David Branch Collection

Summary: The David Branch Collection contains items related to the YMCA Indian Guides program in Fort Worth in the mid-1960s. The donor and his father, J. O. Branch, participated in the Indian Guides program roughly from 1963-1965. The collection includes handmade invitations for members of the group associated with the TCU-Southside YMCA. The meetings were held at people's homes in the Wedgwood Neighborhood. Additional items in this collection include wooden necklaces for "Big Oak" and "Red Squirrel" (the donor's father and the donor's "Indian" names), father and son headbands, a burlap vest or smock worn by the donor and digital images of the donor and his father from the 1960s. This collection also contains a Y-Indian Guides Handbook, papers on bead coups and feather coups, member contact lists, a map of Camp Carter and issues of Smoke Signals from 1963 and 1964.

The vest/smock, headbands, two wooden necklaces, the handbook, loose papers and construction paper invitation (all invitations related to 3200 Medina) belonged to/were made by the donor and his father. There is also a handmade bow with unclear origins included. It may have been an invitation or made by the donor. All other invitations were received by the donor from other members of the group, with their addresses listed on the invitations. Most of these invitations are in Box 2. One invitation had to be placed in Box 1 because of its size.