Guide to the Indigenous Materials at the American Philosophical Society

Description: There are a few items in the Frank G. Speck Papers currently identified as relating to Indian boarding schools. In the collection guide, under Subcollection 1, Series 1, in Section XIII, "Miscellaneous," see item XIII(22H), "Haskell Institute Roster." This document lists Native students at the Haskell Institute boarding school in 1939-1940, giving name, age, address, and tribe. (The tribes of the students included are listed above at the top of this entry.) In Section IV, "Southeast," see item IV(15H3), "Yuchi miscellaneous notes," which contains a letter from Ann Rolland (Haskell Institute), to Speck, April 6, 1941, as well as items under "C. Houma (Louisiana)" that relate to mission schools. In Subcollection I, Series II, Biographical Material, see letters (listed alphabetically by author) from Leona E. Giger and Ann Rolland, both students at Haskell in the early 1940s. Also see letter from "Redge" and Gladys Laulin regarding Chippewa boy returning home for dances. In Series III, Photographs, there is an undated photograph [#10-14(a)] from the Shingwauk Indian Residential School. See also school-related photos in folders "Creek #3," "Eskimo [Inuit] (Labrador) #4," "Houma #1," #2, #7, and #8, "Pamunkey #6," and "Penobscot: People #2." In Series IV, Lantern Slides, there are slides of Native and Black students at the Hampton Institute. More boarding school-related material may be identified in the collection with further research.

Collection:Frank G. Speck Papers (Mss.Ms.Coll.126)

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Seneca materials, Ely Samuel Parker Papers

Culture:

Seneca includes: Onöndowága

Haudenosaunee includes: Iroquois, Onkwehonwe

Language:English | Seneca

Date:1794-1931

Type:Still Image | Text

Extent:367 items

Description: A Sachem and Civil War adjutant to Ulysses Grant, Ely Samuel Parker was an important figure in the Seneca Indian nation during the first half of the nineteenth century. Trained as an engineer, Parker was deeply involved in the Senecas' land disputes with the Ogden Land Company and he played an important role in interpreting Seneca culture for a white audience, most notably as a consultant for Lewis Henry Morgan. Collected by Arthur C. Parker, the Ely Samuel Parker Papers include correspondence, manuscripts, and printed materials relating primarily to Seneca affairs, history, language, and culture, as well as politics, education, engineering, and the Civil War. Several letters relate to Parker's service as engineer of public buildings in Galena, Illinois, and to his Masonic activities. Among the noteworthy items in the collection are several essays on Seneca history and culture, a fragment of Parker's diary, 1847, and a significant quantity of material on the Seneca language assembled by Asher Wright. Rich in information on Seneca history, culture, and language and on Parker's varied activities in both the Indian and white worlds, the collection is a major resource for examining the land and political struggles of the Seneca nation during the 1840s and early 1850s. Comprised of a mix of personal and professional correspondence augmented by a smaller quantity of printed materials, notes, and manuscripts, the collection is richest for the period 1845-1860, with only a few letters pertaining to Parker's Civil War service, and even fewer for the post-war period.

Collection:Ely Samuel Parker Papers (Mss.497.3.P223)