Pirates in Love, Walking Potatoes, and Barboncito; the Pageants and Plays of the Bureau of Indian Affairs

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

The War Comes to the Reservation – the Japanese Balloon Bombs of WWII

Today’s post is by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver Let’s take a trip back…80 years ago…to 1945. It is 8:00 PM in the late spring evening, so the endless Montana sky still lies atop the Crow Reservation in front of you while driving back home after checking some fencelines along Pryor … Continue reading The War Comes to the Reservation – the Japanese Balloon Bombs of WWII

Swing into the Bureau of Indian Affairs Decimal Filing System

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

“I Trust You Will Be Able to Assist Me”: Genealogy Researchers Contact the Bureau of Indian Affairs

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