American Historical Ephemera and Early Photography

9 CDVs on cardstock mounts credited to Whitney's Gallery, St. Paul, MN. The subjects, identified on rectos, include:

Little Crow, A Sioux Chief and Leader of the Indian Massacre of 1862, in Minnesota. -- Sha-Kpe (Little Six). Executed at Fort Snelling, Nov. 11, 1865, for participation in the Massacre of 1862. -- Be-She-Kee (Buffalo). -- Paha-Uza-Tanka. The Great Scalp Taker. -- Qui-Wi-Sain-Shish (Bad Boy). -- Ne-Bah-Quah-Om (Big Dog). -- Wah Bo Jeeg (White Fisher). -- Mis-Ko-Pe-Nen-She (Red Bird). -- Ma-Za-Oo-Nie (The Little Bird Hunter).

The new state of Minnesota was home to thousands of Native Americans in 1862, many of whom were disenchanted with the government's promise for annuities. In August of that year, a number of the Dakota were starving; on the 18th, Indians at the Lower Agency attacked the white settlers there. Over the next few weeks hundreds of whites were killed, until the uprising was finally put down by Federal troops under the command of Henry Sibley. Whitney photographed a number of the Native American principals involved with the uprising.

Joel Ellis Whitney (1822-1886) is considered Minnesota's finest pioneer photographer. He successfully operated his business in St. Paul during the years 1851-1871, before selling his studio and negatives to Charles Zimmerman, who in turn became the most prominent photographer in the state.

Provenance: Acquired from an October 2024 auction containing material identified to General David Sloane Stanley (1828-1902) (consignor notes). After graduating from West Point in 1852, Stanley was assigned to frontier duty. He was stationed at various forts in the Dakota Territory, Indian Territory, and Kansas, where he aided in quelling disturbances at the Kansas border in 1856. When the Civil War began, he was given command of a division in the Western Theater, participating in numerous battles over the next three years. He was wounded in the neck at the Battle of Franklin and later received the Medal of Honor for his actions (November 1864). Following the Civil War, Stanley was appointed colonel of the 22nd US Infantry, primarily serving in the Dakota Territory until 1874. Stanley commanded the Yellowstone expedition of 1873, encouraging settlement in the area.