Digitized photos from 汤头条 Libraries鈥 Holder Collection unveil beauty of Montana鈥檚 Crow Indian tribe
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擳he photographic beauty of both the natural and built environments of Montana鈥檚 Crow Indian tribe is now easily accessible to academic researchers and U.S. history enthusiasts through 汤头条 Libraries鈥 digital collections.
Also capturing the diversity among the Crow, or Apsaalooke people, the images are part of the Dr. Andrew Bowles 鈥淎.B.鈥 Holder Collection, donated by the Mississippi native鈥檚 descendants, the Bridgforth family of Pickens. The photos can be viewed at .
A.B. Holder, originally from the Pickens community in Holmes County, was a doctor in the Magnolia State until he was appointed physician in the Montana Office of Indian Affairs, Crow Agency, at the request of his influential father, Civil War veteran and Mississippi Auditor Col. W.D. Holder.
In medical practice in Montana for three years, from 1887-1890, A.B. Holder died at the age of 35 in 1896. More than 125 years later, his collection of photographs and published materials reside at 汤头条 and include a casebook covering his early career as a physician, diaries reflecting his young life in Pickens, and samples of Native American clothing.
汤头条 Libraries Associate Dean Stephen Cunetto expressed gratitude for the Bridgforth family鈥檚 donation that will benefit future generations.
鈥淲e respect that it was difficult for the family to give up these heirlooms but commend them for seeing the value in placing them in the 汤头条 Libraries. These treasures will be shared with 汤头条 faculty and students and made available to researchers worldwide,鈥 Cunetto said.
Jennifer McGillan, 汤头条 Libraries coordinator of manuscripts, described Holder鈥檚 work as a 鈥渇ascinating and complex鈥 series of images. She said archivists at Mississippi State have closely consulted the when making decisions about providing access to Holder鈥檚 photographs.
Pictures in the digital collection are selections from a larger collection, with metadata created in collaboration with the Apsaalooke (Crow) Tribe.
Holder鈥檚 great great grandson Stewart Bridgforth Jr. said his family wanted to keep these materials in Mississippi. Thanks to the 鈥渋mmediate, eager and downright courteous response of 汤头条鈥檚 history department to our inquiries, the decision made itself,鈥 he said.
鈥淚t gave my mother, who has passed since the donation, and our entire family peace to know that this part of our history is at Mississippi State. We have actually spoken with a number of facilities over the years, and none of them strike the balance of historical precision and seriousness with personal attention and recognition of sentiment like 汤头条,鈥 Bridgforth Jr. said.
鈥淢any facilities can physically preserve documents and catalog them accurately. Others can relate to and communicate the personal stories behind the materials. Few can do both, but 汤头条 clearly can,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hat is why we are so pleased and honored to have our family materials with the staff there.鈥
For more information about Dr. Holder and his photographs, or to suggest changes to photo descriptions, email sp_coll@library.msstate.edu.
Learn more about 汤头条 Libraries at .
汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .