Louis Shotridge Digital Archive Project

Louis Shotridge Digital Archive was created to make the remarkable Shotridge collection accessible to scholars, students, and community leaders interested in learning more about Southeastern Alaskan Native history and culture.

Photo caption: Louis Shotridge at the Penn Museum wearing the traditional attire of Tlingit chief, 1912.  Photograph by William Witte. Penn Museum Image 140236.

Where
Louis Shotridge collected among his own Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska.

When
Louis Shotridge worked for the Museum for two decades, from 1913-1932.

Researchers
Lucy Fowler Williams, Penn Museum
Robert Preucel, Penn Museum

Sponsors
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
Penn’s Center for Native American Studies

Visit the Shotridge Digital Archive

Penn Museum’s American Section developed this digital archive of its Tlingit collections acquired by Louis Shotridge. The Museum’s only indigenous Curator, Shotridge worked for Penn from 1913-1932. His goal was to preserve Tlingit history and art and he acquired exceptional collections for the Penn Museum. The digital archive makes available Shotridge’s 500 objects, 3,000 pages of research notes, and 500 photographs available to our Tlingit and world audiences through a searchable website.

Supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), project partners include the Penn Library’s Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text and Image (SCETI), the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, and the Alaska State Library.