The American Heritage Center has digitized and made accessible online 16 films from the Harry S. Harnsberger motion pictures and audiotapes.
Harnsberger came to Wyoming in 1907 and settled in Fremont County, where his mother was engaged in drilling for oil on Sage Creek. The teenage Harnsberger made friends among the Shoshone and Arapaho and observed many aspects of life on the Wind River Reservation.
After the depression of 1910 he went East and graduated from Georgetown Law School in 1914. He returned to Lander, Wyoming, and served as the County Attorney and then Prosecuting Attorney from 1930 to 1942. In 1950 he became Wyoming’s Attorney General, and in 1953 he was appointed a Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court. He became Chief Justice In 1967.
The collection contains motion pictures and audio reels created by Harnsberger. Topics include the One-Shot Antelope Hunt in Fremont County; Arapaho and Shoshone sun dances; parades and celebrations in Lander; Yellowstone Park; and Cheyenne Frontier Days. Also included is a manuscript by Harnsberger about Fremont County.
Links to digitized items and additional information about the Harnsberger motion pictures and audiotapes can be found in the online finding aid.
Supporting Wyoming’s Indian Education for All
These audiovisual materials, along with the AHC’s extensive archival holdings and its K-5 Teaching Resources – Indigenous Tribes of Wyoming exhibit, serve as valuable resources for educators implementing Wyoming’s Indian Education for All mandate.
These primary source materials—including photographs, documents, manuscripts, and more related to Wyoming’s Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes—are available through digitized resources, online exhibits, and with assistance from Reference Department staff to help teachers educate students about the cultural heritage, history, and contributions of Wyoming’s tribal nations while supporting Wyoming Social Studies Standards.
For more information about the Center’s resources, contact the AHC’s Reference Department at ahcref@uwyo.edu.
–Jamie Greene, Digital Programs Department
