Title: Frank Bennett Fiske Papers
Dates: 1850-1979
Collection Number: 10105
Quantity: 8 feet
Abstract: Papers consist of Fiske family correspondence, minutes of the Catholic
Order of Foresters (Fort Yates, ND), Fiske's research files, manuscripts, articles, diaries and journals, studio registers, cash books, guest register, programs, notes, notebooks, broadsides, audio recordings and a play script by Angela Fiske.
Provenance: The collection was donated by Fiske's daughter, Francine L. Peters, on July 28, 1971. The biographical sketch was written by Frank Vyzralek for the ND Heritage Foundation in December 1982. The collection was processed, and this finding aid was created by Emily E. Schultz in July-November, 2010.
Property Rights: The State Historical Society of North Dakota owns the property rights to this collection.
Copyrights:
Access: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Citation: Researchers are requested to cite the collection title, collection number, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota in all footnote and bibliographic references.
Transfer: Five photographic prints and 11 post cards were transferred from the
collection to the Photo Archives in August 2010.
Related Collections: Frank Fiske Photograph Collections (Collection numbers: 1952, 18, 35, 47, 70, 82, 98, 99, 149, 150, 197, 232, 245, 463, 581, 583, 584, 585, 586, 617, 618, A8, A2077, A2311, A7145, A7146, B1038, C1588, 2005-P-011, 2005-P-012,).
Mrs. Angela (Cournoyer) Fiske Photograph Collections (00465 and
A3468).
Francine Fiske Photograph Collection (2009-P-039)
Angela Cournoyer Fiske. Papers, 1850-1895; 1923 (MSS 20406)
Brochure on Frank Fiske Photography (50327).
Raymond V. Reed. Oral History Interview (Tape 1200).
Angela Fiske. Interview (Oral History Collection, Tape 1299).
Numerous artifacts among Museums' collections, including (but not
limited to): Fiske's cameras and equipment, photographs, and Indian artifacts.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
By Frank Vyzralek
Frank Bennett Fiske was a rarity among those American photographers whose work has centered upon the American Indian. Unlike most such artists, Fiske was a native of the Dakotas and grew up with many of those people who later became subjects for his camera on the reservation lands bordering the Missouri River. The Sioux Indian people of the Standing Rock agency were friends, neighbors - a part of his life and upbringing.
The son of a soldier, Fiske was born June 11, 1883 at the military post of Fort Bennett (from whence came his middle name), about 30 miles north of Pierre, South Dakota, on the west bank of the Missouri. After an abortive fling at ranching, George Fiske hired on as a civilian wagon master with the U.S. Army and in the spring of 1889 moved to Fort Yates, North Dakota, where the military post coexisted with the Standing Rock Indian agency headquarters. During the decade that followed, Frank Fiske attended school both at the fort and at the boarding school for Indian children. His summers were spend herding cows for families at the post, practicing his violin, working as a cabin boy on the river boats and helping out at the post photograph gallery.
Fiske's boyhood ambition was to be a steamboat pilot and after being hired as a cabin boy he worked diligently to learn the trade. Unfortunately, boating on the Missouri River was then in its waning days; Fort Yates was an important river point only because it didn't have a railroad and was the destination of considerable government freight. Nonetheless, Fiske spent many summer hours on the river and came to know its ever-changing bends and shoals intimately.
Photography was another absorbing interest and the young Frank Fiske devoted much time to learning the business from S. T. "Dick" Fansler, operator of the post studio at Fort Yates. Most nineteenth century Army installations had such galleries usually the buildings were government property and were made available to the first photographer, transient or otherwise, who asked for its use. The Fort Yates studio had been occupied in the past by such distinguished artists as David F. Barry and Orlando Geoff. During October, 1899 Fiske learned his mentor, Fansler, would not return and successfully won permission from the commanding officer to occupy the building the following spring. Through several months short of his seventeenth birthday, Frank Fiske in 1900 had a photographic studio of his very own.
Business was good until 1903 when the military post of Fort Yates was closed down. With great expectations and even greater enthusiasm Fiske opened a studio at Bismarck; by March, 1905, he was back home again, having learned that competing with experienced photographers was far different from operating a monopoly within the narrow confines of a military post. Chastened, he concentrated on learning his craft better and began making portrait studies of the Indian, men, women and children on the Standing Rock agency. As time went on he became proficient in posing his subjects effectively and his collection of negatives grew.
