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Frederick Johnson photograph collection

National Museum of the American Indian

Object Details

Creator
Johnson, Frederick, 1904-1994
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation
Names
Speck, Frank G. (Frank Gouldsmith), 1881-1950
Place
Canada
Quebec
Ontario
Nova Scotia
Newfoundland
Delaware
Topic
Ethnology
Provenance
The photographs in this collection were sent to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, by Frederick Johnson between 1927-1931 along with his ethnographic field collections.
Creator
Johnson, Frederick, 1904-1994
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation
Culture
Mi'kmaq (Micmac)
Algonquin [Golden Lake/Pikwàkanagàn First Nation]
Algonquin [Lac Barriere/Barriere Lake]
Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg (Maniwaki Algonquin) [River Desert]
Anishinaabe [Parry Island, Ontario]
Potawatomi [Parry Island, Ontario]
Innu [Sept-Îles]
Innu [Mashteuiatsh/Pointe-Bleue, Quebec]
Innu [Kiskissink]
Innu [Pessamit]
Mistassini Cree
Nanticoke
Rappahannock
Mohegan
Indians of North America
See more items in
Frederick Johnson photograph collection
Summary
The Frederick Johnson collection consists of original negatives made from 1924 to 1931 by Johnson primary among the Mi'kmaq, Innu, Algonquin, Potawatomi, Montagnais, Abenaki, Anishinaabe, and Mistassini Cree peoples of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Quebec, Canada. Frederick Johnson began his anthropological studies as a teenager, accompanying anthropologist Frank G. Speck (1881-1951) on trips to Native communities in Eastern Canada. Between 1923 and 1929, Johnson studied at the University of Pennsylvania and conducted several research trips in Canada, some of which were sponsored by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation.
Biographical/Historical note
Born in 1904 in Everett, Massachusetts, Frederick Johnson at an early age displayed an interest in indigenous cultures and an aptitude for indigenous languages. He studied anthropology at Tufts, the University of Massachusetts, and at the University of Pennsylvania, and eventually accompanied anthropologist and mentor Frank G. Speck on several trips throughout the Northeastern United States. Early in his career, Johnson worked with the Algonquin people and from 1917 to 1931 among the Innu, Mi'kmaq, Anishinaabe, and Mistassini Cree communities in Canada. Individuals from these communities noted that Johnson's primarily focus was to listen to elders and their stories. Many of Johnson's research trips during this period were sponsored by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation (MAI) and Johnson would send collections of ethnographic materials and photographs back to the MAI in New York City. From 1936 to 1967, Johnson was curator of the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology (now Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology) at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. and subsequently became the Museum's director, a post that he held until his retirement in 1969. Johnson passed away in 1994 in Lowell, Massachusetts. For more information on Frederick Johnson's ethnographic work in Canada see "Frederick Johnson's Canadian Ethnology in the Americanist Tradition" by Marilyn Norcini. Histories of Anthropology Annual, Volume 4, 2008, pp. 106-134.
Extent
1.5 Linear feet
450 Negatives (photographic) (black and white)
Date
1924-1931
Archival Repository
National Museum of the American Indian
Identifier
NMAI.AC.001.038
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Negatives (photographic)
Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Frederick Johnson photograph collection, Photo Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement note
Arranged in three series geographically and chronologically; Series 1: United Sates: Delaware, Nanticoke, 1924-1927; Series 2: Canada: Quebec and Ontario, Various Communities, 1925-1930; Series 3: Canada: Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, Mi'kmaq (Micmac), 1930-1931. Series 2 has six subseries organized by community. Negatives are arranged by catalog number within the series or subseries.
Processing Information
Processed by Rachel Menyuk, Processing Archivist, in 2018. Original item level cataloging by Lou Stancari, Photo Archvist, 2008.
Rights
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited users to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not changed, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. Some images restricted: Cultural Sensitivity
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of original negatives made from 1924 to 1931 by Johnson primary among the Mi'kmaq, Innu, Algonquin, Potawatomi, Montagnais, Abenaki, Anishinaabe, and Mistassini Cree peoples of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Quebec, Canada. The bulk were made among the Mi'kmaq, Innu, and Algonquin peoples in 1925 and from 1927 to 1931. In general, the majority of the Canada materials are informal, outdoor portraits of individuals and groups but they also depict dwellings, the construction of wigwams and birchbark canoes, carving and wood working processes, ceremonials, churches, the process of catching and smoking salmon, and the landscape. In addition there are negatives made in Delaware from 1924 to 1926 of and Nanticoke and Rappahannock. Again, these consist primarily of outdoor, informal portraits of individuals and groups of people.
Restrictions
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Related Materials
Frederick Johnson participated in the 1919 expedition to San Miguel Island (California) with Ralph Glidden, sponsored by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. Johnson's photographs from that expedition can be found in the Ralph Glidden photograph collection (NMAI.AC.001.028). A collection of Frederick Johnson's papers and photographs can be found at the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology.
Separated Materials
A significant collection of ethnographic materials from Canada accompanied the photographs by Johnson and can be found in NMAI's object collection. To view these objects, or for more information, please contact NMAI Collections or make an appointment through the NMAI website.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1503513028425-1503513028427-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv41606acfe-203f-4bba-bfb9-b016f8c789c0

In the Collection

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  • Nanticoke Splint Wood Baskets and Mortar/Pestle of Gum Tree Wood

  • Church on the Wasauksing Reserve (Parry Island Reserve)

