Chicago American Indian Photography Project photographs
Scope and Content of the Collection
Photographs taken by Dan Battise, Ben Bearskin, Orlando Cabanban, Joe Kazumura, F. Peter Weil, and Leroy Wesaw for the Chicago American Indian Photography Project. The images document the social life and customs of the American Indian community in Chicago during the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. They depict the group life and activities of the American Indian Center (AIC) such as camera club outings, pow wows, the basketball team, and expositions. There are also shots of family members of the American Indian photographers (Battise, Bearskin, and Wesaw). Several of F. Peter Weil’s photographs document the opening of the D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies at the Newberry Library.
Photographs with multiple copies (originally in separate sets designated as A, R, and E) have been combined. See also the Seeing Indian in Chicago Exhibition Records (Ayer Modern MS Seeing Indian) for photographs that were displayed during the 1985 exhibition at the Newberry Library and the Orlando Cabanban Photographs (Ayer Modern MS Cabanban) for additional photographs by Cabanban.
Dates
- Creation: approximately 1950s-1987
Creator
Language
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The Chicago American Indian Photography Project photographs are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Chicago American Indian Photography Project photographs are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections at reference@newberry.org
History of the Chicago American Indian Photography Project
The Chicago American Indian Photography Project aimed to document the American Indian community in Chicago by creating an archive of photographs taken by interested community members, including Dan Battise, Ben Bearskin, Orlando Cabanban, Joe Kazumura, F. Peter Weil, and Leroy Wesaw. Many of these photographs were displayed in the Hermon Dunlap Smith Gallery at the Newberry Library as part of an exhibition entitled Seeing Indian in Chicago from July 22 to September 21, 1985.
Extent
2.1 Linear Feet (5 boxes)
Abstract
Photographs taken by Dan Battise, Ben Bearskin, Orlando Cabanban, Joe Kazumura, F. Peter Weil, and Leroy Wesaw for the Chicago American Indian Photography Project. Images document the social life and customs of the American Indian community in Chicago during the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. Includes many photographs from activities of the American Indian Center. Many of these photographs were displayed in the Hermon Dunlap Smith Gallery at the Newberry Library as part of an exhibition entitled Seeing Indian in Chicago from July 22 to September 21, 1985 (see Ayer Modern MS Seeing Indian).
Organization
Papers are organized in the following series:
- Series 1: Dan Battise Photographs, approximately 1950s-1960s
- Box 1
- Series 2: Ben Bearskin Photographs, approximately1960s-1970s
- Box 2
- Series 3: Orlando Cabanban Photographs, approximately 1960s-1970s
- Box 3
- Series 4: Joe Kazumura Photographs, approximately 1970s-1980s
- Box 4
- Series 5: F. Peter Weil Photographs, approximately 1950s-1970s
- Box 5
- Series 6: Leroy Wesaw Photographs, approximately 1960s-1970s
- Box 5
Collection Stack Location
3a 55 13
Provenance
Transfer from the D’Arcy McNickle Center for the History of the American Indian, 2009.
Processed by
Gordon Dearborn Wilkins, 2015; Catherine Grandgeorge, 2018.
Subject
- Wesaw family (Family)
- American Indian Center of Chicago (Organization)
- Battise, Dan (Person)
- Bearskin, Ben (Person)
- Cabanban, Orlando (Person)
- Kazumura, Joe (Person)
- Newberry Library (Organization)
- Weil, F. Peter (Person)
- Wesaw, Leroy (Person)
- D'Arcy McNickle Center for the History of the American Indian (Organization)
- Battise family (Family)
- Bearskin family (Family)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Inventory of the Chicago American Indian Photography Project photographs, approximately 1950s-1987
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Gordon Dearborn Wilkins
- Date
- ©2015.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org