At the same time his interest in the culture and history of the Sioux people developed and he began reading all he could find on the subject as well as interviewing any of the reservation old-timers who would talk to him. By 1917 he felt knowledgeable enough to publish The Taming of the Sioux, his own story of the tribe's history. Fiske's attitudes toward the Sioux, as demonstrated by his writing were generally sympathetic though probably not far different from those of most whites who were in daily contact with the tribesmen. While chafing at the government bureaucracy that grew up in the name of administering Indian affairs, he applauded the firm hand of the military which forced the Indians back to their reservations following the Ghost Dance uprising of the early 1890's. With the Army in charge "they could not remain sulky and stubborn any longer," he wrote approvingly.
Fiske saw the Standing Rock Sioux of 1917 as "good natured people" who were "not at all dissatisfied with their lot in life." He concluded his book with the opinion that "from now on the history of this once great nation promises to be very prosaic and uninteresting, indeed." These are attitudes not untypical for their day for they go far to explain why Fiske rarely photographed the Sioux in anything but the clothing and stances of the Stalwart Nineteenth Century American Indian. Caught up in the romantic residue of what had been a brutal and difficult era in American history, Fiske labored to recreate through his photograph and writings only those memories which portrayed the Indian as the noble aboriginal warrior of the misty past.
While the photography business and his studies of Indian history took up much of his time, Fiske also worked as an assistant pilot on the riverboats operated by Isaac P. Baker of Bismarck whenever his services were required from 1912 to the end of the decade. In 1918, after his attempts to enlist in the World War I army were rejected due to his age, Fiske importuned Baker to let him accompany the river steamer Scarab on a voyage down the Missouri to St. Louis during which he made a remarkable series of photos of the river in an era when it was little used as an artery of transportation. Upon arrival in St. Louise Fiske enlisted at Jefferson Barracks and was accepted but his romantic fantasies of fighting overseas were dashed. He spent the months until war's end training as a machine gunner.
In 1919 he married Angela Cournoyer, a South Dakotan descended from the fur trader Joseph Picotte. The two had known each other since 1908 when Angela visited her sister, a teacher at the Standing Rock boarding school. Angela had degrees from Haskell Institute, the University of South Dakota and the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Following the wedding the couple settled down at Fort Yates where Angela soon found work as a substitute teacher at the reservation school. In 1921 their daughter, Francine, was born.
Business at the Fort Yates studio, with its small clientele, was never profitable enough to afford a comfortable living and now with a family to provide for Frank Fiske took what work was available. Appointed Sioux County Auditor, he served three years and was then elected to a two-year term as County Treasurer. Fiske found indoor work of that sort too confining so in 1925 the family moved the studio to McLaughlin, South Dakota, where they were in business until 1928. The following year, Frank took over Fort Yates' weekly newspaper, the Sioux County Pioneer-Arrow; the paper became sort of a family pet project for the next decade. Francine did a stint as editor during 1938-1939.
Music played an important role in the life of the Fiske family. Frank's early training on the violin made him a talented musician whose forte was the old-time "fiddling" music popular among the residents around Fort Yates. During the teens he and his sister Laura formed the nucleus of a small orchestra that played for dances, parties, and similar occasions. Angela was also an accomplished musician and she joined the band which became an important source of extra income.
Angela's interest in drama and music prompted the couple to organize plays in Fort Yates using local amateur actors. After several successes they produced "The Cry of Lone Eagle," for which Angela had written the script in 1921. With a cast made up largely of Standing Rock Indians the play toured the Dakotas and was taken to the National Folk Festival in Chicago. Another year they produced a play based on the life of Sakakawea, the Indian woman who guided Lewis and Clark across the Rocky Mountains.
Frank also found time to continue his studies of the region's past. His second book, The Life and Death of Sitting Bull, was a work of more than passing interest since he had seen, as a youngster, the Sioux leader being buried in the military cemetery at Fort Yates. In the years following World War II he gathered data for further manuscripts, including planned histories of Fort Yates and the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. During June, 1947 he combined his interest in the romantic past with his river boating experience when he and a young Fort Yates teacher, Bill Lemmons, canoed from the confluence of the Little Big Horn and Big Horn Rivers near Hardin, Montana, to the Missouri and down to Bismarck and Fort Yates. The long and difficult journey was made in order to gain insights into the experience of steamboat captain Grant Marsh, who ran the steamer Far West over the same route in the aftermath of the 1876 Little Big Horn battle.
