-SC-103706 Simiguluk, an Eskimo spear and lancemaker with his wares, Point Barrow, Alaska. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/531121

111-SC-89625 Hopi man having hair dressed by his squaw. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530948

111-SC-87328 Poison, a Cheyenne woman almost 100 years old; full-length, seated. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530905

111-SC-85752 Man and woman of Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530898

111-SC-85759 Chiricahua Apache girl, granddaughter of Cochise; full-length, seated. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530900

111-SC-89583. Navajo women shearing sheep. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530946

series 111-SC also contains photographs of wonderful hand-drawn images of Native Americans like these:

111-SC-92841 Two braves with faces painted. Left to right: Massica, a Sauk, and Wakusasse, a Fox. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530973

111-SC-92847 Buffalo Dance of the Mandans. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530978

111-SC-87767 Arapaho Ghost Dance. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530915

111-SC-96033 Blackfoot Indians Chasing Buffalo, Three Buttes, Montana. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/531080

So when you are conducting your future research on Native Americans from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, consider searching the photographs in series 111-SC, Photographs of American Military Activities, ca. 1918-1981 whether your research involves military activities or not.