Katharine Bartlett
Katharine Barltett joined the MNA staff in 1930 as a summer assistant to help with the newly created Hopi Craftsman Exhibition. Her summer assignment soon evolved into her life’s work as she became the thread that held the fledgling museum together.
As Curator of Anthropology in the 1930s and 1940s, she created the cataloging system used today by most southwest museums. In the 1950s as Librarian and Curator of History, she arranged the thousands of books, periodicals and archives into a unique holding that is the most comprehensive collection anywhere in northern Arizona.
In addition to her regular jobs, she planned exhibits, organized most
of MNA’s collections, researched and published articles on northern Arizona history, edited MNA publications, coordinated special events, and generally did everything that was asked of her as one of the very few staff members. She officially retired from fulltime work in 1981, at age 74, then continued to work half-time until 1989. Even after her retirement, she continued to provide invaluable assistance to MNA staff. Katharine was elected to the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame in 2008.
Bartlett, Katharine. “Edible wild plants of northern Arizona.” Plateau, vol. 16, no. 1, 1943.
—. “How to appreciate Hopi handicrafts.” Museum Notes, vol. 9, no. 1, 1936.
—. The material culture of the Pueblo II in the San Francisco Mountains, Arizona. Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 7, 1934.
—. “Oñate’s route across west central Arizona.” Plateau, vol. 15, no. 3, 1943.
—. “Prehistoric Pueblo foods.” Museum Notes, vol. 4, no. 4, 1931.
—. “Present trends in weaving on the western Navajo reservation.” Plateau, vol. 23, no. 1, 1950.
—. Pueblo milling stones of the Flagstaff region and their relation to others in the Southwest: a study in progressive efficiency. Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 3, 1933.
—. “Stone artifacts: San Francisco Mountain region.” Museum Notes, vol. 3, no. 6, 1930.
Harlow, Francis H. and Katharine Bartlett. An Introduction to Hopi pottery. Museum of Northern Arizona, 1978.