This letter includes a clipping of an article mentioning Fay Fuller's achievement of being the first white woman to make an ascent to the summit of Mt. Rainier. In her letter, she offers the Editor of Century Magazine the opportunity to have her write an article and include images she took while on her climb.
Caption reads:
"Happy Thanksgiving from Yosemite!
Thanksgiving is not the only celebration of gratitude and plentiful harvest in the fall. Many California tribes hold acorn festivals each autumn, celebrating the acorn and thanking the Creator for providing an abundant harvest.
The original people of Yosemite depended on the acorn for much of their diet, and the California black oak came to symbolize life. This staple was collected in the autumn and stored in large granaries, to be used throughout the year. The versatile acorn could be turned into a wide variety of dishes, from acorn mush, to soup, bread, or cakes.
Tabuce (“Maggie”) Howard (1870-1947) was a Paiute woman who was born at Mono Lake but moved to Yosemite Valley at a young age. At first, she made her livelihood working in park hotels, and later by making baskets to sell to tourists. Most importantly, she also gave public presentations where she demonstrated traditional crafts and cooking techniques. Photos show her processing and pounding acorns, then cooking acorn cakes on a heated stone.
November is National Native American Heritage Month, and Yosemite is the ancestral home of seven traditionally associated tribes: the American Indian Council of Mariposa County, Inc. (aka Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation), Bishop Paiute Tribe, Bridgeport Indian Colony, Mono Lake Kutzadikaa, North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California, Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians, and the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians. Learn more about Yosemite's original people on the park website (link in our profile.) #NAHeritage #Yosemite #nationalpark"
This basket is one of several Maggie Howard made incorporating her Paiute name "Tabuce" as the pattern.
Coiled. Willow, bracken fern root, redbud. H 7.5, Dia 15.2 cm
Yosemite National Park, YOSE 7863
Unlike other weavers who created their patterns by counting out beads as they wove, Maggie Howard would sometimes bead directly onto a pattern to avoid having to count beads. Maggie stitched the pattern to this basket and then beaded over it.
Coiled. Glass seed bead, willow, paper, thread. H 9, Dia. 16.2 cm
Yosemite National Park, YOSE 7223
Citizen Science Coordinator, Caitlin Kenney, a Student Conservation Association (SCA) intern, poses with an amphibian in the backcountry (Golden Lakes) of Mount Rainier National Park.
Temporary Ranger Clare Hodges posed in her "ranger clothes." Studio photo probably taken for a 1919 "Sunset Magazine" feature about her. She wears a "ride stride" split skirt, long-sleeve blouse, kerchief around her neck, gauntlets (gloves) on her hands, and a floppy brimmed hat.
Enid Michael was a NPS ranger-naturalist at Yosemite from 1921-1942. Among other things, she worked on a wildflower garden representing the park's life zones.
Estella Loomis and girl sitting in front of Loomis art store at Manzanita Lake. On back of print: Mrs. Estella Loomis in front of the "Ant Store" Manzanita Lake.
Estella Loomis was an early supporter of the effort to turn Lassen Volcano into a national park after her husband's photos of the land garnered national attention. She and her husband ran a hotel near Lassen, constructed the park's museum, and eventually donated their land to the park where they established an art studio and store ("Estella Loomis", NPS.gov).
Mount Rainier appears in the background. Text on verso of image: "A small party of climbers at the top of Pinnacle Peak, Rainier National Park. People visiting the glaciers are outfitted by the guides with calked shoes, alpen stocks, and other suitable equipment."
Copy Neg: 1981. Loaned by Shirley Sargent for copying.
Florence, who went by Flo, Floy, or Flora, was the daughter of James and Elvira Hutchings, early pioneers in Yosemite's tourist industry. She grew up exploring what would be Yosemite National Park and was often considered a tomboy. She was also close with a number of early influencers of Yosemite National Park, including John Muir. Flo died at age 17 when she was struck by falling debris while hiking up the Ledge Trail to Glacier Point. Park visitors can still visit her grave in the Yosemite Cemetery just east of Yosemite Falls. ("Hutchings Women", NPS.gov)
The climbers have alpenstocks, ropes and ice axes. Text on verso of image: "The Nisqually Glacier, flowing slowly down the mountainside, forms one of the principal attractions to visitors in Rainier National Park. Daily trips are made by the guides to this location."
Painting by Elvira Hutchings, wife of James Hutchings. The Hutchings owned and operated one of the earliest hotels to welcome and guide tourists through Yosemite. In addition to running the day-to-day operations of the hotel, Elvira studied painting, music, and botany. ("Hutchings," NPS.gov)
Content Note: Indian Field Days, while an important place for basket weavers like Tabuce Howard to sell and market their work, were a series of events that subjected local indigenous populations to discrimination and stereotyping. Native peoples in the area were paid to wear costumes belonging to Plains Indians and stand by fabricated "wig wams" for the benefit of white tourists. Because of the often untruthful depictions of local indigenous peoples in the images from these events, we have largely left them out of our archive. This image is the exception as it does present an important role in the lives of female basket weavers like Tabuce Howard, Lucy Telles, and Carrie Bethel.
Selena Lamarr demonstrating basket weaving and use outside the Loomis Museum.
Selena LaMarr, whose given name was Boonookoo-eemenorra, was a member of the Astugewi tribe. She became the first woman naturalist at Lassen Volcanic National Park and for twenty years, she wore her Astugewi tribal dress and educated listeners about the practices of her tribe ("Selena La Marr", NPS.gov).
