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James Willard Schultz papers, 1867-1969

Overview of the Collection

Pht
Schultz, James Willard, 1859-1947; Schultz, James Willard, 1859-1947; Donaldson, Jessie Louise
Title
James Willard Schultz papers
Dates
1867-1969 (inclusive)
Quantity
4 linear feet, (9 boxes)
Collection Number
0010, Collection 0010, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary
James Willard Schultz (1859-1947) lived in and wrote about the northwestern portion of Montana now included within the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier National Park. His papers include biographical material (some posthumous), draft manuscripts and publications, correspondence and research files (including interview transcripts with Blackfeet), photographs. Photos generally focus on Arapaho, Blackfeet, Blood, Shoshoni and Kutenai Indians, the Schultz family, and Glacier/Waterton National Parks. Many photographs in the collection were created by his wife, Jessie Donaldson Schultz.
Repository
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
Collection materials are in English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
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Biographical Note

James Willard Schultz (1859-1947) lived in and wrote about the northwestern portion of Montana now included within the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier National Park. In 1877, at the age of 18, he traveled from his birthplace in Boonville, NY, to Fort Benton, Montana Territory. He became interested in American Indians, and lived for many years with the Blackfeet Indians as an accepted member of their nation. Drawing upon his experiences on the western frontier he later wrote thrilling and colorful books and articles to make his living as an author.

Schultz's first marriage was to Fine Shield Woman (d. 1903), a Piegan Blackfeet, in 1879. They had a son named Hart Merriam Schultz, or Lone Wolf (1882-1965). In 1907, while living in Los Angeles, Schultz married Celia Hawkins (1865-1960). They divorced in 1930. Schultz married again, to Jessica "Jessie" Donaldson, an English professor at Montana State College (now Montana State University). She was a lifelong advocate for Northern Plains Indian culture, particularly the welfare of women, and helped develop markets for handicrafts.

James Willard Schultz died June 11, 1947, of a heart attack after many years of ill health.

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Content Description

The collection contains biographical materials, published and unpublished works, research materials and professional correspondence, and photographs. Series 1 contains personal correspondence, tributes and articles on Schultz's works, obituaries and condolences, newspaper clippings and personal memorabilia. Series 2 consists of manuscripts from his prolific writing career as a writer of stories devoted to the history and customs of the Blackfeet Indians, the region around Glacier National Park and western history. These consist of books, magazine articles newspaper articles and unpublished materials. Series 3 contains research materials and resources used for his writing including transcriptions of stories from Blackfeet tribal members, interviews with Blackfeet Indians, newspaper clippings, maps, research notes, drawings, and peripheral materials and memorabilia. Series 4 consists of photographs taken or collected by the Schultz family for personal or professional use. They include as subjects Blackfeet, Blood, Kutenai, Shoshoni and Arapaho Indians, family portraits and snapshots, Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks, historic views of Montana, Wyoming and Arizona locations and ceremonies of various Indian tribes. Photographers H. T. Cowling and T. J. Hileman of Kalispell MT are both represented. Many photographs in the collection were created by Jessie Donaldson Schultz.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyrights to the James Willard Schultz publications not yet in the public domain are held by the Montana State University Museum of the Rockies.

Unpublished materials created by Schultz passed into the public domain in 2017. Copyrights on materials created by others remain undetermined.

Preferred Citation

[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Series 1 Biographical Materials, 1867-1969 Series 2 Schultz Publications, 1873-1955 Series 3 Correspondence and Research Files Series 4 Photographs

Acquisition Information

Biographical materials, publications, correspondence, research files, and photographs created by or pertaining to James Willard Schultz were donated to the MSU Library in 1962 by Jessica Donaldson Schultz Graham. This collection incorporates accession 718, donated by the Museum of the Rockies in 1969.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2010 October 19.

In 2023, additional materials labeled "duplicates" were found in the stacks. Some of those that had unique qualities were re-integrated back into the collection; those that were exact duplicates and lacking either informational or intrinsic value were discarded.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Arapaho Indians
  • Arapaho Indians--Photographs
  • Indians of North America--Montana
  • Indians of North America--Montana--Photographs
  • Kainah Indians--Photographs
  • Kootenai Indians--Photographs
  • Shoshoni Indians--Photographs
  • Siksika Indians--History
  • Siksika Indians--Interviews
  • Siksika Indians--Photographs

Personal Names

  • Schultz, James Willard, 1859-1947

Geographical Names

  • Glacier National Park (Mont.)
  • Montana

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photographs
  • Photographs

Kim Allen Scott, 2010; Jodi Allison-Bunnell, 2024; Grace Fiacco
2025

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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