By Jenny Ethington, 2008; Samantha L. Harper, 2011;
Title: MS 320 - Paul Dyck Collection, 1865-1980
Primary Creator: Dyck, Paul
Extent: 7.0 Boxes
Arrangement: The Paul Dyck Collection of Plains Indian Buffalo Culture (No. 320) is arranged by tribe. Within each tribe portraits are arranged as identified portraits, identified scenes, unidentified portraits, and finally unidentified scenes. Identified portraits are listed in alphabetical order. Unidentified portraits are ordered by number of subjects in the photo (from least to greatest) starting with children, then women, then men.
Date Acquired: 09/20/2007. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects: Indians (Native Americans), Indians of North America—Great Plains—Photographs.
Languages: English
Paul Dyck was born in Chicago in 1917. His parents were pioneers among the Blackfeet in southern Alberta, Canada and lived among the tribe with their son. Dyck’s father began collecting artifacts that would later become the core of Paul Dyck’s artifact collection. When Dyck was eight years old his parents moved to Europe where Dyck, descendent of Flemish painter Sir Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641), followed the family tradition of studying art. He was apprenticed to his uncle Johann von Skramlik and served him in his studios in Florence, Prague, Rome, and Paris. By the time Dyck was fifteen he was studying and pursuing his talents at the Munich Academy. While in Germany he had a brief encounter with a Sioux Indian named One Elk, who was traveling with the Hagenbeck Circus.
In 1934 Dyck returned to the United States, working odd jobs until he could afford to travel to South Dakota to renew the relationship with One Elk and his family and live among the Sioux Indians. He was eventually adopted by One Elk and later by Lone Wolf. After a few years of traveling from reservation to reservation on the back of a motorcycle, Dyck bought a ranch in Rimrock, Arizona in 1938. Four years later he found himself serving the Navy during World War II. Afterwards Dyck returned to his ranch in Rimrock, Arizona to take on the role of lecturer, author, and rancher while pursuing his art and Indian artifact collection.
He died in March 2006 in the Sedona Woods Nursing Home near Sedona, Arizona.
Historical Note:
Roland Reed was asked in 1913 to produce life size portraits of the Blackfoot Indians for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.
In 1931 Jessie Louise Donaldson married James Willard Schultz, with whom she co-authored the book "The Sun God's Children."
Told in the Hills is a 1919 movie shot mostly on location in Idaho using actual Nez Perce Indians to play Native American roles. It is the first feature film made in Idaho and is based on the novel by Marah Ellis Ryan.
John B. Monteith was appointed Indian agent under President Grant's new Peace Policy. This policy, put in place in 1868, gave various religious groups the responsibility to administer treaties and "civilize" the Indians.
Marshal Foch was commander of the Allied Forces during World War I and met Chief Plenty Coups during the consecration of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington. Later that year Foch visited Plenty Coups in Montana and smoked the peace pipe with him.
Repository: McCracken Research Library
Accruals: 09/20/2007: Photos and negatives of BBHC, circa 1974.
Access Restrictions: McCracken Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials. Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation or publication. Contact McCracken Research Library for more information.
Acquisition Source: Paul Dyck Foundation
Acquisition Method: Gift
Related Materials: Paul Dyck Book Collection For more information please see https://wyld.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/bbhc/search/results?qf=SUBJECT%09Subject%09Paul+Dyck+Collection%09Paul+Dyck+Collection&lm=BBHN&rt=false%7C%7C%7CPREFERRED_CALLNUMBER%7C%7C%7CCall+number.
Preferred Citation: Paul Dyck Collection, MS 320, McCracken Research Library, Buffalo Bill Center of the West
Processing Information: Processed by Jenny Ethington, 2008.
