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

  • Interior of Newfoundland

  • Portrait of Dick King

  • Where Kluskap Struck the Rock, Waycobah (Whycocomagh), Nova Scotia

  • Portrait of Young Algonquin Boy on Cart

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

  • Dog on the Uashat-Maliotenam Reserve

  • Portrait of John Cayer

  • Young Algonquin Girl

  • Two Innu Mashteuiatsh (Pointe-Bleue, Quebec)

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

  • Portrait of Joseph Whiteduck and Michelle Bernard

  • Whycocomagh (Waycobah), Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

  • Portrait of Mrs. Ben Christmas

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

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

  • Innu Mashteuiatsh (Pointe-Bleue, Quebec) Boys on a Sled

  • Warren Wright (Nanticoke)

  • Dog on the Uashat-Maliotenam Reserve

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

  • House on the Wasauksing Reserve (Parry Island Reserve)

  • Four Innu Uashat-Maliotenam (Seven Islands) Men

  • Portrait of Michelle Bernard

  • Merigomish and Chapel Island, Nova Scotia

  • Portrait of Angus Vawsa (Vasau)

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

  • Chief David Makokus Building a Birchbark Canoe

  • Five Nanticoke Men

  • Basil Aird Building a Birchbark Canoe

  • Birchbark Wigwam on Canoe Lake

  • Jimmy McKenzie on Merigomish Island

  • Portrait of Ann Madeline "Nanaoqji'j" Poulette

  • Portrait of Harriet (Lewis) Joe

  • Basil Aird Building a Birchbark Canoe

  • Portrait of an Innu Mashteuiatsh (Pointe-Bleue, Quebec) Man

  • Mistassini Cree Boys Playing a Rabbit Hunting Game

  • Portrait of Andre Cayer

  • Portrait of Mary Anne Paul

  • Path on the Wasauksing Reserve (Parry Island Reserve)

  • Portrait of Peter Wilmot

  • Joe "Amité" Jeddore Preparing Salmon

  • Portrait of Pinomen Rat (Philomen Ratt) in a Canoe

  • Samiajij Miawpukek Reserve (Conne River Reserve)

  • House on the Eskasoni Reserve

  • Joe "Amité" Jeddore Packing Camp

  • Lakeside Cabin in the Mauricie Region, Québec

  • Algonquin Woman Tanning Hides

  • Mrs. David Manatc Splitting Spruce

  • Portrait of Young Algonquin Lac Barriere (Barriere Lake) Man

  • Joe "Amité" Jeddore Packing Camp

  • Portrait of an Algonquin Lac Barriere (Barriere Lake) Woman with Young Girl

  • Campsite in the Mauricie Region, Québec

  • Joe "Amité" Jeddore Broiling Salmon

  • Playing "Shooting the Otter" on the Mashteuiatsh Reserve (Ouiatchouan, Pointe Bleue)

  • Joe "Amité" Jeddore Preparing Salmon

  • Playing "Shooting the Otter" on the Mashteuiatsh Reserve (Ouiatchouan, Pointe Bleue)

  • Portrait of Harriet (Joe) Denny

  • Portrait of Ojibwe Woman

  • Chief David Makokus Building a Birchbark Canoe

  • Joe "Amite" Jeddore Tanning a Skin

  • Portrait of Vincent Amikos

  • Mi'kmaq (Micmac) Boys Pitching Pennies

  • View of Barrière Lake (Lac-Barrière)

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

  • Portrait of Tom King and Family

  • View of an "Archaeological Site" on Barrière Lake (Lac-Barrière)

  • Dog on the Mashteuiatsh Reserve (Ouiatchouan, Pointe Bleue)

  • View of street in Membertou, Nova Scotia

  • Mistassini Cree Boys Playing a Rabbit Hunting Game

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

  • Algonquin Woman Weaving a Basket

  • Lid of Nanticoke Splint Wood Basket

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

  • Portrait of Chris Morris

  • Fish Hawk or Osprey Nest

  • Portrait of Mary Louise (Mevene) Aird with Daughter

  • Portrait of Charlie Comanda and Andre Cayer

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

  • Fish Hawk or Osprey Nest

  • Sweet Potatoes and White Potatoes

  • Susie P. Nelson (Rappahannock)

  • Councilor Robert H. Clarke (Rappahannock)

  • Ephraim Lincoln Harman (Nanticoke)

  • Portrait of Charlie Metawashish

  • Harriet "Alietji'j" Denny Weaving a Basket

  • Portrait of Stephen Morris

  • Portrait of Two Innu Moisie Women

  • View of Bonnechere River

  • Portrait of Christy Ann Bernard with Cradleboard

  • Portrait of Tom King with Granchild

  • Joe "Amité" Jeddore at Conne River

  • View of an "Archaeological Site" on Barrière Lake (Lac-Barrière)

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

  • Bark Canoe Being Built

  • Portrait of Keptin (Captain) Francis "Tkalaq" Gould

  • Portrait of Mr. Abram

  • Mi'kmaq (Micmac) Group

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

  • Eskasoni Reserve Shoreline

  • Firing a Cannon for Saint Anne on Potlotek (Chapel Island)

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Portrait of Three Nanticoke Children
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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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