Old photo, circa 1908 – 1912.
Price: $15.00 Size: About 4 and 1/8 x 3 and 1/8″
The occasion for this parade is unknown, possibly the 4th of July, or Memorial Day. The location is also unknown, though the most likely guess for a state would be New York , but we can date this old photo by the number of stars on the two U. S. flags that are draped, along with the bunting, from the building in the background. The flags show 46 stars: Oklahoma was the 46th state and admitted to the Union on November 16, 1907 and New Mexico was the 47th, admitted on January 6, 1912. Officially, the United States did not adopt a new flag until the following 4th of July, however, flags were sometimes fashioned and flown or displayed ahead of the official date.
The central subject of the photo is a float by or to honor the Oneida and Onondaga Indians, members of the Iroquois Confederacy or Six Nations (Originally the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca with the Tuscarora having joined in the year 1722.) That appears to be a painting on canvas, perhaps of land or rocks, at the center of the circle of some of the clan figures: the deer, wolf, bear, beaver, and is that a turtle in the front about to slip into the “water?” Members of the Oneida and Onondaga stand in traditional dress under the horseshoe shape banner, with the sun’s rays? shooting from the top and sides. Behind are a tepee, a figure of an Indian and a portion of a tree. It looks like a team of donkeys pull the float.
Other details: Notice how almost everyone in the well-turned out crowd is wearing a hat (just true to the era.) Other things to pick out are the electric lights strung on both sides of the street, at least six old street lamps, and that many in the crowd are holding a piece of paper, maybe that’s an advertisement or handout for who was who in the parade.
Sources: The 46 Star Flag. usflag.org. (accessed June 2, 2016).
47 Star Flag – unofficial – (U.S.) FOTW Flags of the World. (accessed June 2, 2016).
Iroquois Confederacy. October 19, 2015 (last updated). Encyclopaedia Britannica. (accessed June 2, 2016).
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