While Frank Fiske's portraits of the Standing Rock Sioux have been well known to collectors and historians, they only gradually became familiar to the general public. Exhibitions, combined with information lectures on Sioux culture and history, such as that held in conjunction with Bismarck's annual art week in the fall of 1948 served to spread his fame. Finally, during 1950, he was honored for his Indian portraits by being made the recipient of the North Dakota Art Award. A scant two years later Frank Fiske was dead. A 1950 heart attack sent him to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Fargo for extended treatment and convalescence; a second, fatal, attack occurred in the summer of 1952 and he passed away at a Bismarck hospital on July 18.
Several years after his death the bulk of Frank Fiske's historic and Indian photographs were transferred to the State Historical Society of North Dakota in Bismarck and eventually became the property of that agency.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The Frank Bennett Fiske Papers date from 1850 to 1979 and occupy 8 cubic feet. The records are divided into seven Series: Proceedings, Correspondence, Research Files, Literary Productions, Financial Documents, Printed Material, and Audio Recordings.
Series I, Proceedings, consists of a ledger of the minutes of the Catholic Order of Foresters, Fort Yates, ND, 1910-1940. The ledger is located in a phase box with the collection and is in fair physical condition.
Series II, Correspondence, dates from 1880-1976, and is primarily correspondence to and from Frank Fiske, but also includes the correspondence of George Fiske, Major James McLaughlin, Angela Fiske, Sam Bruguier (Bruguiere) and Professor William E. Lemmons. This Series has considerable research potential for those interested in Frank Fiske personally, as his correspondence provides insight into his personality and outlook throughout his lifetime. The correspondence also details his activities and professions. Although there is little correspondence of Fiske as a child and teenager, his correspondence as a young adult and an adult is fairly complete and contains few chronological gaps. The correspondence after his death in July 1952 mostly consists of the correspondence of Angela Fiske. Angela Fiske's pre-1952 correspondence is interspersed with her husband's and mostly involves correspondence to family and friends, about employment as a teacher at the Standing Rock Agency, and her plays. Correspondence in poor condition was photocopied, front and back, and the originals were removed. The remaining original correspondence is in fair to good condition.
Topically, Frank Fiske's correspondence varies by year and follows his interests and particular professional inclinations at the time. Specific topics include his photographs and photography business; publication of articles, plays and manuscripts; steam boating; military service; general and local history; organizational involvement; business as Sioux County Treasurer and County Auditor; estates; musical performances at dances and rodeos; ownership and business as editor of the Sioux County Pioneer Arrow; lectures and exhibitions; and the North Dakota Art Award.
Throughout the years, Fiske maintains regular correspondence with Angela Cournoyer, later Mrs. Angela Fiske, as well as with his parents, sister Laura, friends, and later, his daughter Francine. Other notable correspondents include: Edward Patterson, I. P. Baker, Charles A. Eastman, Grant Marsh, Father Martin, and Dr. J. E. Maple, E. D. Mossman, Reverend Father Bernard Strassmaier, William Langer, the State Historical Society of North Dakota, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, the North Dakota Federations of Women's Clubs, and others.
Most folders in the Correspondence Series contain non-correspondence items with the letters. Examples include: a lease (1904), application for license as a steam boat pilot (1913), warranty deed (1912-1915), application for commission in the Signal Corps Balloon Division (1917), notice for examination from the Aviation Examination Board (1918), wedding announcement (1919), meeting notice for the Board of County Commissioners (1920-1922), an affidavit about the Battle of Little Big Horn (1925-1926), list of individuals who agreed to sell interest in the Sioux County Pioneer Arrow to Frank Fiske (ca 1929?), Angela Fiske's paperwork as a teacher at the Standing Rock Agency (1929-1930), and a receipt for expenses for Sioux County Pioneer Arrow (1929). These items remain in their original order with the related correspondence.
Series III, Research Files, 1850-1979, contains four Subseries: Fiske's research files on the Standing Rock Sioux, Steam Boating, Biographies, and Miscellaneous. This Series is of considerable research potential for those interested in Fiske, as it provides background information on the subjects that Fiske studied and wrote about. The Research Files that Fiske compiled on the Standing Rock Sioux are extensive and provide valuable insight into the affairs of the Agency from about 1890 to 1948. The Steam Boating Subseries is of narrow scope, consisting of a single publication of a table of distances from the mouth of the Missouri River to Three Forks, Montana, from maps made in 1889-1893. The Biographical Research Files have more potential for researchers of varied topics, and are valuable for genealogists and historians alike. As a whole, the Biographical Research Files contain a variety of materials, including (but not limited to): clippings, Fiske articles and drafts, correspondence, papers, programs, publications, and notes, although the contents of each individual file differs. Some Biographical Research Files contain more information about the particular individual than do other files. The Miscellaneous Research Files contain a hodgepodge of article clippings and publications that Fiske used in his research, or collected out of personal interest, as well as his own incomplete writings and correspondence.
