On the Road Again: Max Bigman’s Lecture Career

Today’s post is written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records. In Edgemont, South Dakota, the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad would branch off, one line going into the Black Hills and the other continuing northwest, through Wyoming, and looping around in Montana … Continue reading On the Road Again: Max Bigman’s Lecture Career

Tony Dedman school portrait

Remembering Tony Dedman

Today’s post is written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records 58,318. That’s how many names are carved into the reflective black marble of the wall, or were as of 2017 according to the National Park Service. Today, I just want to talk … Continue reading Remembering Tony Dedman

“Invasion”: The 1918–1920 Pandemic on the Reservation

Today’s post is written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records It was October 23, 1918, and South Dakota politician Charles H. Burke was pained. The school year at nearby Pierre Indian School had started only 23 days earlier to disastrous effect. The … Continue reading “Invasion”: The 1918–1920 Pandemic on the Reservation

Timber! Picking the Perfect Christmas Tree

Today’s post is written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records. On November 14th, 1962, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (DRGRR) pulled two 53 foot flat cars, numbers 21025 and 2106, into Salida, Colorado. On hand were several U.S. Forest Service … Continue reading Timber! Picking the Perfect Christmas Tree

Righting a Wrong: The Return of Blue Lake to the Taos Pueblo

Today’s post is written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records “They didn’t get any money for it in the first place, and they don’t want any now. They just want their lake and their land—their sunswept altar and chapel—for their own, without … Continue reading Righting a Wrong: The Return of Blue Lake to the Taos Pueblo

“The Most Barbarous and Inhuman Practice”: The Elimination of Slavery in the Territories, as Seen in the Office of Indian Affairs Microfilm Series

Today's post is written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records It is represented to me in a communication from the Secretary of the Interior that Indians in New Mexico have been seized and reduced into slavery. . . . I do hereby … Continue reading “The Most Barbarous and Inhuman Practice”: The Elimination of Slavery in the Territories, as Seen in the Office of Indian Affairs Microfilm Series

The War after the War: the American Indian Fight for the Vote after WWII

Today's post is written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records “We all know Congress granted the Indian citizenship in 1924, but we still have no privilege to vote, we do not understand what kind of citizenship you would call that.” - Pvt. … Continue reading The War after the War: the American Indian Fight for the Vote after WWII

Photograph of John Werito.

John Werito Goes to War; A Story of a WWII Diné [Navajo] Code Talker

Today's post is written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records. Invaluable assistance to this blog was also provided by Cara Lebonick of the National Archives at St. Louis. The concept of using tribal languages as a battlefield code was first explored in … Continue reading John Werito Goes to War; A Story of a WWII Diné [Navajo] Code Talker

Considerable Talent and Great Promise: the Early Years of Navajo Artist Beatien Yazz

Today’s post is written by Cody White, National Archives at Denver, with special thanks to Gwen Granados; National Archives at Riverside, John Seamans; National Archives at San Francisco, and Theresa Fitzgerald; National Archives at St. Louis “…I had the pleasure of seeing some of the paintings of Beatin [sic] Yazz. He is a young Navajo … Continue reading Considerable Talent and Great Promise: the Early Years of Navajo Artist Beatien Yazz

“Cutting Capers on the Sands of North Africa”: A Soldier’s Art before, during, and after World War II

Today’s post was written by Jennifer Eltringham, a summer 2016 intern at the National Archives at Denver. Albert Racine of the Blackfoot Tribe from Browning, Montana, enlisted in the U.S. Army in April of 1942, one day before his 35th birthday. When he left home to serve in World War II, however, he was not alone. … Continue reading “Cutting Capers on the Sands of North Africa”: A Soldier’s Art before, during, and after World War II