Today’s post is by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver Many of us are probably guilty of it. I certainly was; letting my mind drift during a cataloging course in library school and doodling palm trees amongst my class notes. It seems for Virgil Milo Pinkley, who graduated from the Vanderbilt University … Continue reading Doctor’s Orders; Cucumber Boats? The Wind River Reservation Physician’s Medical Notebooks
Hunger enters stage right wearing a tight fitting black costume, a skeleton painted on the front and back. Hunger walks to the edge of the stage purposefully, then in a strolling fashion back to the house. Hunger peeps into the windows, inspects the adjacent root cellar, goes back to the dilapidated house, and enters. The … Continue reading Pirates in Love, Walking Potatoes, and Barboncito; the Pageants and Plays of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Today's post is by Rose Buchanan, Archivist and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records When you hear the phrase “administrative correspondence,” what do you think of? It would not be surprising if you conjured up an image of dry, tedious paperwork full of legalese. Sometimes, that image is accurate! But in many cases … Continue reading Highlights from the “Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–1880” (Microfilm M234)
March marks Women’s History Month, set aside to honor women’s contributions in American history. Today I would like to highlight the life and career of Pablita Velarde/Tse Tsan (Santa Clara Pueblo), a prominent 20th-century Native artist. Using records from a host of collections across National Archives facilities, we are able to glimpse into this accomplished … Continue reading Meet Artist Pablita Velarde/Tse Tsan (Santa Clara Pueblo)
In 1913 Philip Longergan, superintendent of the Pueblo day schools, received a deal he couldn’t refuse. Even marked CONFIDENTIAL, adding validity to just how great a deal it was, Longergan was entitled…to purchase an A.G. Spalding and Brothers Incorporated All-Steel Apparatus for the Playground…for 20% off! A.G. Spalding and Brothers Inc. playground equipment coupon sent … Continue reading Swing into the Bureau of Indian Affairs Decimal Filing System
Today's post is by Rose Buchanan, Archivist and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records On July 20, 1964, Ida Ellen Stansbury Robinson of Merced, California, wrote to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) headquarters in Washington, DC, to request information about her family history. “For a number of years I have been aware … Continue reading “I Trust You Will Be Able to Assist Me”: Genealogy Researchers Contact the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Today’s post is by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records It was the day of the election. Debates had gone back and forth over the past year, voting dates had moved around, a parade of folks had stumped the country drumming up support … Continue reading Getting Out the Vote: Indian Reorganization Act Elections on the Rez
Today’s post is written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver. “That’s a mechanical drawing . . . where’s some human interest?” posed the famous artist as he took in the vista of Arizona’s 710-foot-tall, 1,560-foot-wide Glen Canyon Dam. The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) staffers accompanying the artist—who at that point in … Continue reading Norman Rockwell and his Dam Painting
Superintendent Albert Reagan of the Nett Lake Agency in Northern Minnesota was fed up with Tom Fisher. Fisher, a reservation policeman, was already on thin ice with Reagan when Fisher dropped into the agency office on November 16th and complained that he worked too hard. The superintendent vented to his office diary, listing exactly how … Continue reading Dear Diary; the Official Diaries of Office of Indian Affairs Superintendents, 1907-1917
Take me out to the Ballgame!
