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Huron Smith Ethnobotanical collection

This specimen is part of the Huron Smith Ethnobotanical collections. It was gathered during the 1920s when Smith was doing fieldwork among the Indian tribes of Wisconsin. He recorded the native name and use for the 1,600 plants he collected. This important collection was recently conserved using archival materials and rehoused in new cabinets, thanks to an IMLS grant. Smith's specimens, field notes and publications can now be viewed on the Museum's website here.

Item Image
Ethnobotanical collection
Catalog Number
N/A
Accession Number
7937
110

James Howard Collection

The Milwaukee Public Museum acquired the Howard collection, consisting of over 1,500 items  in 1985, thanks to the generosity of Ethel Herzfeld, a devoted friend of the Museum. James Howard, a cultural anthropologist, was born in 1925 in Redfield, South Dakota. He enjoyed the respect and acceptance of Indian people acquainted with him and participated regularly in powwows throughout the Plains area.

In the course of his studies he became an accomplished singer and powwow dancer, and assembled a large personal collection of outfits. The collection ranges from rare, old styles already out of vogue in the 1930s to fashions current at the time of Howard's death in 1982. Clothing from several different tribes and regions was obtained mainly for powwows. The concentration on men's powwow dress demonstrates Howard's fascination with the more elaborate male dance outfits. This collection is one of the largest and best contemporary powwow collections in the world. What is incredibly valuable is that Howard recorded who made each item and when and where he collected them.

Item Image
powwow clothes
Catalog Number
N/A
Accession Number
27301
57
Catalog Number : 50354
Accession Number : 14896
Tribe : Potawatomi
Region : Western Great Lakes Area
Material : Glass beads, wool yarn, wool cloth
This bag, with a red wool cloth backing, exhibits large geometric flower beaded designs on both the straps and pouch. The horizontal panel is red wool with a stylized floral pattern. The lower edge of the bag ends in yarn and beadwork tassels.
Source : Donated by Mrs. Samuel Meyer of Milwaukee, WI; collected by David Karger.

Entrance to Yosemite

Entrance to Yosemite, an Indian riding into Yosemite National Park along the Merced River
Catalog Number
44828
Catalog Number : 64497
Accession Number : 27301
Tribe : Sauk
Region : Great Lakes Area
Material : Glass beads, textiles, yarn

This bag contains both geometric and floral design elements. The strap is fully beaded with tassels at the bottom. The horizontal panel exhibits the floral design. The bag is trimmed with yellow piping. The strap/pouch is geometric.

Source : Donated by Mrs. Richard Herzfeld and Friends of the Museum. Collected by James Howard, collector and anthropologist, in 1961; donated to MPM 1965.

Housing and Architecture

Great Lakes Indian tribes depended on the forests for raw materials for their homes and they built a variety of dwellings depending on the season.

The most common was the dome-shaped wigwam, which served from late fall through spring. With the exception of the Iroquois, all Woodland tribes from New England to the Mississippi River built this style of structure.

Lapham Book

The Increase A. Lapham Memoir Book is a collection of dried, pressed plant specimens and other mementos collected by Lapham or sent to him. The front page is signed by Lapham and dated 1867. Plants include seaweeds, mosses, lichens, ferns, and flowering plants collected throughout the United States and Scotland mainly in the 1860s and early 1870s. Lapham, who came to Wisconsin in 1836, was a true renaissance man who had many interests including the flora of the state, fossils and minerals, Indian mounds, and weather.

Item Image
pressed plants
Catalog Number
N/A
106