Series IV, Literary Productions, 1911-1959, is divided into four Subseries: Manuscripts, Articles by Fiske, Diaries and Journals, and a Play by Angela Fiske. Not just a photographer, Fiske consistently wrote throughout his lifetime, and this Series is valuable as it traces Fiske's writing throughout his career. The Manuscripts Subseries includes "John Carson, Woodhawk," "My River - The Missouri," "History of the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation," a History of (the American Legion) Albert Grass Post No. 173, Fort Yates, and a number of short fiction stories by Fiske, the bulk of which were unpublished. The second Subseries, Articles by Fiske, spans from 1914-1959 and includes newspaper articles published in the Aberdeen American and other newspapers, scraps of articles by Fiske, and published articles about Fiske. The third Subseries, Diaries and Journals, includes two of Frank Fiske's diaries, dating from July-August 1911, and from November 14, 1919-July 26, 1926, four notepads of steamboat log notes, ca 1912-1914, and a journal from Fiske's trip on the Scarab in 1918. The final Subseries, Play by Angela Fiske, is the script of her play "The Cry of Lone Eagle" with notes, probably from the 1920s. Further information about Angela Fiske's plays can be found in the Correspondence Series.
Series V, Financial Documents, 1896-1953, is comprised of three Subseries: Studio Registers, Cash Books, and Miscellaneous. The Studio Registers are all located in phase boxes, and include five registers from Fiske's Photographic Studios at Fort Yates, Bismarck, and McLaughlin, SD. The Cash Books Subseries, also located in phase boxes, consists of one book from an unidentified store, probably a general store, and one book of Fiske's financial transactions. The book from the unidentified store (July 22, 1896-January 1897), probably at Fort Yates, lists the customer's name and item(s) purchased, as well as the price of the item(s) and the total. This book is of research value because it shows prices of everyday items, like groceries, oil, tobacco, clothing, rope, beads, and a variety of other wares. In the same vein, Fiske's cash book (January 1903-September 1905) reflects the prices of his living and photographic expenses, and details his customers and their purchases. His cash book dates from his years in Fort Yates and his brief time in Bismarck, ND in 1905. The Miscellaneous Subseries includes a Guest Register from the Fiske Studio, dating from 1947-1953, and twenty five booklets/note pads that contain addresses, notes, accounting, and photograph orders, and date from about 1911 to 1944.
Series VI, Printed Material, 1902-1938, contains three Subseries: Programs, Broadsides, and Miscellaneous. The Programs Subseries includes programs for "The $10,000 Beauty" (Monte Carlo, AK, 1902); the Annual Celebration and Council Fire of the MN Chippewas (1915); the musical-comedy "A Little Clodhopper" (1925); and the 1930 and 1931 Cowboys' Reunions (Beulah, ND). The Broadsides Subseries consists of oversize broadsides from: Standing Rock Fairs, Rodeos and Great Sioux Congress (Fort Yates, ND, several years); "'The Cry of Lone Eagle" performance in Minot (ca 1938); the 3rd Annual Grant County Old Settlers Picnic (Carson, ND); and lecture by Frank Bennett Fiske. The Miscellaneous Subseries comprises pages from a 1908 calendar that have not been filled out.
Series VII, Audio Recordings, 1945-1949, consists of vinyl records recorded at 33 1/3 and 78 revolutions per minute (rpm). Most of the records are recordings of traditional Native American songs by a variety of individuals, including several by Angela Fiske; most of the songs are home recordings which were not professionally recorded in a recording studio. The Series also contains "Square Dance Fiddle Tunes" recorded by Frank Fiske, and a speech by President Harry Truman.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Series I. Proceedings, 1910-1940, loose
Consists of a single ledger of the minutes of the Catholic Order of Foresters, Fort Yates, 1910-1940. The ledger is located in a phase box at the end of the collection.
