American Indians of the Southwest

Recorded in Indian communities by Willard Rhodes, with the cooperation of the United States Office of Indian Affairs.

Trachoma among the Yanomami Indians

The Yanomami are one of the last primitive groups of Indians living in Brazil. They have almost no contact with other cultures. The epidemiology of eye disease among Yanomami is virtually unknown. For the first time, a trachoma survey was conducted among Yanomami Indians in the State of Amazonas near the Venezuelan border of the Brazilian rain forest. Ophthalmic examination was carried out on a total of 613 individuals (338 males and 275 females) from eight Yanomami villages along the Marauiá River located in the upper Rio Negro Basin. Age was classified into three categories (children, adults, and elderly) and trachoma was classified into five grades: follicular, inflammatory intense, cicatricial, trichiasis, and corneal opacity. Trachoma was endemic in all villages visited. Overall, 30.3% of the subjects had trachoma. Females were significantly more affected (37.4%) than males (23.9%). The inflammatory trachoma rate reached 24.9% in children and the cicatricial form increased with age, reaching 13.9% among adults and 35.21% among the elderly. Trichiasis or corneal opacities were not detected and treatment of the entire population was initiated with 1 g azithromycin. The detection of endemic trachoma among the Yanomami is relevant for the understanding of the epidemiology of this disease in the Brazilian rain forest and underscores the necessity for a program of trachoma control in this region.

Community-based transconjunctival marginal rotation for cicatricial trachoma in Indians from the Upper Rio Negro basin

The objective of the present study was to describe, for the first time in Brazil, the use by a non-ophthalmologist of a community-based marginal rotation procedure by a posterior approach in the indigenous population from the Upper Rio Negro basin. Seventy-three upper eyelids of 46 Indians (11 males and 35 females) with cicatricial upper eyelid entropion and trichiasis were operated in the Indian communities using a marginal rotational procedure by a posterior approach by a non-ophthalmologist physician who had general surgery experience but only an extremely short period (one week) of ophthalmic training. Subjects were reevaluated 6 months after surgery. Results were classified according to the presence and location of residual trichiasis and symptoms were assessed according to a three-level subjective scale (better, worse or no change). Fifty-six eyelids (76.7%) were free from trichiasis, whereas residual trichiasis was observed in 17 eyelids (23.3%) of 10 subjects. In these cases, trichiasis was either lateral or medial to the central portion of the lid. Of these 10 patients, only 4 reported that the surgery did not improve the irritative symptoms. We conclude that marginal rotation by a posterior approach is an effective and simple procedure with few complications, even when performed by non-specialists. Due to its simplicity the posterior approach is an excellent option for community-based upper eyelid entropion surgery.

Colum C. Chapman, Chicago, Illinois

Cabinet card photographic portrait of Colum C. Chapman in his National Guard uniform, Chicago, Illinois, ca. 1890.

Frank M. Chapman, Jr. son of Frank M. and Wilhelmina Chapman, Chicago, Illinois, ca. 1891.

Studio portrait of Frank M. Chapman, Jr. son of Frank M. and Wilhelmina Chapman, Chicago, Illinois, ca. 1891.

Frank C. Chapman, Chicago, Illinois, ca. 1890

Studio portrait of Frank C. Chapman, Chicago, Illinois, ca. 1890.

Label, "Clarke & Chapman, Packers and Jobbers of Green Apples, Macomb, Illinois

Label on card stock for "Clarke & Chapman, Packers and Jobbers of Green Apples, Macomb, Illinois, 1870-1878"

Wilhelmina Zillen Chapman, Chicago, Illinois, 1892

Cabinet card portrait of Wilhelmina Zillen Chapman, mother of Grant Chapman and grandmother of Joyce Chapman, taken by G. D. Morse, Chicago, Illinois, July, 1892.

Charles C. and Lizzie Chapman with daughter Ethel, Chicago, Illinois

Charles C. Chapman and his wife, Lizzie Pearson Chapman, with baby daughter Ethel in a hammock, Chicago, Illinois, ca. 1885.

Mrs. Heppenstall, a member of the Chapman family, Abington, Illinois

Cabinet card photographic portrait of Nancy Wallace Pearson Heppenstall [1834-1916], taken in the studio of William Johnston, Abington, Illinois. She was the mother of Lizzie Pearson Chapman, wife of Charles Clarke Chapman.

E. Joe Clarke, Monmouth, Illinois

Cabinet card photographic portrait of E. Joe Clarke, taken in the Root studio, Monmouth, Illinois.

Unidentified member of the Chapman family, Hattoon, Illinois

Unidentified studio portrait of a member of the Chapman family, taken in the Teitzell Studio, Hattoon, Illinois.

Residence, Sterling, Illinois

Residence [written over photograph: "Home 1916-1919"], possibly Sterling, Illinois, ca. 1919.

Central Park, Sterling, Illinois

Written on front: "Central Park, Sterling, Illinois, 24729." Written on back: "My playground 1911-13 and 1916-19."