Edward A. Milligan Papers

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Collection Overview

Title: Edward A. Milligan Papers

ID: OGLMC409

Primary Creator: Milligan, Edward A. (1903-1977)

Extent: 5.0 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 05/25/1977. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Education, Native Americans, University of North Dakota - Alumni

Languages: English

Abstract

1903-1977; Milligan taught at NDSU-Bottineau and lectured on the tribes of North Dakota. He was active in various organizations including the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Edward A. Milligan Papers, 1925-1977, have been arranged alphabetically by subject in each box. Much of the contents in Box 1 is correspondence, either general in nature or on specific topics. Note that some of the general correspondence will relate to topics found in other folders. The majority of the correspondence is incoming and is arranged chronologically within each folder. Milligan corresponded with people in different circles, stemming from his occupation as an educator, his personal interests, and from his participation in various organizations.

Other components include notes, drafts, and writings of Milligan. There are also materials he collected pertaining to Native Americans. In addition, there are five original ledgers of outgoing correspondence, 1874-1880, of the Indian Agent at Standing Rock Agency.

About 300 photographs are also part of the collection. Many of these pertain to Native Americans, especially depicting the 1936 Sun Dance at Little Eagle, South Dakota. Lastly, two oversize folders contain an assortment of maps, as well as drawings, posters, and military items.

Collection Historical Note

Edward Archibald Milligan was born June 14, 1903, at Michigan, North Dakota, the son of Robert and Emma (von Evers Gennamt Behme) Milligan. He graduated from Michigan High School in 1921 and from Mayville State Teachers College in 1927. He was then a teacher and principal at Colfax High School from 1927 to 1934. Milligan conducted archaeological and ethnological research among American Indians, mostly in North Dakota, from 1934 to 1942. During part of that time he was a supervisor for the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Milligan served in the 415^th Infantry Regiment, part of the 104^th (Timberwolf) Division, from November 1942 to September 1945. He was awarded the Bronze Star and separated at the rank of sergeant. Afterwards, Milligan attended the University of North Dakota, receiving a B.S. in education in 1947 and a M.S. in education in 1948. He served as president of the National Timberwolf Association for 1952. From 1948 to 1972, he was an instructor at North Dakota State University-Bottineau Branch, teaching classes in U.S. history, sociology, government, and Native American history.

Milligan's teaching, writing, and research interests centered around Native Americans in general, and the tribes of North Dakota in particular. He was given the honorary name Mato Hanska (Long Grizzly Bear) by the Sisseton Sioux, and He Topa (Four Horns) by another Sioux nation. Milligan authored several books and lectured frequently about Native American beliefs, traditions, and practices. He also served on several boards and commissions, including the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission and the North Dakota State Historical Board. Milligan was active in the American Legion, and he spearheaded a project to erect a monument at the grave of Sondre Norheim near Denbigh, North Dakota. Edward Milligan died in 1977.

Subject/Index Terms

Education
Native Americans
University of North Dakota - Alumni

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Accruals: Additional materials were donated in 1978 (78-544), 2000 (2000-2479), and 2015 (2015-3299).

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Physical Access Note: Restricted items are stored in the fireproof cabinet (FP-3).

Acquisition Source: Maurice Robinson, Michigan, North Dakota

Acquisition Method: Donation; 77-419

Related Publications:

Publications by Milligan:

The Standing Rock Sioux 1874-1890 (1948; UND thesis)

Known Migrations of Historic Indian Tribes... (1949 and 1969)

Petroglyphs, Pictographs, and Prehistoric Art in the Upper Midwest and Red River of the North Valleys (1968)

Sun Dance of the Sioux (1969)

The Indian in the Northern Plains (1972)

High Noon on the Greasy Grass: The Story of the Little Bighorn by Indians Who were There (1972)

Wounded Knee 1973 and the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 (1973)

A Brief Bibliography of Books on the Indian... (1973)

Dakota Twilight: The Standing Rock Sioux, 1874-1890 (1976)

Preferred Citation: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Processing Information: Collection reprocessed in 2022

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid added to Archon in February 2015.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[Items 1-5: Standing Rock Agency Ledgers],
[Oversize Folder 1: North Dakota maps - assorted],
[Oversize Folder 2: Maps and other items],
[Photographs 1-310],
[Photographs 311-316],
[[information restricted]],
[All]

Photographs 1-310

There are multiples of some photographs as well as ones cropped in different ways.

Folder 1: Sun Dance, South Dakota, 1936 (Photographs 1-25)

Folder 2: Sun Dance, South Dakota, 1936, and other Native American images (Photographs 26-48)

Folder 3: Milligan with Native Americans at Ceremonies, etc. (Photographs 49-63)

Identified Indigenous people include Mr. and Mrs. Two Bull, Frank White Buffalo, chiefs One Bull and White Bull (nephews of Sitting Bull), Standing Chief, Charlie Cree Jr., and Mrs. Sam Standing Chief. Non-Indigenous dignitaries include Stanley Simon and Arde Bulova (Bulova Watch Co.), Henry Fowler, and General Omar Bradley.

Folder 4: Unidentified Indigenous Individuals and Groups (Photographs 64-76)

Folder 5: Milligan and other family members (Photographs 77-89)

Include some of Milligan in Native dress. Family members are his grandfather (Böhm) and Uncle Joe.