Series II. Correspondence, 1880-1976, Boxes 1-2
Consists primarily of the personal and business correspondence of Frank Fiske, arranged chronologically.
Series III. Research Files, 1850-1979, Boxes 2-4 and oversize
Consists of Fiske's Research Files, arranged topically into four Subseries: the Standing Rock Sioux, Steam Boating, Biographies, and Miscellaneous. Oversize material with this Series is located in map case drawer 412.
Series IV. Literary Productions, 1911-1959, Boxes 4-5 and oversize
Consists of Frank and Angela Fiske's Literary Productions, arranged topically into four Subseries: Manuscripts, Articles by Fiske, Diaries and journals, and a Play by Angela Fiske. Oversize material with this Series is located in map case drawer 412.
Series V. Financial Documents, 1896-1953, Box 5 and loose
Consists of Fiske's financial material from his photographic studio, arranged topically into three Subseries: Studio Registers, Cash books, and Miscellaneous. Most of the Studio Registers and Cash Books are in phase boxes, located at the end of the collection.
Series VI. Printed Material, 1902-1938, Box 5, oversize, and oversize
Consists of Printed Material collected by Frank Fiske, arranged topically into three Subseries: Programs, Broadsides, and Miscellaneous.
SeriesVII. Audio Recordings, 1945-1949, Box 6
Consists of thirty records of renditions of Indian songs by Angela Fiske and others,
President Harry Truman's speeches, and commercial musical productions.
BOX / FOLDER INVENTORY
Series I. Proceedings
Phase box Minutes, Catholic Order of Foresters, Fort Yates, 1910-1940
Series II. Correspondence
Box 1:
1 Correspondence, 1880-1911
2 Correspondence, 1912-1915
3 Correspondence, 1916-1917
4 Correspondence, 1918
5 Correspondence, 1919
6 Correspondence, 1920-1922
7 Correspondence, 1923-1924
8 Correspondence, 1925-1926
9 Correspondence, 1927-1928
10 Correspondence, 1929-1930
11 Correspondence, 1931-1934
12 Correspondence, 1935-1937
13 Correspondence, 1938
14 Correspondence, 1939
15 Correspondence, 1940
16 Correspondence, 1941-1942
Box
2:
1 Correspondence, 1943
2 Correspondence, 1944-1945
3 Correspondence, 1946
4 Correspondence, 1947
5 Correspondence, 1948
6 Correspondence, 1949
7 Correspondence, 1950
8 Correspondence, 1951
9 Correspondence, 1952
10 Correspondence, 1953-1976
Series III. Research Files
Subseries I. Standing Rock Sioux
11 Minutes, Conference of Missionaries & Government Employees held at Fort
Yates, ND, December 7, 1932
12 Minutes, Discussion on History, Land and Land Use Regarding the Standing Rock Indian Reservation (seventh meeting and discussion series outline), 1939-1940
13 Correspondence, Standing Rock Agency, 1912-1917
14 Report, Standing Rock Rehabilitation Program, 1948-1958, (first year report and
paper), 1948
15 Articles, Indian legends, folklore (by Frank and Angela Fiske and others), 1926-1935 & n.d
16 Standing Rock Agency records, 1917
17 Indian Police Court records, Standing Rock Agency (two books), 1890-1897
18 Wheeler-Howard Indian bill text (S. 3645), 1934
19 Mary Bruno heirs claim, 1950
20 Circulars, Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs (copies) (received by the Standing Rock Agency), 1912-1917
21 Publications, Indians, 1915-1948
22 Radio address, "The Crisis in Indian Affairs" by John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, May 7, 1934
Subseries II. Steam boating
23 Publication, steam boating, ca 1895
Subseries III. Biographies
Box 3:
1 Archambault, Joseph A., 1944-1946
2 Armstrong, Charles O., 1929, n.d.
3 Ash, Benjamin Cowden, 1945-1946
4 Baker, Captain I.P., 1913, n.d.
5 Barry, David F., 1910, 1912, n.d.
6 Beede, Dr. Reverend A. McGaffy, 1913-1934, n.d.
7 Belk, Captain John M., ca 1902, 1929, 1939, n.d.
8 Bernard (Strassmaier), Father Reverend, 1931-1940, n.d.
9 Bildow, George B., n.d.
10 Black, Ott, 1922, 1943, n.d.
11 Brave, Reverend Ben, 1932, 1939, n.d.
12 Brave Bear (Pe Pe), 1950, n.d.
13 Broughtplenty, John, ca 1919, n.d.
14 Bruce, Robert and John Kuhn, n.d.
15 Bruguier (Bruguiere), Sam, 1880, 1929, n.d.
16 Bullhead family, n.d.
17 Burdick, Usher, 1948, n.d.
18 Calamity Jane (Martha Jana Canary), 1934, 1937, n.d.
19 Carignan (John M., Sr.) on Sitting Bull fight (published in Fiske's Life and Death
of Sitting Bull), 1914-1931, n.d.
