Crow Indian Gardeners & Farmers 1930s
Description
The collection includes photographs of Crow Indians, with captions, that accompanied annual reports of the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs' Division of Extension and Industry. The Crow reservation extension agent compiled the report and sent it to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. The photographs date from the 1930s and depict Crow Indian adults and youth in agricultural pursuits, 4-H programs, gardening, home economic activities, and in social gatherings. They are seen at feeds (feasts), working in their gardens, harvesting their farm fields, and managing livestock, among other activities. Many of the captions include the names of the individuals and the places depicted in them.
Provenance
The photographs in this collection were published in the annual reports of the extension agent for the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Extension and Industry at the Crow Reservation. (The text of the reports has not yet been added to the CIVAM collection.) The report photographs were copied by Cindy Ott at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. in March 2015. Cindy Ott organized three exhibitions of a dozen of the photographs at senior centers in the towns of Crow Agency, Lodge Grass, and Pryor on the Crow reservation in summer 2017. (Catalog records of individual photograph document which ones were exhibited.)
Citation
See individual photographs for specific citations.
Historical Notes
In the early years of the United States, Indian affairs were governed by the Continental Congress, which in 1775 created a Committee on Indian Affairs headed by Benjamin Franklin. Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution describes Congress's powers over Indian affairs: "To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes." The BIA, one of the oldest bureaus in the Federal government, was administratively established by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun on March 11, 1824, to oversee and carry out the Federal government's trade and treaty relations with the tribes. Congress gave the BIA statutory authority by the act of July 9, 1832 (4 Stat. 564, chap. 174). In 1849, the BIA was transferred to the newly created U.S. Department of the Interior. For years thereafter, the Bureau was known variously as the Indian office, the Indian bureau, the Indian department, and the Indian Service. The Interior Department formally adopted the name “Bureau of Indian Affairs” for the agency on September 17, 1947.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Extension and Industry was created to document Indian economic activities and ways of life, and the work of the extension agents. Charles S. Runyan was the extension agent who produced the reports under the the supervision of Crow Superintendent Robert Yellowtail in the 1930s.
Access Notes or Rights and Reproduction
The collection includes photographs of Crow Indians, with captions, that accompanied annual reports of the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs' Division of Extension and Industry. The Crow reservation extension agent compiled the report and sent it to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. The photographs date from the 1930s and depict Crow Indian adults and youth in agricultural pursuits, 4-H programs, gardening, home economic activities, and in social gatherings. They are seen at feeds (feasts), working in their gardens, harvesting their farm fields, and managing livestock, among other activities. Many of the captions include the names of the individuals and the places depicted in them.
Geographical Location
Crow reservation, Montana
Keyword(s)
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke), Crow Indian Reservation, Crow Indians