HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG1382.AM: Richard W. Shunatona, 1876-ca. 1924
Letters: 1922 and 1924
Pawnee, Oklahoma: Musician
Size: Two items
BACKGROUND NOTE
Richard William Shunatona, a member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, was born November 7, 1876, in Nebraska. He married Jennie G. Bayhylle in Kay, Oklahoma, on June 6, 1896. In the 1910 census Shunatona is listed as a bookkeeper in Red Rock, Oklahoma, and he and Jennie had six children. By 1920 the Shunatona family had relocated to Pawnee City, Oklahoma, where Richard was still a bookkeeper and the family now had eight children. By the early 1920s Shunatona was a member of the The Four Americans, an Indian male quartet. He appeared later with The Indian Jazz Revue. Shunatona probably died in the mid-1920s, although it is unclear when. His gravestone records a death date of January 6, 1923, but a letter in this collection from him is dated October 15, 1924.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of two letters from Richard W. Shunatona to Nebraska State Historical Society superintendent A.E. Sheldon. The first letter, February 9, 1922, discusses the meaning of the word Wyuka. The second letter, October 15, 1924, asks Sheldon to make arrangements for engagements for Shunatona’s group, The Indian Jazz Revue.
INVENTORY
Envelope containing two letters from Richard W. Shunatona/Chief Shunatona to A.E. Sheldon, February 9, 1922 and October 14, 1924
Subject headings:
Indian musicians — United States
Indians of North America — Music
Shunatona, Richard W., 1876-ca. 1924
Wyuka
AIF 08-10-2018
