Marius Barbeau photographs of objects

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sova.nmai.ac.209

Summary: This collection includes 30 photographs taken by Marius Barbeau from 1930-1934 among the Nisga'a and Tlingit communities in Canada.

Biographical / Historical: Charles Marius Barbeau (1883 – 1969) was a Canadian ethnographer and folklorist who is today considered a founder of Canadian anthropology. He completed a law degree in 1907 before changing his career to anthropology and studying at Oxford University. In 1911, he joined the National Museum of Canada as an anthropologist, where he remained until his retirement in 1949. Barbeau is best known for championing of Québécois folk culture, cataloguing the traditions of Tsimshianic-speaking peoples in British Columbia and other Northwest Coast peoples, and for his unconventional theories of the peopling of the Americas.

Type: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Gelatin silver prints; Copy negatives

Citation: Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Marius Barbeau photographs of objects from British Columbia, image #, NMAI.AC.209; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Processing Information: Collection record written by Mattie Lewis, Archives Technician in 2025.

Rights: Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.

Scope and Contents: This collection contains 30 black and white photographs varying in size from 2x4 inches to 8x10 inches. The photographs were taken by Marius Barbeau among the Nisga'a and Tlingit communities in Canada. The images primarily depict totem poles. Two of the carvers were identified as Wiceks (Gishgast-Fireweed) circa 1890 and Briant Peel circa 1894. Also included are two photograph of a beaded black cloth vest. Image numbers P10004- P10023, P11185, P11186, P11416, P11417, P13672-P13675, P15776, P15777. Negative number N38004.

Restrictions: Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

Related Materials: More information about Marius Barbeau, his photographs, and research can be found in the collection of the Canadian Museum of History.

NMAI.AC.209

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4ce0620aa-8e25-45c8-ad0a-cb72c0f0c7da

NMAI.AC.209

NMAIA