This list contains examples of manuscript collections held in the Mansfield Library's Archives & Special Collections Department that have content relevant to the study of Montana's Native American populations. Additional collections may be found by using the Mansfield Library Catalog or by searching the Northwest Digital Archives. Clicking on the collection title will link you through to a complete guide to the collection when one is available. Please contact Archives & Special Collections for additional information about these materials and our other resources.
Papers of Individuals and Families
Lorena M. Burgess Papers (1907-1973), Mss 566, 5 linear feet
This collection contains correspondence, writings, organizational materials, and publications related to the Flathead Reservation and national legislation affecting the reservation. Lorena Burgess was involved in work on federal and local issues related to the Flathead Reservation. She was a long-time resident of Hot Springs, Montana, and the first woman council member of the Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
Fra Broadwell Dana Papers (1819-1947), Mss 96, 1.5 linear feet
The Broadwell and Dana families included an important Montana artist, Fra Dana, and an important ranching business. There is a very small amount of material on the Crow language from Father Prando and Fra's own notes. Included also is a brand book of the cattle herd of the Blackfeet, which was purchased by E. L. Dana.
Frank Bird Linderman Collection (1885-1986), Mss 7, 7 linear feet
This collection represents the efforts of Frank Linderman in his many careers as writer, politician, assayer, ethnographer, Native American ally. Linderman devoted a great deal of his life to Montana's Native Americans, learning and writing about their customs and trying to help them in material ways. As a trapper he became acquainted with members of the Flathead and Kootenai tribes; he later knew many Crow, Blackfeet, Cree, and Chippewas. Many Indians shared their tribal legends, including Kootenai Two-Comes-Over-the-Hill; Muskegon, a Cree; and Full-Of-Dew, a Chippewa medicine man. Their stories were published in Linderman's books, including Indian Why Stories: Sparks from War Eagle's Lodge-Fire; How It Came About Stories; Kootenai Why Stories; American: The Life Story of a Great Indian, Plenty-Coups, Chief of the Crows; Old-Man Coyote; and Red Mother. Linderman was instrumental in founding the Rocky Boy's Reservation for Montana's and was adopted into three tribes: the Blackfeet, the Cree, and the Crow. The correspondence and photographs in the collection are especially extensive and represent his many significant friends and acquaintances.
Carling I. Malouf Papers (1891-2006), Mss 640, 31 linear feet
This collection contains correspondence, notes, photographs, audio material, and visual material related to Anthropology Professor Carling Malouf's work and activities at the University of Montana in Missoula, as well as his research on Native American tribes of the Northwest and the Plains. Materials include papers related to the history of the University of Montana's Department of Anthropology; the history of Kyi-Yo, the University of Montana's Native American Student Association; and the Native American Studies Department at the University of Montana. The collection also contains materials related to the AIM/Wounded Knee incident and ensuing trial, research on Native American Education, materials related to Montana archaeology digs and sites, and photographs and notes related to the tribes of Montana. Also included are papers, correspondence, and notes related to Malouf's involvement in the development of the Head Start program, and correspondence, notes, newsletters, and publications related to the Montana Archaeological Society.
Angus and Catherine McDonald Manuscript (1858-1899), Mss 344, 1 volume
The manuscript consists of stories told by Catherine, a Nez Perce, to her children and written down by her husband, Angus. Angus apparently carried around a ledger to record these stories, which he embellished with his own literary style, however the story content is regarded as Catherine's own. The ledger contains both stories and poems.
Sherburne Family Papers (1823-1962), Mss 67, 90 linear feet
This collection includes personal materials, business-related materials and photographs generated or collected by Joseph Herbert Sherburne and his extended family, with particular representation from the family's business enterprises along the Northern Rocky Mountain Front Range during the early 20th Century. The Sherburne family became deeply invested into the economy and society of Browning, Montana, the Blackfeet Reservation more generally, and the eastern gateway to Glacier National Park. From the earliest to the latest records, collection materials center upon economic and social exchanges with American Indian tribes and tribal members--from the Oklahoma Territory to Montana. These materials present an insightful addition to government records for researching modern Blackfeet tribal history, relations between Indian reservation residents and non-Indian business owners, and the early twentieth-century economic development of the Northern Rocky Mountain Front Range.
Fred W. Voget Papers (1935-1996), Mss 318, 13 linear feet
This collection represents a large portion of the academic research and writing career of ethnologist and author Fred W. Voget. While the bulk of his research was focused on the Crow Tribe, the collection also includes secondary source research on numerous other North American tribes and primary source research on the Iroquois, Shoshoni, and Blackfeet Indians. Research specific to the Crow Tribe includes bibliographies; annotated photocopies of papers, book chapters, and articles; interviews spanning half of century from 1939 to 1993; and photographs from 1939 to 1987.
