Conditions Governing Use

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, 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:

William Boardman Reed Vocabulary of Dakota Phrases, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchase from James Arsenault and Company with funds from the Clarice M. Garrison Rare Books fund, 2018.

Scope and Contents

Three sheets of written vocabulary and phrases of the Dakota Native American language. These were notes taken by Reed while stationed with the Army at Fort Rice in the Dakota Territory. Phrases include "I am sick", "something to eat", and "I love you". There are many phrases which are left blank which may indicate that all of the phrases compiled by Reed were ones in which he desired to learn from the Native American tribes with which he interacted and communicated. There are also sections of his pages that are devoted entirely to conjugations of the verb to be (Yanka) as well as sections that break down pronouns, possessive cases, and plurals of words and phrases. Included with the Dakota phrases is a carte de visite of Reed taken in Philadelphia by Wenderoth, Taylor, and Brown.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Dakota language
• Fort Rice (N.D.)
• James Arsenault and Company
• Native American history and society
• Sioux Nation
• Sioux Valley Dakota Nation
• Yanktonai Band of Dakota or Sioux Indians