20 Chasing Bear, John, n.d.
21 Claymore, Charles, ca. 1950
22 Cournoyer family, 1943, 1979, n.d.
23 Crawler, Mary, 1942, n.d.
24 Crazy Horse, 1947-1949, n.d.
25 Custer, George Armstrong, 1914- 1951, n.d.
26 Deadwood Dick, 1930
27 Endres, Louis, n.d.
28 Fiske family, 1925-1952, n.d.
29 Fiske family, 1929-1952, n.d.
30 Fiske family (Bruno Cournoyer correspondence), 1850-1895
31 Forte, Edward, 1930-1934, n.d.
32 Frosted, Thomas (White Bear), n.d.
33 Gabe, Ambrose, n.d.
34 Goodseau, Bob (Goudseau), n.d.
35 Halsey, Sophia (Brugiere), n.d.
36 Horner, Jacob (Jake), 1944
37 Howard, John D., 1944
38 Howard, Lee, n.d.
39 Jordan ("Old Lady Jordan"), n.d.
40 Lemmon, G. E., 1928-1945, n.d.
41 Little Soldier (Two Bears and "Wind" [white man]), n.d.
42 Many Deeds, Ted, 1927
43 Marsh, Captain Grant P., 1912-1915. n.d.
44 Marsh and Taylor, 1948, n.d.
45 Marshall, Charles, 1925
46 Marty, Bishop Martin, 1896, n.d.
47 McGillycuddy, Dr. Valentine T., 1939, 1941
48 McLaughlin, Major James and Mrs., 1920-1950, n.d.
49 Molash, William (Turkey Track Bill), 1942, 1950, n.d.
50 Morrow, Stanley J., 1939, n.d.
51 Mossman, Major E.D., 1927, 1932, n.d.
52 Newberry, Ed., 1929-1941, n.d.
53 Pamplin, Bill, n.d.
54 Poker Alice (Tubbs), 1930, 1948, n.d.
55 Primeau, Charles and Mrs. Helen (Tahnk), 1927, n.d.
56 Rain-In-The-Face (Chief), 1887-1940, n.d.
57 Red Tomahawk, 1931, n.d.
58 Reed, Reverend Geo. W. and Mrs., 1927, n.d.
59 Reynolds, Charley, n.d.
60 Sakakawea, 1929-1949, n.d.
61 Short, Tom, ca. 1931
62 Sitting Bull, 1927-1948, n.d.
63 Sitting Bull (continued), 1876-1952, n.d.
64 Spicer family (murders), 1948, n.d.
65 Spotted Bear, ca. 1943
66 Stoneman, Thomas, n.d.
67 Swift Dog, 1938
68 Timmerman, C. L., 1914
69 Tipperary, 1933, n.d.
70 Tracy, Hal P., 1938
71 Turner family, 1935, n.d.
72 Vermillion, Winfield, 1928
73 Wade, William V., 1924-1944, n.d.
74 Waggoner, J. Frank and Mrs., 1920-1950, n.d.
75 Welch, Captain A. B., 1913, 1930
76 Welk, Lawrence, n.d.
77 Witzleben, n.d.
78 Zahn, William P., 1929, n.d.
Subseries IV. Miscellaneous
Oversize Map case drawer 412 - articles (not by Fiske), 1906-1959
Box 4:
1 Newspaper clippings, publications and articles (not by Fiske), 1924-1966
2 "Undated and incomplete" correspondence, reminiscences, obituaries, histories,
n.d.
3 "To be filed - not usable; Undated Fiske Correspondence and Incomplete Items"
correspondence, letter to the editor, n.d.
Series IV. Literary Productions
Subseries I. Manuscripts
4 Manuscript, "John Carson, Woodhawk" by Frank B. Fiske (first draft), 1911-1912
5 Manuscript, "My River - The Missouri" by Frank B. Fiske, ca. 1943
6 Manuscript, "History of the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation" by Frank B.
Fiske, n.d.