  • Portrait of Chief Michel Buckshot

  • Basil Aird Carving a Paddle

  • Portrait of Julia Pahbahmowatong

  • Construction of a Mi'kmaq wi'kuom (wigwam)

  • Dog on the Uashat-Maliotenam Reserve

  • Portrait of Two Algonquin Women with Children

  • Portrait of Michael Henry Sack

  • Portrait of Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands) Man

  • Kluskap's Cave, Waycobah (Whycocomagh), Nova Scotia

  • Samiajij Miawpukek Reserve (Conne River Reserve)

  • Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands) Man Fishing

  • Samiajij Miawpukek Reserve (Conne River Reserve)

  • Portrait of Dick King with Young Girl and Older Man

  • Portrait of an Innu Kiskissink Woman

  • Building a Birchbark Canoe

  • Portrait of Mary (Marshall) Gould

  • Nanticoke Splint Wood Basket

  • Chris and Mary Josephine Morris Playing Waltes

  • Portrait of Susan Bartlett Sack

  • Dog on the Uashat-Maliotenam Reserve

  • Portrait of Charlie Metawashish

  • Portrait of Robert H. Clarke (Rappahannock), Dorelix Amaf (Nanticoke), and James Johnson (Rappahannock)

  • Portrait of Helen (Sillyboy) Denny

  • Portrait of Two Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands) Girls

  • Portrait of Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands) Woman

  • Returning the Shrine of Saint Anne on Potlotek (Chapel Island)

  • Uncovered Wigwam on the Mashteuiatsh Reserve (Ouiatchouan, Pointe Bleue)

  • Log for Stretching Hides

  • Jimmy McKenzie returning from Merigomish Island

  • Joe "Amité" Jeddore Preparing Salmon

  • Four Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands) Boys

  • Interior of Newfoundland

  • Construction of a Mi'kmaq wi'kuom (wigwam)

  • Joe "Amité" Jeddore Smoking

  • Eskasoni Reserve, Nova Scotia

  • Portrait of Three Bernard Children

  • Portrait of George and Archie (Possibly John) Jerome

  • Portrait of Marie, Venora and Flora Aubin (Oban)

  • Portrait of Pete Du Be

  • Birchbark Wigwam on Canoe Lake

  • Portrait of Charles "Charlie" Wilmot

  • Lakeside Cabin in the Mauricie Region, Québec

  • Wedding Celebration on Potlotek (Chapel Island)

  • Parry Island Women Selling Souvenirs

  • Hudson's Bay Company Housing

  • View on the Wasauksing Reserve (Parry Island Reserve)

  • Chief David Makokus Building a Birchbark Canoe

  • House on the Wasauksing Reserve (Parry Island Reserve)

  • Portrait of Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands) Boy

  • Portrait of Maurice Bernard and David Cookoo (or Cooco)

  • Group portrait of Algonquin Lac Barriere (Barriere Lake) Women and Children

  • Samiajij Miawpukek Reserve (Conne River Reserve), Newfoundland

  • Portrait of Louise Mali A'n (Denny) Morris

  • Campsite in the Mauricie Region, Québec

  • Portrait of Tom Gloade

  • Wi'kuom (Wigwam) on Potlotek (Chapel Island)

  • Group Portrait of Young Algonquin Lac Barriere (Barriere Lake) Children

  • Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands) Group Doing Laundry

  • View of Hay Bay

  • Bark Canoe Being Built

  • Template for Building a Birchbark Canoe

  • Portrait of Louis Phillipe at Train Station

  • Chief David Makokus Building a Birchbark Canoe

  • Portrait of Peter Paul

  • Portrait of Alec Nottaway (Alekshi Nattaway)

  • Portrait of Two Algonquin Women

  • Portrait of Stephen Morris

  • Portrait of Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands) Group

  • Portrait of Susan Bartlett Sack

  • Construction of a Mi'kmaq wi'kuom (wigwam)

  • Portrait of Matthew Morris

  • Portrait of Algonquin Woman

  • Portrait of Jane Gould and Harriet "Alietji'j" Denny

  • Chris Morris with Baskets and Eel Rack

  • Portrait of Dick King

  • Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands)

  • Basil Aird Building a Birchbark Canoe

  • Interior of a Mi'kmaq wi'kuom (wigwam)

  • Portrait of an Innu Kiskissink Man

  • Nanticoke Chief Russell R. Clark and his Wife

  • Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands) Men with Canoe

  • Portrait of Mali A'n (Morris) Sylliboy

  • Innu Kiskissink

  • Portrait of Harriet Bartlett

  • Portrait of Thomas Pahbahmowatong

  • Portrait of Two Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands) Men

  • Portrait of the Aubin (Oban) and Wabamoose Family

  • Noel Lervey Hunting

  • Two Women and Two Men (Possibly Rappahannock)

  • Interior of a Mi'kmaq wi'kuom (wigwam)

  • Peter Paul and Mali A'n Morris Sylliboy Playing Waltes

  • View of Golden Lake

  • Membertou and Waycobah (Whycocomagh) Reserves, Nova Scotia

  • Frank "Jeway" Francis' House

  • Mi'kmaq (Micmac) Passengers on Bras d'Or Lake

  • House on the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Reserve (River Desert)

  • Portrait of an Innu Kiskissink Woman

  • Portrait of Two Ojibwe Boys

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Portrait of Three Nanticoke Children
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International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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