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Ruidoso Pictograph collection, 1959-1961

MS-109

Historical Note

The collection contains two photos of a pictograph panel near Ruidoso, NM. In an effort to determine if the images were culturally sensitive during the April 2007 inventory of the collection, rock art expert Polly Schaafsma was contacted. Schaafsma identified the pictograph as the Sierra Blanca paintings in Otero County. According to Schaafsma, the pictograph was made in the 1930s by Boy Scouts attending the El Paso Area Boy Scout Council Camp on the Mescalero Reservation. The image for the pictograph was derived from Navajo sandpaintings. See Rock Art in New Mexico, by Polly Schaafsma, p.157-158 for a more complete description.

Scope and Content

Collection contains two photographs showing the pictograph panel, one photo of a beaver dam (presumably nearby), and an email from Polly Schaafsma identifying the pictograph as made by the Boy Scouts.

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.

Conditions Governing Use

Published and unpublished materials are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Controlled Access Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Ruidoso Pictograph collection, MS-109 [Box Number]. Museum of Northern Arizona. Flagstaff, Arizona.

Acquisition Information

In a letter from Edward Danson, the former Director of the Museum of Northern Arizona, to Mrs. Thomas Spencer in 1959, Danson indicated that Spencer's father, Mr. Burnham, gave Danson the photographs. Mrs. Spencer identified John Fouts, the family's horse trainer, as the creator of the photographs.

Processing Information

Processed in Lauren Johnson of 2010.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Container List