Search Results: NATIVE AMERICANA from Downtown Brown Books, ABAA

Los Angeles: Putnam and Valentine, 1900. Ephemera. Very good. A gelatin silver print photograph showing a Pima (probably) woman kneeling on the ground with a basket on her lap. Behind her sits a young child, with the door of a wickiup dwelling in the background. She is surrounded by basket-making supplies, laying on cloth blankets, in finished baskets, and in metal tins. The woman and her child are wearing print dresses. This is an attractive image, printed in the center of a paper sheet, with a decorative photographic vignette of cactus-filled landscape at the lower right corner. Image: 8 by 4-1/2 inches; sheet: 13-1/4 by 8-1/4 inches. Marked "Copyright 1900 (?) By A. Putnam." Putnam (1870-1949). Arion worked for his father John R. Putnam and Carlton Valentine, the owners of Putnam and Valentine, a prominent Los Angeles photography studio from the 1890s into the twentieth century. For a time, Arion was a photographer for the Southern Pacific and he may have made this image while touring the… Read More

New York: Published by the American Folk-Lore Society, 1932. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. A collection of tales from the Heiltsuk people, a First Nations group on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. xiii, 178 pages. First edition (first printing). A near fine copy bound in the publisher's dark plum colored cloth.

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1868. First Edition. Ephemera. Near fine. A brief summary of the resolution of the claims of Joseph G. Heald and Reuben Wright against the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes for losses and expenses incurred during the Civil War. 2 pages (one sheet printed on both sides). 40th Congress, 3d Session. House of Representatives Report No. 1. "Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians. [To accompany bill H. R. No. 370.] December 8, 1868.-Ordered to be printed. Mr. Clarke, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, made the following Report." First edition (first printing). Near fine, never bound.

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1872. First Edition. Pamphlet. Fine. A Congressional reprint of three documents related to requests for reimbursement to the Dakotas for the expenses of the Sioux Uprising of 1862, which was still percolating through government channels after a full decade. The document lists some 300 Dakota militia members, most of whom were owed $51, along with the sums paid to their suppliers. It also includes background information on the militias and the Dakota War of 1862. "Every able-bodied [white] man relied upon himself and his trusty rifle to defend his household from the nightly expected attack of the knife and the tomahawk, until the isolated settlers could assemble together and throw up their hasty fortifications for mutual protection" (p. 7). 42d Congress, 2d Session. House of Representatives Ex. Doc. No. 230. April 2, 1872. 9 pages. First edition (first printing). A fine copy; sewn as issued; never bound.

New York: Saga Press, 2023. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. A recent novel by the prolific and acclaimed horror writer and member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana. First edition (first printing with a numberline ending in 1). A fine copy in a fine dust jacket with small bends at the corners. Signed by Jones on the title page; he also added a rubber stamp of a chainsaw.

Ashland, OR: B. L. Cunningham, 1905. Ephemera. Near fine. A gelatin silver print of an elderly man in profile, holding a mirror in one hand and trimming his beard with scissors held in the other hand. The subject's clothes, a thick cloth jacket and canvas jeans, are worn and full of holes. The image is captioned in pencil on the mount, with the following hard-to-read text on the back (verso), also in pencil: "No. 113. Dr. Thompson Shaving. Said to be 110 years old-the oldest of the Klamath Indians. B. L. Cunningham[?], Photo. Ashland, Oreg. This is a sample of the [?] of [?] Klamath [?], O. J. L[?]." Dr. Thompson ("Indian name" O Dome Koos) appears in the census of the Klamath Indian Agency in the early 1900s, with the final entry in 1907, suggesting an outer limit for the date of this photograph. His date of birth recorded in the census varies from year to year, but 1823 is the median, suggesting he was perhaps in his seventies at the time of this picture. The photographer was probably Burton… Read More

[Scottsdale, AZ?]: Apocrypha Press, 1997. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Fritz Scholder (1937-2005), an important American figurative painter, is best known for his expressionistic portraits of Native Americans (he was an enrolled member of the Luiseño tribe). But his artistic practice was not limited to the visual arts. For a brief period, following a collaborative project with Leonard Baskin in 1994, Scholder produced five artist's books as the Apocrypha Press. This is the third of the little-known book series from Scholder. He conceived of the book and arranged for its printing by letterpress and handbinding. The text consists of a short epigraph or perhaps a poem by Scholder on food and drink, followed by eleven recipes: Duchess's Hemp Dressing, Lemon Steak, Stone Chicken, Flaming Fish, One-Two-Three Margarita (The way it was intended), Sangrita (Widow's Blood) chaser for a margarita, Orange Fool, Mead, Chess Pie, Duchess's Gruel, and Witches Foam. A few of the recipes have credited sources,… Read More

