Indigenous Peoples in Special Collections and Archives

ANTHROPOLOGY

The broad scientific study of human culture and biology. Anthropologists are interested in what it is to be human in all of our many different societies around the world today and in the past. In North American universities, the study of anthropology is usually divided into four main sub-disciplines: cultural anthropology, physical anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics.

Courtesy Palomar College Cultural Anthropology Terms, 2002-2012

Formal Research

Zuni materials in Special Collections and Archives are predominantly focused on the observations of the Zuni community by outside (non-Zuni) people. Established anthropologists such as Robert C. Euler and A.F. Whiting spent time researching them, while NAU linguistics professor P. David Seaman worked to help develop an official Zuni alphabet. Another Anthropologist, Charles Hoffman, undertook projects on or near Zuni land. NAU Professor Andrew Wallace focused his dissertation on 19th century expansion and infrastructure.

Casual Observance and Professional Interest

Many of the materials related to Zuni peoples were created by individuals through their casual observance of the Zuni. Edward Dawson, Woodrow Reiff, Elijah Blair, members of the Grand Canyon Pioneers Society, and Fronske Studio observed Zuni dances at organized events off the Zuni reservation (most significantly the Flagstaff All Indian Pow-Wow). Others, such as Fred Eiseman, Edwin and Barbara McKee, Dorothea C. and Alexander H. Leighton, Fred Bohle, the Warren family, and Karl Moon (through the Fred Harvey Company) traveled to Zuni to take snapshots. Commercial and/or professional photographers John Running, Sue Bennett, and Josef Muench captured Zuni landscapes and portraiture as part of their professional lives. 

Other Resources

• SCA Colorado Plateau Subject Vertical Files - Come see these in person
  • Lower Zuni Archaeological District
  • Zuni Indians

Water and Environmental Protection

Documenting and researching Zuni Salt Lake has been undertaken by the Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter, Desert Magazine, and photographer John Running. Anthropologist Charles Hoffman studied sites at Lyman Lake State Park, including Zuni Pond. A River Map shows the Zuni River. A digitized version of this map is available here.

Forestry

Indian Agent Leo Crane documented the forest adjacent to Zuni Pueblo.

Material Culture

Images of Zuni objects and artifacts are found in SCA collections. These include images taken by Fronske Studio, as well as Trader Elijah Blair and others associated with the United Indian Traders Association. Photographer Sue Bennett documented Zuni potters, while staff with the Fred Harvey Company inventoried Zuni-related objects in their collections. Rock art was a professional interest of Mary K. Allen; she photographed rock art at a few sites around Zuni Pueblo.

Associate Professor of History at Northern Arizona University Dr. Philip Rulon interviewed teachers and recorded their thoughts about the Native American educational experience as part of the NAU Educational Oral History Project. Issues of self-determination (Red Power) were frequently brought up.

Harry Roe Nieto (Zuni) was photographed in 1953 on campus at Arizona State College (NAU).

In the 1960s, H.C. Whitener spent significant amounts of time translating parts of the Bible into the Zuni language.