Ruth L. Parker photo album of Presbyterian missionary work at Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana : manuscript.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Author/Creator:

Parker, Ruth Louise, photographer, creator.

Contributor:

Caroline F. Schimmel Collection of Women in the American Wilderness (University of Pennsylvania)

Schimmel, Caroline F., associated name, donor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wolf Point (Mont.)--Photographs.

Wolf Point (Mont.).

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)--Missions.

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Presbyterian Church.

Fort Peck Indian Reservation (Mont.).

Genre:

photograph albums.

Photographs.

Manuscripts, English -- 20th century.

Penn Provenance:

Gift of Caroline Schimmel (CW '67), 2024. (Accession No.: 2024.000171)

Sold at auction at Swann Galleries (New York), 21 November 2024, lot 11.

Physical Description:

1 volume (20 leaves) : photographs ; 19 x 29 cm + 2 photo album pages + 1 photograph (3 x 4 cm) + 2 envelopes + 3 letters

Production:

Wolf Point, Montana, 1928-1940

Other Title:

Cover title : snapshots

Biography/History:

Ruth Louise Parker (1876-after 1950) was the director of the Presbyterian Indian Mission in Wolf Point, Montana, from September 1928 to August 1929. In 1932, Parker received mail and probably lived in New York City. In 1938, Parker lived in Colorado.The Presbyterian Indian Mission operated under the Board of National Missions (BNM) based in New York City. The BNM was created in 1923 when the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. consolidated the work of several boards and agencies. While no specific department is mentioned in the materials, the BNM's Department of Town and Country Church and Indian Work was established in 1924, having been renamed from the Department of Church and Country Life. The purpose of this department was evangelical outreach to rural communities, including but not limited to Indigenous communities.In the early 20th century, there were both Presbyterian and Mormon schools and missions on the Reservation. The Presbyterian Indian Mission in Wolf Point functioned primarily via the Wolf Point Training School until circa 1927 when the school was closed "in favor of community work" (Parker). The Mission also hosted a girls' club which is documented in the album, and held a children's play evening during winter months. Parker's article in the Wolf Point Herald, tipped in to this album, focuses on the widespread poverty and subsequent poor health of Indigenous people in Wolf Point. The Dawes Act of 1887 and the Fort Peck Allotment Act of 1908 meant that the Assiniboine and Sioux people, who had cared for land collectively, were given small, individual parcels to farm; this, after the buffalo had been hunted to a population of just 500 animals by 1889, led to further struggle and widespread poverty ("Assiniboin").The Fort Peck Indian Reservation emcompasses approximately 3,200 square miles in northeastern Montana. The Reservation is home to the Assiniboine and Sioux nations, both of which are respectively comprised of multiple bands. Wolf Point is the largest city on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation as of 2020.

Summary:

Ruth Louise Parker was the director of the Presbyterian Indian Mission in Wolf Point, Montana, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in 1929. This collection consists of an album Parker compiled while living and working in Wolf Point with photos of the mission, people, and events including Grass Dance and Sun Dance, plus some correspondence.

Cited as:

Ruth L. Parker photo album of Presbyterian missionary work at Fort Peck Indian Reservation, 1928-1940, (Ms. Coll 1720). Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

OCLC:

1572162673