Conditions Governing Use:

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation:

C. M. Bell Indian Photograph Collection, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Processing Information:

Processed by Chandi Singer.

Biographical Information:

Charles Milton Bell was one of Washington, D.C.'s leading portrait photographers during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Today, he is best known for his photographs of Native Americans, which he began to produce in 1873. Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: .

Scope and Contents

Nine original photographic prints, all with board backing, of Indians by Charles Milton Bell.  Photocopies of each print are included.

Subjects include:  Osh-U-ton (Winding Stream) (Sauk and Fox Tribe), Yellow Bird (Umatilla Confederate Tribe), Spotted Tail (Ogala Sioux Tribe), Chief On-A-Wat (Can't Do It) (Sauk & Fox Tribe), Wolf (Little or Young Chief) (Umatilla Confederate Tribe), Ben Scratching A Tree (Sauk and Fox Tribe), Red Cloud (Ogala Sioux Tribe), Chief Joseph (Nez Perce) and Wa-Pa-Sue-Ca (Shining River) (Sauk and Fox Iowa Tribe).

Includes a photocopy of 1989 Library of Congress pamphlet, "Washingtoniana Photographs" about the history of the Photographic Studio in Washington, D.C., 1873-1909,  and the C.M. Bell Studio Collection.

Addition 2008.346 includes a reproduction photograph of the "Fox Men" by C.M. Bell, circa 1890, photograph of a woman holding her child in a cradleboard (not marked as being by C.M. Bell), photostat reproduction of an U.S. map with Indian tribal areas noted, a photograph of a man (C. M. Bell?) and a handout entitled "Ambassadors from the Plains: A Bibliography." Some of these items may have been used in a Swem Library exhibit.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma
• Sauk Indians.
• Sioux Nation
• Umatilla Indians