John Puzzo photographs from Rosebud, South Dakota

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sova.nmai.ac.339

Summary: This collection includes 26 11" x 14" color prints of scenes of daily life made by John Puzzo on the Rosebud Reservation from January to September 1987.

Biographical / Historical: John J. Puzzo (1950-2015) was an amateur photographer, Army Veteran, and financial advisor. He received a bachelor's degree in History from the University of Connecticut and a master's degree in Counter Terrorism from the University of New Haven. After serving in Vietnam, Puzzo spent a year on the Rosebud Reservation in 1987 writing biographical essays of Sicangu Lakota veterans. He continued to document stories of Vietnam by creating the "Vietnam War Veterans Oral History Project," funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and archived at the Connecticut Historical Society. Puzzo was also a commentator for CNN for Vietnam related segments and for counter terrorism.

Citation: Identification of specific item; Date (if known); John Puzzo photographs from Rosebud, South Dakota, image #, NMAI.AC.349, National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Processing Information: Processed by Rachel Menyuk, Processing Archivist in 2023 and updated by Mattie Lewis, Archive 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 includes photographic prints made over the course of nine months on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota, in 1987. The majority of the photographs feature members of the Sicangu Lakota community participating in powwows and other events at the Rosebud fairgrounds. These include images of dancers, drum groups, "Little Miss Rosebud," and audience members viewing the events. Additionally, there are also several landscape views featuring horses and winter views around the Rosebud Reservation. Catalog numbers include: P25252-P25273. P25262, P25266, P25271 and P25273 all have duplicate images.

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).

Separated Materials: The initial gift in 1987 listed 40 photographic prints. It is unclear where the remaining 18 prints have ended up. A 1995 inventory listed the same 22 prints (and 4 duplicates) that are currently accounted for.

NMAI.AC.339

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv41bdcb649-c665-4d11-ac2b-b80747b62122

NMAI.AC.339

NMAIA