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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

Pages

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  • Portrait of Luke Simion

  • Portrait of Harriet (Joe) Denny

  • Dance Ring at Potlotek (Chapel Island)

  • Rapids on the Conne River

  • Group Portait of Young Ojibwe Men

  • Portrait of Mary Josephine (MacCleod) Morris

  • Nanticoke Chief Russell R. Clark and his Wife

  • Woven Nanticoke Basketry Eel Pots

  • Portrait of Mrs. Miness and Daughter

  • View of Eskasoni Reserve

  • Portrait of Mrs. Ben Christmas

  • Portrait of Peter Cremo

  • Portrait of Thomas and Julia Pahbahmowatong

  • Portrait of Nannette "Janet" Abram

  • Dog on the Uashat-Maliotenam Reserve

  • Joe "Amité" Jeddore on Conne River

  • Shore of the Indian River near Millsboro, Delaware

  • Portrait of Flora Jane Paul

  • View of Eskasoni Reserve

  • Joe "Amité" Jeddore Packing Camp

  • Kji-Saqamaw or Chief Gabriel Sylliboy Giving an Address

  • Portrait of Nanticoke man Dorelix Amaf

  • Portrait of Mali Pelasi (Herney) Denny

  • Nanticoke Man Standing in a Cornfield

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

  • River in the Mauricie Region, Québec

  • Portrait of Harriet (Joe) Denny

  • Road on the Wasauksing Reserve (Parry Island Reserve)

  • Portrait of Margaret (Prosper) Stevens

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

  • Portrait of Harriet Bartlett

  • Group of Men, Women, and a Child (Possibly Rappahannock)

  • Portrait of Alexandre Metacic

  • Chris Morris with Eel Rack

  • Rectangular Splint Mi'kmaq (Micmac) Basket

  • Indian School on the Wasauksing Reserve (Parry Island Reserve)

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

  • Group Portrait on the Whycocomagh Reserve (Waycobah)

  • Portrait of Three Young Men with Fish

  • Portrait of Matthew Bernard

  • Portrait of David Sinoo

  • Portrait of Mrs. Joe Jako

  • Father Pacifique de Valigny Preaching

  • Interior of Newfoundland

  • Birchbark Cabin, Samiajij Miawpukek Reserve (Conne River Reserve)

  • Ojibwe Group Portrait

  • Mi'kmaq (Micmac) Group on Merigomish Island

  • Noel Gould Holding Eels

  • Church on the Wasauksing Reserve (Parry Island Reserve)

  • Portrait of Mary "Ami" Jeddore

  • Archaeological Site Along the Indian River Near Millsboro, Delaware

  • A Triangular Woodpile in Millsboro, Delaware

  • Portrait of Toma Kakwa (Thomas Kokwa)

  • Basil Aird Building a Birchbark Canoe

  • Procession of Saint Anne on Potlotek (Chapel Island)

  • Portrait of Luke Simion

  • Ephraim Lincoln Harman (Nanticoke)

  • Portrait of Mali A'n Sylliboy and Mary Josephine Morris

  • Portrait of Mrs. Michelle and Daughter

  • Parry Island Women Selling Souvenirs

  • Algonquin Woman Weaving a Basket

  • Portrait of Peter Wilmot

  • Portrait of Manish Wabamoose

  • View of Golden Lake

  • Campsite in the Mauricie Region, Québec

  • Ojibwe and Potawatomi at Parry Island, Ontario

  • Completed Mi'kmaq wi'kuom (wigwam)

  • Indian River on the Eskasoni Reserve

  • Procession of Saint Anne on Potlotek (Chapel Island)

  • Portrait of Charlie Comanda

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

  • Samiajij Miawpukek Reserve (Conne River Reserve)

  • Portrait of Joe Aubin (Oban)

  • Portrait of Mrs. Judge and Son

  • House on the Wasauksing Reserve (Parry Island Reserve)

  • Portrait of Mary Bernard

  • Portrait of Margaret (MacCleod) Gould and Mary Jane Gould

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

  • Joe "Amité" Jeddore Preparing Salmon

  • Group of Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands) Men and Boys

  • Birchbark Wigwam on Canoe Lake

  • Portrait of Christy Ann Bernard

  • Canada: Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, Mi'kmaq (Micmac)

  • Procession of Saint Anne on Potlotek (Chapel Island)

  • House on the Wasauksing Reserve (Parry Island Reserve)

  • Mi'kmaq (Micmac) Group Playing Checkers on Potlotek (Chapel Island)

  • Kji-Saqamaw or Chief Gabriel Sylliboy Giving an Address

  • Portait of Mrs. Pete Du Be

  • Portrait of Manian (DeCourcey) Aubin and Daughter Venora

  • Portrait of Luke Simion

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

  • Portrait of Charlie Metawashish

  • Houses on the Wasauksing Reserve (Parry Island Reserve)

  • Portrait of Christy Ann Bernard with Cradleboard

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

  • Portrait of Mrs. Ben Christmas

  • Portrait of Tom and Mary Gloade

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

  • Portrait of Three Nanticoke Children

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

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Portrait of Three Nanticoke Children
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