G24 ANNUAL EEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 192 8 



In 18G8 the collection made by Dr. Edward Palmer in the South- 

 west began to arrive as the forerunner of a long line of important 

 additions to the national collection of costumes from native American 

 tribes. From 1873 onward there arrived vast quantities of ethnolog- 

 ical and archeological material secured by the Bureau of American 

 Ethnology, then under Maj. J. W. Powell, from every section of the 

 United States, but principally from the pueblo region, the latter 

 collection numbering well over 50,000 objects. The Bureau of 

 American Ethnology remains one of the most important sources of 

 ethnological accessions to the national collections. 



From California tribes came valuable accessions obtained through 

 the services of Stephen Powers, Livingstone Stone, Lieut. P. H. Ray, 

 C. C. Stewart, J. W. Hudson, and others. The extension of the west- 

 ern railroads to the Pacific coast and the preliminary work which 

 preceded their construction made possible for the first time the 

 accumulation of collections from the interior of the western portion 

 of the United States. The collection made by George Gibbs from 

 th'fe tribes of Washington is typical of several similarly acquired 

 collections. The Hayden survey and numerous other exploring 

 expeditions, including those sponsored by the United States Army 

 within the area of the Great Plains, each contributed many valuable 

 specimens to the Museum collections of costumes and other eth- 

 nological material. 



Outstanding collections of Indian costumes and associated objects 

 represent most of the geographical areas formerly occupied by the 

 American Indians and are typical of the several culture areas of 

 native America. Outstanding contributors include such names as 

 Maj. J. W. Powell, Emile Granier, George Catlin, James Mooney, 

 Washington Matthews, W. E. Safford, J. B. Steere, W. H. Gabb, 

 H. R. Voth, James Stevenson, W. J. Hoffman, Frances Densmore, 

 F. LaFlesche, William H. Holmes, Walter Hough, R. H. Pratt, 

 and others. 



The Museum collections are especially rich in specimens from 

 the Plains tribes. This is attributable to an awakened interest in 

 Indian culture which occurred approximately at the time many of 

 the Plains tribes were first brought into contact with the advancing 

 frontier line. That epoch is now definitely closed, and many objects 

 from the Plains tribes now finding their way into the Museum col- 

 lections are commercialized products, the income from the sale of 

 which contributes to the support of the western tribes from which 

 they come. Occasionally a valuable collection of costumes from one 

 of the Plains tribes of an earlier decade is received from the family 

 of some officer of the United States Army. These collections fre- 

 quently include objects of dress formerly belonging to prominent 

 historical characters, such as Chiefs Gall, Red Cloud, Geroniiuo, Sit- 