Folder 6: Vets (Veterans) Club, NDSU-Bottineau (Photographs 90-105)

1969-1970s, many are of a ceremony where Milligan received an award. NDSU-Bottineau was also known as the North Dakota School of Forestry.

Folder 7: NDSU-Bottineau (Photographs 106-121)

Events at NDSU-Bottineau (aka North Dakota School of Forestry) including their 50th anniversary in January 1957. In addition, there are several images, including Milligan, that are probably of faculty and administrators. There are identified individuals for a couple of the photographs. 409-108 (left to right) has A.D. Ertresvaag, Philip A. Berube (State Senator), Clarence P. Dahl (Lt. Governor), Andrew Benson (State Representative), unidentified boy, Thomas Ryan, Floyd T. Ryan, and James A. Buchanan. 409-121 has Milligan, John E. Davis (Governor), and Rev. Earle M. Quame (Metigoshe Lutheran Church).

Folder 8: American Legion (Photographs 122-136)

1949 National Convention in Philadelphia - note Milligan in Native dress in parade (409-122)

American Legion Memorial Highway ribbon cutting near Canadian border (409-127 through 409-130)

American Legion Auxiliary of Bottineau (409-132)

North Dakota American Legion conventions (409-134 through 409-136)

Folder 9: Milligan and Dignitaries (Photographs 137-145)

William Langer (409-137 through 409-139)

Fiji Island Delegation and Florence Joshua for ceremony by Sisseton Sioux (409-140 through 409-143)

Lynn Anderson? (409-144 & 409-145)

Folder 10: Milligan with various groups (Photographs 146-156)

with boy scouts at Colfax? (409-148 & 409-149)

archaeological expeditions, 1930s (409-150 & 409-151)

Kiwanis Hobby Fair in Chicago, November 9, 1939, Milligan at back left in Native dress (409-152)

lake cabin, June 1962 (409-153 through 409-156)

Folder 11: Bottineau area (Photographs 157-166)

Postcard - Main Street of Bottineau looking north (409-157)

High School Basketball teams - Souris, Deering, Newburg, Westhope, early 1950s (409-158 through 409-161)

International Peace Gardens, including dedication of Ten Commandments monolith with Charlton Heston, June 10, 1956 (409-162 through 409-165)

Group of people enjoying a meal, Bottineau restaurant? (409-166)

Folder 12: Bottineau and other North Dakota locations (Photographs 167-191)

St. Anne's Day Procession, Belcourt (409-167 through 409-170)

Bottineau buildings and rural scenery, April 1973 (409-171 through 409-176)

Winter scenes, Bottineau (409-177 & 409-178)

Parade in Bottineau, early 1970s (409-179 through 409-183)

Indian Scout Post #1 Veteran Cemetery, Fort Berthold Reservation, ca. June 1972 (409-184 through 409-188)

Fort Totten, 1971 (409-189 through 409-191)

Folder 13: People - Assorted (Photographs 192-198)

Mamie Eisenhower (409-192), Roger Maris and Frank Wenstrom (409-193), John F. Kennedy, William L. Guy, and Quentin Burdick (409-194).

Edgar J. Syverud, Dagmar, Montana, 1964 (409-195). Syverud contributed to the study and preservation of the Writing Rocks in Divide County, North Dakota.

Minot area women playing cards and socializing. Some are named: Mrs. Henry (Marjorie) Kermott, Cis Headley, Mrs. Ted Noy, and Mrs. R.B. (Rolean Bill) Riddle (409-196 through 409-198).

Folder 14: St. Mark's Catholic Church, Bottineau (Photographs 199-222)

Probably a service and procession to honor Monsignor Joseph Andrieux, who died September 1960 in Bottineau.

Folder 15: Military - mostly 104th Infantry Division (Photographs 223-236)

"The Wolfettes" chorus line, including Milligan (409-223 & 409-224)

Scenes from Germany (409-226 through 409-228)

General Eisenhower (409-229)

Milligan at Timberwolf Reunions, 1948 and 1951 (409-233 & 409-234)

General George I. Forsythe, 1969 (409-235) and Rear Admiral Edwin K. Snyder (409-236)

Folder 16: German Military, ca. 1941 (Photographs 237-258)

Some are of a Panzer unit in the area of Lublin, Poland (Eastern Front).

Folder 17: Sondre Norheim Memorials and Ben Hur Lampman (Photographs 259-274)

Milligan speaking at the dedication in Norway of a monument to Sondre Norheim, September 1972 (409-259 through 409-262).

Lampman was born in Wisconsin, but the family lived for a time in Neche, North Dakota. He co-founded the Arena newspaper in Michigan, North Dakota, and later became poet laureate of Oregon (409-267 through 409-274).

Folder 18: Rock Carvings/Petroglyphs (Photographs 275-283)

Writing Rocks, Divide County (409-275 & 409-276)

Folder 19: Archaeological Relics/Artifacts (Photographs 284-308)

Item 409-309: International Peace Gardens (oversize photograph)

Item 409-310: Display of Arrowheads, Spears, Knives, Hide Scrapers, and Beads (oversize photograph)

From North Dakota and southern Canada, and collected by Alfred Thompson

Department of Special Collections
Digital Finding Aids