Papers of Montana Politicians
Joseph A. Dixon Papers (1772-1944), Mss 55, 70 linear feet
Joseph M. Dixon was governor of Montana and served in the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and in the Department of the Interior. This collection contains a large portion of Dixon's personal and professional correspondence files, legal documents, financial records, campaign/political materials, photographs, and personal effects. Montanans elected Dixon to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1902 and 1904. While in the House, he introduced and passed the bill that opened the Flathead Indian Reservation to white settlement. In 1906, the Montana legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate and in 1912 he headed Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party, resulting in his defeat in his bid for popular election to the U.S. Senate. In 1919 he was elected governor of Montana and served one term. In 1929 he was appointed First Assistant Secretary of the Interior where he became vitally involved with a project to develop water power on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
Mike Mansfield Papers (1903-1990), Mss 65, 2450 linear feet
Please note - this is a very large collection; the online guide may take awhile to load and is not complete - contact us for details.
Professional papers of Mike Mansfield, a Montana Representative and Senator, and US Ambassador to Japan. Mansfield was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1942 and served five terms as representative of Montana's 1st District. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1952 where he remained until 1977. His responsibility and prestige steadily increased through his tenure in Congress. He became Assistant Majority Leader (Majority Whip) of the Senate in 1957 and was elected Majority Leader of the Senate in 1961. A number of the materials in the collection relate to federal land management, Native American policies, and large federal work projects in Montana.
James E. Murray Papers (1934-1961), Mss 91, 483 linear feet
Murray was a Montana Democrat who served in the U. S. Senate from 1934 to 1960. The collection contains Murray's papers from 1934 until his retirement from office and consists of general correspondence, legislative materials, speeches and writings, clippings, film, and photographs. Murray was very interested in the plight of the Native Americans during his career, including Navajo Indians and the Alaska tribes, but Montana's Native Americans remained his main priority. As senator, he dealt with both sides of issues facing Native Americans: as an example, correspondence in Series I contains materials with concerns from white constituents over land rights, as well as materials involving fair treatment for the Indians. Murray served as a mediator many times between a party in Montana and the U.S. Department of the Interior. He was also interested in federal Indian welfare and did not support termination of Indian tribal rights during the 1940's and 1950's.
Pat Williams Papers (1979-1997), Mss 239, 85 linear feet
Pat Williams, a Democrat, served Montana in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1979 to 1997. In 1985, he was appointed as deputy whip of the House Democratic Leadership. He chaired several committees, including the Higher Education Committee. During his tenure in the U. S. House of Representatives, Williams served on the Education, Labor, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and House Budget committees. His tenure in office is noted for his activism on behalf of education, libraries, Native American tribal sovereignty, the National Endowments for the Arts and for the Humanities, worker's concerns, wilderness protection, and environmental integrity for the future of the Western states. This collection consists of the materials generated and collected by Williams during his eighteen years in office. It includes paper, audiovisual, and three-dimensional materials.
Photograph Collections
Edward H. Boos Photographs (1900-1908), Mss 346, 305 images
This collection includes 305 glass plate and modern film negatives and prints created by Edward H. Boos between 1900 and 1908. This photographic collection constitutes one of the most extensive and detailed visual records of the Missoula, Mission, and Flathead valleys at the beginning of the 20th Century. Boos' Flathead Reservation portraits document particularly insightful details regarding the lifestyle, possessions, and landscapes of tribal members just prior to the 1910 Allotment Act.
Morton J. Elrod Papers and Photographs (1885-1959), Mss 486, 55.5 linear feet
Elrod was an early Montana botanist, naturalist, University of Montana professor, and photographer. This collection consists of materials produced and collected by Elrod from his college and early teaching years through the early 1930s. Significant subjects include the flora and fauna of western Montana; Glacier National Park; the University of Montana; and Missoula, Montana. During the first two decades of the 20th century, Elrod photographed almost every aspect of University life with his camera. Elrod also took many scenic photos of western Montana including the Mission Mountains, Glacier Park, Flathead Lake and the Bitterroot Mountains and Valley.
J. H. Sherburne Photographs (ca 1899-1904), Mss 638, 232 images
Joseph H. Sherburne established a trading post and general store at Browning, Montana, in the spring of 1896. His wife, Gertrude, and their six children, Joseph Lockley VIII, Frank Ponca, Hazel, Arthur, Agnes and Theodosia, arrived at Browning in June but only remained in Montana for the summer months. This collection of photographs largely documents the Sherburne family in Montana and Minnesota, but includes images of Badger Creek, Glacier, Yellowstone, Cut Bank Boarding School, and various Blackfeet individuals and lodges. Please note - this collection is currently being processed by Archives staff - contact us for details.
General Photograph Collection
The K. Ross Toole Archives has over 100,000 images, some of which are of Native American individuals and activities. A portion of our General Photograph Collection has been indexed and can be accessed via files located outside the door of the Archives & Special Collections reading room.
Other
Pictograph Cave Collection (ca. 1937-1941), Mss 527, 96 drawings
This collection includes hand-drawn tracings of 107 pictograph drawings from the Pictograph Cave, also known as Inscription Cave, seven miles southwest of Billings, Montana. Also included are hand-drawn versions of 14 index pages used in William Mulloy's 1958 work, A Preliminary Historical Outline for the Northwestern Plains.
