Spokane Indian tintype collection, circa 1870s

The collection originally came from Mildred Solomon, a Spokane Indian and relative of Chief Garry, a Native American leader from the Middle Spokane tribe. Born around 1811, Chief Garry was educated at the Anglican mission school at Fort Garry, where he was given the name Spokane Garry in honor of his tribe and the Deputy Governor of the Hudson Bay Company, Nicholas Garry. During school he learned English and French, skills that aided his diplomatic role later in life. He returned to the Spokane people to disseminate what he had learned at the Anglican school. He became a leader of the Spokane Indians and a diplomat between the white settlers and the Spokane Indians. Mildred's grandmother and Titus Garry were brother and sister. Her father was Dan Scott, an ordained minister from Spalding, Idaho.