The Santa Fe Fiesta and the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial are two of the major cultural events held annually in New Mexico, both involving substantial participation by the Indian population of the state and region. The older of these, the Fiesta, originated in 1712 when the Spanish governor, the Marqués of Pañuela, set aside a day in September to commemorate the reconquest of the province by Don Diego de Vargas. Since 1919, the festival has been held annually and has increasingly become a celebration of traditional New Mexican culture and the varied ethnicities of its population. The Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial of Gallup, New Mexico, was organized by local businessmen and Indian traders in 1922 for "the encouragement of Indian arts and crafts and the education of whites to the beauties of Indian life" and for the "perpetuation of the dances, traditions and customs of Indian life." The H. O. Hanson Photograph Collection contains 34 large format (8x10") black and white prints, including sixteen images of the Inter-Tribal Ceremonial at Gallup, 1953 and 1954, four images of the Jemez Pueblo, and nine images of the Santa Fe Fiesta, 1952 and 1953. Hanson has not been further identified, but he may have worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The United States Indian School at Carlisle, Pa., was founded by Gen. Richard Henry Pratt in 1879, and served as a model for government boarding schools for Indians until its closure in 1918. Over 10,000 students enrolled at the Carlisle Training School during its 39 years, where, separated from their native cultures, the students were prepared for work in industrial and manual labor and socialized into "civilized" life. Given new white names to replace their Indian ones, the students were prohibited from speaking their native languages, were instructed in Christianity, and were fed, clothed, and housed under strict military discipline. The 27 photographs in the Speck-Choate Photograph Collection were taken by J. N. Choate, a local commercial photographer in Carlisle, Pa., and collected by the anthropologist Frank G. Speck. Choate advertised "Photographs of all the Indian Chiefs that have visited the Indian Training School at Carlisle Barracks, also of children in native and school costumes" and were intended to document the benefits of civilization that the school brought to Indians. Typical images include "before and after" shots of students in native dress and school uniforms, the school band, and shots of the students at work in the saddle shop and making shoes. Choate also took a number of images of visiting chiefs in traditional dress, including the Lakota chief Spotted Tail, and the Cheyennes Man on Cloud and Mad Wolf. One photograph depicts Richard Henry Pratt seated with Quaker supporters. Among the tribes represented are the Lakota, Laguna, Cheyenne, Creek, Lipan, and Pueblo.