Rare photos of Fallon tribe unveiled Saturday

Little did Clayton Sampson know that an old box full of negatives would become a priceless collection of Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe history.

A photo collection of early-20th century Native Americans from Stillwater will be unveiled Saturday at an all-day event from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Tribal Senior Center, 1885 Agency Road. Festivities begin at 11 a.m. with refreshments and viewing of the collection. Sampson will give a talk on the work at 1 p.m., followed by an underground barbecue and live music at 2 p.m.

The barbecue costs $5. Proceeds will go to the Silver State Indian Elders Committee. Members from eight Northern Nevada tribes have contributed support and will attend. Other activities include a Grimes point tour, Indian hand and card games and basket weaving demonstrations. A professional, $5,000 fireworks display will be shot off at dusk.

The collection of about 30 photos from Sampson and other Fallon tribe members portrays a way of life caught between traditional Native American and early-century American periods in the 1920s and 1930s. One print shows Native Americans hiding their children behind a vehicle as federal agents approach. Another captures a Western Indian band posing on a San Francisco street. A monkey riding a small bicycle and two bears are in the foreground. There's also several portraits of tribal members at work on the farm.

"I always felt this was divine intervention," said Sampson, a Reno native, of his discovery more than 20 years ago. "Not many people know the Indian history of the 20s and 30s."

Sampson obtained the photos and other Native American historical documents, which belonged his father, from his mother in 1981. His father, Harry Sampson, was a chairman and founding father of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, musician and member of the National Congress of American Indians, among other activities.

A graphic artist by trade, Sampson invested his own money to create prints for a Nevada Historical Society exhibit in 1983. With the help of his mother and other researchers, the photos and documents were given identification and context.

Through the aid of grants from the Nevada Arts Council and the Sven Astrid Liljeblad Foundation, the some of the negatives were professionally transformed into prints. Frames and matting were purchased.

The collection is now a permanent part of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe Senior Center.

When gazing on a photo of some men in unique hats, Senior Center Director Rebecca Young-Man said she noticed an eerie similarity. A man working outside the center was the spitting image of one of the men in the photo. She pulled him inside to look, and the worker said the man in the photo was his father.

The photo was made to make fun of the gaudy, donated hats the tribe received, Young-Man said.

Tribal elders are ecstatic at the work, Sampson said. Many were small children at the time the photos were taken, but can still identify the subjects, he said.

"They love it," he said. "This (collection) is like 80 years old now. I don't think you can find anything like this at all."

Now an employee of the Senior Center, Sampson said he hopes the collection will bridge a gap in indigenous history and bring a greater sense of community among Northern Nevada tribes.

"This is dedicated to the elders," he said. "We're hoping this will be a resurgence of some kind."

Josh Johnson can be contacted at jjohnson@lahontanvalleynews.com