7 History of (American Legion) Albert Grass Post, no. 173, Fort Yates, by Frank B.
Fiske (carbon copy), 1937
8 Short fiction by Fiske (mostly unpublished), 1935-1946, n.d.
9 Short fiction by Fiske (mostly unpublished) (continued), n.d.
Subseries II. Articles by Fiske
10 Published articles by Frank B. Fiske, 1914-1951
11 Fiske articles compiled for Pioneers, Indians, et. al (originally published in the Aberdeen American), n.d.
12 Fiske articles from the Aberdeen American, 1931-1943, n.d.
13 Fiske articles from the Aberdeen American (continued), 1931-1943, n.d.
14 Scraps of articles by Fiske, photograph caption, 1912-1950
Oversize Map case drawer 412 - articles by and about Fiske, 1926-1959
Subseries III. Diaries and journals
15 Diary, July-August 1911 (43 page typescript)
16 Diary, November 14, 1919-July 26, 1926
Box
5:
1 Fiske steamboat log notes (also notes of Grant Marsh) (two notepads and loose),
ca. 1912-1914
2 Fiske steamboat log notes (continued) (two notepads), ca. 1912-1914
3 Journal, Trip on Scarab, Fort Yates, ND, to Saint Louis, MO, and back, 1918
Subseries IV. Play by Angela Fiske
4 "The Cry of Lone Eagle" script with notes, 1920s
Series V. Financial Documents
Subseries I. Studio Registers
Phase box 1900-1939 (Begins as Hospital order, No. 1, July 1, 1901 S. S. Turner Contract
Surgeon)
Phase box 1903-1905 (with 1901-1902 loose)
Phase box September 1908-April 1914
Phase box April 1914-October 1926
Phase box April 1927-July 1944
Subseries II. Cash books
Phase box July 22, 1896-January 1897
Phase box January 1903-September 1905
Subseries III. Miscellaneous
Phase box Fiske Studio Guest Register, 1947-1953
5 Booklets/note pads - addresses, notes, accounting, photograph orders (twelve
booklets), ca. 1911-1944
6 Booklets/note pads - addresses, notes, accounting, photograph orders (thirteen
booklets), ca 1911-1944
Series VI. Printed Material
Subseries I. Programs
Oversize Map case drawer 412 - "The $10,000 Beauty" program, Monte Carlo, AK, 1902
7 Annual Celebration and Council Fire of the MN Chippewas, 1915
8 "A Little Clodhopper" (Musical-Comedy), 1925
9 Cowboys' Reunion (Beulah, ND), 1930-1931
Subseries II. Broadsides
Oversize Map case drawer 412 - Standing Rock Fair, 27th Annual Rodeo and Fair, Fort
Yates, ND, September 8-10, 1938 (10105-Broadside01)
Oversize Map case drawer 412 - "'The Cry of Lone Eagle,' Sioux Indian Play, Coming to
Minot…" ca 1938 (three copies) (10105-Broadside02)
Oversize Map case drawer 412 - "Big Celebration," Standing Rock Reservation Fair and
Rodeo and Great Plains Sioux Congress, Fort Yates, ND, August 20-23, [n.d.]
(10105-Broadside 03)
Oversize Map case drawer 412 - Third Annual Grant County Old Settlers Picnic, Carson,
ND, June 20 [n.d.] (10105-Broadside04)
Oversize Map case drawer 412 - "Indians! Indians! An Illustrated Lecture on Sitting Bull,
Gall, Rain-In-The-Face, Buffalo Bill and Other Heroes of the West by Frank
Bennett Fiske," n.d. (ca. 1934) (10105-Broadside05)
Subseries III. Miscellaneous
10 Pages from 1908 calendar
Series VII. Audio Recordings (Also on cassette tapes 1535, 1536, and 1537)
Box 6:
1 Hanna, Shelley, 1947, 33 1/2 sp. Includes: "The Minstrel Boy." (also transferred to
cassette tape 1535)
2 Fiske, Frank, 11-5-1948, 33 1/2 sp. Includes "Square Dance Fiddle tunes."
(tape 1535)
3 Fiske, Frank, 11-5-1948, 33 1/2 sp. Includes: "Square Dance Fiddle tunes" and
interview with Allan Eastman. (tape 1535)