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1871. First Edition. Pamphlet. Near fine. A plea from a Cherokee leader, the son of the assassinated tribal leader and Cherokee Phoenix editor of the same name, to have Congress intervene in support of dropping criminal charges against him lodged in a dispute over tobacco taxes and Native sovereignty. In this statement to Congress, Boudinot protests his poor treatment as one of the first Native Americans to go into manufacturing (the production of tobacco products in present-day Oklahoma), and he makes one of his first pitches for Native citizenship, a cause he would pursue the rest of his life. "Your memorialist, however, with indescribably mortification represents that instead of receiving the plaudits, congratulations, and commendations of a country for having established the ability of an Indian to manufacture products for his own people, the doors of a penitentiary in a neighboring state are thrown wide to receive him..." He then expresses support for Native American… Read More

Nome, Alaska: F. H. Nowell, 1904. Ephemera. Near fine. A platinum print of a striking Inuit woman dressed in furs and staring down the camera. This image, with no title in the negative, is most often encountered as a photogravure entitled "Eskimo Belle." Nowell (1864-1960) worked in Nome, Alaska, from 1901 to 1909. In 1909, he moved his studio to Seattle. This image is included in the online catalog of Nowell's work at the University of Washington in gravure format, where the image is cropped slightly at the bottom and the sides. Image: 7-1/2 by 9 inches, printed with a narrow border. With the photographer's logo reading "Photo by F. H. Nowell" in script and the image number "1200" in the negative. Unmounted but protected in an archival mat and held in place with clear photo corners. This is a platinum print on sepia paper. The image is excellent, with strong contrast and great tonal range. A luminous image.

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1870. First Edition. Pamphlet. Fine. It is our desire to promote the settlement of these Indians upon farms, and secure their support from the labor of their own hands," wrote the members of the Associated Executive Committee of Friends on Indian Affairs. The group had been formed under President Ulysses S. Grant, who in an attempt to secure peace on the Plains authorized a group of Quakers to oversee Native American affairs in Kansas and the Indian Territory. This publication prints the Quakers' request for funds to help settle 10,000 members of the Kiowa, Comanche, Apache, Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Sac, and Fox tribes in Indian territory and to begin the process of teaching them to farm. The logic behind the request was the considerable sum, estimated here at $200,000 per year, required just to ship food from the nearest rail line to the Native American settlements in the Indian Territory. Farming was the only alternative, the Committee of Friends said, "unless we are… Read More

Arizona: Synaesthesia Press, 2001. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Two short excerpts from The Things They Carried printed letterpress and issued in an edition of 125 copies-99 in paper wrappers and 26 bound in boards, all signed by O'Brien and the illustrator, Fritz Scholder. Scholder, part Luseño, was an acclaimed Native American artist who incorporated Pop Art ideas into his work. This is one of the lettered copies, housed in one of the more unusual slipcases ever issued with a fine-press book: a five-pound hand-cut and welded metal slipcase, stamped with the titles. The limitation letter is also stamped into the open end of the case. [24] pages, bound dos-a-dos (opening normally from both the front and back, with the two texts meeting in the middle). 6 by 7-1/4 inches. First edition (first printing). This is copy Z of 26 bound in black cloth, signed by O'Brien and Scholder. A fine copy, with the errata slip laid in. In a fine example of the metal slipcase.

Arizona: Synaesthesia Press, 2001. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Two short excerpts from The Things They Carried printed letterpress and issued in an edition of 125 copies-99 in paper wrappers and 26 bound in boards, all signed by O'Brien and the illustrator, Fritz Scholder. Scholder, part Luseño, was an acclaimed Native American artist who incorporated Pop Art ideas into his work. This is one of the lettered copies, housed in one of the more unusual slipcases ever issued with a fine-press book: a five-pound hand-cut and welded metal slipcase, stamped with the titles. The limitation letter is also stamped into the open end of the case. [24] pages, bound dos-a-dos (opening normally from both the front and back, with the two texts meeting in the middle). 6 by 7-1/4 inches. First edition (first printing). This is copy G of 26 bound in black cloth, signed by O'Brien and Scholder. A fine copy, with the errata slip laid in. In a fine example of the metal slipcase.

Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1981. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near fine. An account of the often brutal interactions between white settlers and the Native Americans living in the Round Valley, in Northern Mendocino County, California. Since descendants of some of the worst offenders still live in the region, rumors of their attempts to supress the book abound. Its relative scarcity is due to a more prosaic chain of events. After an allegation of (unintentional) plagiarism was leveled against the section written by Estle Beard, the publisher investigated, agreed with the complaint, and withdrew the book from sale. Since both authors have since passed away, it seems unlikely that this book will ever be republished or converted into an e-book. The original hardcover is the only way to read about this troubled era in Northern California's history. 403 pages. First and only edition (first printing). A fine copy in a fine dust jacket, but for a short tear to the front panel. An… Read More

