1944 Jefferson Pictorial Map of the United States Indian Tribes w/ Teacher's Kit

This is a 1944 Louise E. Jefferson pictorial map of the United States illustrating the historic home regions of Native American tribes. In addition to the map, the teacher's kit that accompanied it is also present, including additional maps, student exercises, and sheets of supplementary information.

A Closer Look

The map depicts the continental United States from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and from Canada to the Rio Grande River and the Gulf of Mexico. Over 100 Native American tribes are placed in their 'historic locations'. Small triangles denote that some tribes are 'now living, in whole or in part, in other areas'. A text box lists the 'tribes now located in Oklahoma' because they had been forcibly removed from their ancestral lands in the 19th century and relocated to Oklahoma. The now infamous 'Trail of Tears' (illustrated on the map) was just one aspect of this policy. Portraits of numerous Native Americans are scattered throughout, including Chief Joseph, Sacagawea (Sacajawea), Keokuk, Little Turtle, Geronimo, Powhatan, and Osceola.

Sketches of several buildings, including Dartmouth College (founded to provide a Christian education for Native Americans), a longhouse, a wigwam, the Alamo, and pueblos are included. A handful of places are illustrated and labeled as well, such as Sutter's Fort, Bent's Fort, Crater Lake, Boulder Dam, Roosevelt Dam, Mesa Verde, Yellowstone Park, and Devil's Tower. Cities like San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and New York are marked and labeled. Explorers and other 'frontier' figures are also referenced, including General Custer, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, and Daniel Boone. As this map was created during World War II, aspects of wartime life are also inescapably rendered. Airplane Manufacturing, U.S. Army Camps, Construction Work, Factory Worker, and other vignettes serve as a reminder of global events beyond the scope of 'Indians of the U.S.A.' An inset map of Alaska, including references to five Native American tribes, is situated in the lower left. A decorative border encircles the map, and the names of 33 influential Native Americans occupy the top and bottom sections of the border. Native American artistic elements make up the designs on the left and right sides.

Teacher's Kit

In addition to the main pictorial map, an accompanying teacher's kit includes a picture map with cutouts that students can paste at the appropriate locations, a model picture map with all the cutouts in the correct locations, and several additional sheets of information and illustrations about Native American life.

In sum, the map and teaching materials present a much more respectful and accurate view of Native American life than was common among school textbooks at the time, where Indians were seen as either inconsequential or intransigent. This view corresponds with the values of Friendship Press, a Christian publisher with socialist sympathies. The press was outspoken in defending the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, including African-Americans and Jewish-Americans, and was also notable for employing members of these groups, including Jefferson, a rare African-American woman cartographer of the era.

Publication History and Census

This map and supplemental materials were created by Louise E. Jefferson and published by Friendship Press, Inc. in 1944. The map appears on the market from time to time, but the supplementary teachers kit, with its original mailer, are unique.