Walter Bernard "Ben" Hunt Collection Biographical Note Scope and Content Black Elk Oglala Birch Bark Canoe Ojibwa Whittling Hand-Carved Figurines - Archives

WALTER BERNARD "BEN" HUNT COLLECTION, 1937, 1941; 1937?-1940s?; Used 1945, 1947; n.d.

Photography by an author of books and articles on arts and crafts. The collection contains images regarding Black Elk (Oglala) and other Native Americans in regalia, building a birch bark canoe and log cabin, hand-carved figurines, and Hunt.

Gift of Jean Krainik, 1989. Processed by Mark G. Thiel, CA.

Biographical Note/Scope and Content

The collection comprised an album that has been decompiled, which Walter Bernard “Ben” Hunt (1888-1970) had used as a writer of books and articles on arts and crafts. Because Indian arts was a major focus of his work, Hunt visited and photographed prominent native persons in South Dakota (summer, 1937) and Wisconsin (1937?-1940s?). According to Hunt's daughter, Jean Krainik, the South Dakota visit was in conjunction with a family vacation. No doubt Hunt had read Black Elk Speaks (1932) prior to the trip.

Other informants included taxidermist Walter Pelzer of the Milwaukee Public Museum and Frank Smart (Ojibwa) of Odahan, Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin. Frank Smart (or Gogeweosh) also served as Master of Ceremonies of summer tourist powwows at Lac du Flambeau on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation.

Later Hunt used several of the photographs to illustrate his writings. Those of his hand-carved figurines ("whittling") appeared in Ben Hunt’s Whittling Book (1945) and without identification, he incorporated Black Elk’s image within a drawing in Golden Book of Indian Crafts and Lore (1954). A comprehensive comparison between Hunt's photographs and illustrations in his writings has not been made. Besides signing his name, Hunt also used Whitlin’ Jim, Lone Eagle, and Wanbli Ishnala as nom de plumes.

In 1949, Hunt and other non-native hobbyists established the Wabeskiwa (“White” in Ojibwa) Indian Fair, which until 1964, was an annual event held most years in Janesville, Wisconsin. Following the debut of the Milwaukee Braves Baseball Team (1953), a Hunt protégé and Marquette University student – Patrick Buckett – proposed the "Warriors" as the university's new sports team nickname, which was confirmed by Marquette University Student Senate.

Folder 1: Nine prints, which were probably taken at Duhamel's Sioux Indian Pageant in the Black Hills, located at Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns, Rockerville, South Dakota. Included are two photos of Black Elk (Oglala, 1863-1950) wearing regalia, one of a grandson, and performers John LeDew (Oglala-Pawnee), Tommy Iron Bull (Oglala), Leo Black Bear, and others not identified. Black Elk narrated the pageant, which he had founded with Alex Duhamel (1929), proprietor of Duhamel’s Trading Post, Rapid City, and Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns. Terrain and teepees in the background of several prints suggest the pageant as the location. Also, a note on the verso of the John LeDew print gave his address as "Headlee Ranch," a town near Rockerville, with the date, "10-18-1937" and a notation by Hunt that he had returned a copy print to Mr. LeDew.

Folder 2: 18 prints, comprised of scenes from the building of Hunt's backyard cabin/studio, Hales Corners, Wisconsin, plus related cabin furnishings, hand-carved figurines, and Hopi-style Indian kachina dolls, all made by Hunt.

Folder 3: Two prints featuring prominent performers in regalia from the Stand Rock Indian Ceremonial, a Wisconsin Dells-area tourist show. They are Frank Clearwater (Ojibwa), playing an Indian flute, and Chief Evergreen Tree (Cochiti), wearing a double-trailer Plains Indian war bonnet with arms outstretched and posed for singing the romanticized song, "Zuni Sunrise Call." The location for both photographs was Parsons Indian Trading Post, Lake Delton, a local store where many performers purchased regalia supplies.

Folder 4: Three prints and a Biographical Statement on Hunt. The prints include a close-up portrait of Hunt and a portrait of Hunt in regalia and mounted on a horse. Presumably these photographs were taken in Wisconsin.

Folder 5: Nine photographs that comprise a step-by-step sequence of an unidentified Ojibwa Indian building a birch bark canoe. The location is unknown, but it is presumed because of the ties between Hunt and Frank Smart, both the Bad River and Lac du Flambeau reservations in Wisconsin would be likely locations.

The online Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Digital Collection includes images of Black Elk, Clearwater, Hunt, and building a birch bark canoe from the Walter Bernard “Ben” Hunt Collection plus related images, such as Chief Evergreen Tree, from the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Records. To search for images by and about Ben Hunt, use the key-word "Hunt." [Connect to Digital Collections] For more information on Walter Bernard “Ben” Hunt, see the Hales Corners Historical Society. For more information on Chief White Buck and the Marquette Warriors, see the University Archives, Athletic Team Mascots. For more information on Black Elk and Oglala and Ojibwa Indians, see Search the Collections.