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1871. First Edition. Pamphlet. Fine. The noted 19th century Native American author and leader of the Pokagun Band of the Pottawatomi, joins with other tribal leaders to make a claim for almost $300,000 due to them by treaty but never paid. This publication briefly lays out the history of treaties between the Pottawatomi and the US government and describes how small bands were allowed to stay in Michigan when the rest of the tribe was removed to Indian Territory. These bands, which had converted to Catholicism, were to receive a pro rata share of the funds guaranteed by the treaties, but Congress regularly appropriated less funds than were necessary to meet the obligations. Pokagun began lobbying for full funding with President Lincoln, who he met twice. This appears to be his first published claim to Congress, an effort that would be repeated several times during the 1870s. In the 1880s, Pokagun published several books. He is listed here as the primary author, with seven… Read More

[Nome, Alaska]: F. H. Nowell, 1905. Ephemera. Near fine. Portrait of an Inuit woman, Kow-ear-nuk, standing at a slight angle to the camera, with a rack of split, drying salmon behind her. A similar image, captioned "Kow-ear-nuk and his (sic) drying salmon", appeared in many editions of Ella Higginson's Alaska: The Great Country, first published in 1908, and has been widely reproduced to document Inuit salmon-drying at the turn of the 20th century. The present image or the one in Higginson's book was exhibited in Indian Images at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (1970) with the caption, "Kow-ear-nuk with tattooing on her chin. In the background fish have been split for drying." Nowell (1864-1960) worked in Nome, Alaska, from 1901 to 1909. In 1909, he moved his studio to Seattle. This image is not included in the online catalog of Nowell's work at the University of Washington. Image: 7-1/2 by 9 inches, printed with a narrow border. Captioned and numbered "Kow-Ear-Nuk" and "4076",… Read More

Tuscaloosa, AL: FC2, 2008. First Edition. Trade paperback. Fine. A paperback original novel by the prolific and acclaimed horror writer and member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana. First edition (stated). A fine copy in wrappers. Signed by Jones on the title page.

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1867. First Edition. Pamphlet. Fine. A Congressional printing of a typically frank report from General Sherman about what is essentially a state of martial law on the Great Plains. Sherman's boss, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant endorsed the report and forwarded it to the Secretary of War, who conveyed it to the US Congress. Sherman writes that US troops in the Great Plains are protecting telegraph lines, mail routes, and the main roads used by Western emigrants. He states that the Army "will act against all people who violate the laws of Congress, or who endanger the lives or property of our people, be they white, black, or copper-colored. When there are no courts or civil authorities to hold and punish such malefactors, we must of necessity use the musket pretty freely..." Sherman then describes actions to be taken with the Cheyennes, Kiowas, and Sioux. The first two tribes will be warned by Gen. [Winfiled Scott] Hancock, who "will confer with them to ascertain if they want to… Read More

Butte, MT: N. A. Forsyth, 1910. Ephemera. Fine. An exceptional group of three stereoviews documenting early 20th century Native American rituals performed in Montana, most likely at the 4th of July (Arlee) Pow Wow. The Independence Day event was a subversive effort to keep Native dance traditions alive during a time when the Bureau of Indian Affairs discouraged or even banned such gatherings-celebrations of the 4th of July were politically hard for federal agents to suppress. The Arlee Pow Wow continued annually for more than a century until the 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The attribution of these images to the 4th of July Pow Wows is based on the location-the wilderness, with few White spectators, and the prominence of 46-star American flags in the images of the grass and choosing dances. The third image (of the snake dance), on an identical mount, has hills, rather than plains, in the background and no visible flags. It may be a different event or simply taken from… Read More

Nome, Alaska: F. T. Nowell, 1905. Ephemera. Near fine. A striking gelatin silver print of an Alaskan Inuit woman looking directly into the camera and wearing a hooded fur parka. Two elements make this an unusual Nowell portrait. First, it is a studio image and the vast majority of his pictures of Inuits are taken on location. Second, this image is not captioned in the negative, as is usually the case for his commercial prints, which usually have captions like "Eskimo Bell." Whatever the circumstances behind this picture were, the subject stares back at the camera and the viewer as an equal. Nowell (1864-1960) worked in Nome, Alaska, from 1901 to 1909. In 1909, he moved his studio to Seattle. This image is not included in the online catalog of Nowell's work at the University of Washington. Image: 5-1/2 by 7-1/4 inches plus a white border; mount: 8-3/4 by 10-3/4 inches. The mount is paperboard covered with gray paper on both sides. The photographer's F. H. Nowell | Nome, Alaska mark is embossed in… Read More

[Washington, D.C.]: (n.p.), 1874. First Edition. Pamphlet. Very good. A printed report on three claims to large tracts of New Mexico based on 18th century Spanish land grants: a claim from the Native Zia, Santa Ana, and Jemez pueblos and two claims by old New Mexican families, one near Santa Fe, the other in Navajo territory. Each claim includes a printed transcript of the original Spanish manuscript, an English translation of these documents, and testimony from various witnesses, almost all of whom are nuevomexicanos. This and similar 19th century land grant cases are some of the only places in the historical record where Spanish-speaking New Mexicans tell their own story. Even though the context is a constrained legal proceeding, details of their life story, occupations, literacy, and family structure are revealed. 28 pages. First edition. Bottom margin of first page dusty, else generally very good or better in original condition: stitched gatherings, never bound.