4 Fiske, Frank, 11-5&6-1948, 33 1/2 sp. Includes: "Square Dance Fiddle tunes." (tape 1535)
5 Fiske, Frank, 11-5-1948, 33 1/2 sp. Includes: "Square Dance Fiddle tunes."
(tape 1535)
6 Untitled, n.d., untimed (sounds like a recording of someone scanning through radio stations. Oklahoma station. ca. 1945-1950). (tape 1536)
7 Yellow Lodge, Frank, n.d. 33 rpm. Includes: "Test," "Test," "Grass Dance Song - Dakota," "Warbonnet Dance Song" (used as Honor Song for Shelley Hanna). (tape 1536)
8 Fiske, Angela C. (Mrs. Frank), 1947, 33 rpm. Includes: "Tehan Nikte" (love
song), "Honor Song at Grass Dance," "Inkyhta" (love song), "Child's Play Song -
Yankton"(tape 1536)
9 Yellow Lodge, Francis, 1947, 33 rpm. Includes: "War Bonnet Dance." Hanna, Shelley. Includes: "Warbonnet Dance," "Kahomini." (tape 1536)
10 Untitled, n.d., untimed. (tape 1536)
11 Untitled, n.d., untimed. (tape 1536)
12 Empty record jacket.
13 Truman, Harry President, 1-20-1949, 33 1/3 sp. (tape 1536)
14 Truman, Harry President, 1-20-1949, 78 sp. (This was not transferred to cassette
tape. The record was of very poor quality).
15 Little Eagle, SD, 1947, 33 rpm. Includes: "Kahomini," "Grass Dance - Dakota."
(tape 1536)
16 Little Eagle, SD, 1947, 33 rpm. Includes: "Grass Dance - Dakota." (tape 1536)
17 Little Eagle, SD, 1947, 33 rpm. Includes: "Honor Dance," "Grass Dance -
Dakota." (tape 1536)
18 Little Eagle, SD, 1947, 78 rpm. Includes: "Grass Dance - Dakota." (tape 1536)
19 Little Eagle, SD, 1947, 78 rpm. Includes: "Grass Dance - Dakota." (tape 1537)
20 Whitebear, Levi, Lincoln, NE, 4-10-1952, 78 rpm. Includes: "Kiowa-Comanche
Peyote songs," "Leader's songs of Kiowa ritual." (tape 1537)
21 Clifford, Evelyn and Howard, James, 11-7-1947, 78 rpm. Includes: "Inkpata Skip Dance," "A Grass Dance Song," "test." Clifford, Evelyn. Includes: "Inkpata," "Oglala war song," "Skip Dance (Navaho)." (tape 1537)
22 Zahn, Frank, Fort Yates, ND, 2-3-1945 & 7/1947, 78 rpm. Includes: "Test," "Test," "Dakota Love Song," "Dakota Grass Dance Song," Little Eagle, SD. (tape 1537)
23 Little Eagle, SD, 7-28-1947, 78 rpm. Includes: "Dakota Grass Dance Song" (identified by F. Zahn as Strong Heart Society song), "Grass Dance 'Honor Song.'" (tape 1537)
24 Little Eagle, SD, 1947, 78 rpm. Includes: "Dakota Kahomini or Circle Dance," "Dakota Grass Dance Song, Victory Song for WWII." (tape 1537)
25 Little Eagle, SD, 2-28-1947, 78 rpm. Includes: "Grass Dance," "Dakota Grass
Dance" (imperfect recording). (tape 1537)
26 Little Eagle, SD, 7-28-1947. 78 rpm. Includes: "Dakota Grass Dance Song," "Dakota Grass Dance Song." (tape 1537)
27 Little Eagle, SD, 1947, 78rpm. Includes: "Dakota 'Courage' song" (used as Grass Dance), "Dakota Contest Dance," "Grass Dance Song." (tape 1537)
28 Seton, Ernest Thompson (Chief Scout), n.d., 78 rpm. Includes: "Wild Animal Calls-The Elk's Battle," "Wild Animal Calls-My First Meeting with a Lynx." (tape 1537)
29 Group of M.W. Billingsley, n.d., 78rpm. Includes: "Chant of the Eagle Dance, Hopi Indian Chanters," "Chant of the Snake Dance, Hopi Indian Chanters." (tape 1537)
30 Seton, Ernest Thompson (Chief Scout), n.d., 78rpm. Includes: "Wild Animal Calls-The Death of the Old Lion," "Wild Animal Calls-The Hunting Wolves." (tape 1537)
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