Association on American Indian Affairs Archives 1851-1995 [Bulk Dates 1922-1995] mc147
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Description The Archives of the Association on American Indian Affairs consist primarily of textual records, with modest but revealing bodies of photographic and audiovisual material. They represent the work of many hands, both paid and unpaid, and testify to the durability of the AAIA and the needs which called it into existence. The activities documented in these Archives are myriad and reflect a complex pattern of relationships, not only within the AAIA itself but with representatives of governments, tribes, and other organizations. While the different facets of the Association's work cannot be compartmentalized in any absolute sense, the series and subseries into which these Archives have been divided highlight broad areas of interest and involvement, such as "Legislation" or "Legal Cases;" significant organizational and functional elements, such as "Administration" or "Correspondence;" and the individuality of officers, such as Oliver La Farge or Hildegarde Forbes, whose personal files relating to the AAIA have been subsumed into -- though not interfiled with -- the overall collection. The single largest component of these Archives and, arguably, the keystone, is "Tribal," a subseries which documents the Association's work on behalf of hundreds of Native American communities and its concern with local issues. In contrast, matters of national scope, including entities with a national constituency, are to be found in "General," a subseries second only to "Tribal" in size. Researchers can therefore plumb both the microcosm and the macrocosm of Native American life, as well as charting the links between the two. The picture of the AAIA formed by the thousands of files which collectively constitute these Archives, contains innumerable brush strokes. Some are disappointingly broad and some are numbingly detailed, but for the most part they are illuminating: an invaluable source of insight into the controverted but, as these Archives attest, sometimes constructive relationship of Indians and non-Indians in the twentieth century. Series 1: Organizational Files (1922-1995) contains four subseries: Administration, Affiliates and Offices, Correspondence, and Finances. These document respectively the internal workings of the AAIA, including the formulation of its policies and programs; its relationship with its branches; the views of its presidents, executive directors, general counsel, and staff as embodied in their correspondence; and its financial situation. Series 1: Organizational Files, Subseries 1: Administration (1923-1994) consists of correspondence, minutes, agenda, transcripts, reports, incorporation papers, articles, and clippings spanning most of the AAIA's existence: from its days as an "Indian interest organization," with non-Indians at the helm, to its days as an "Indian organization," under Native American leadership. This subseries documents the AAIA's administrative activities through the workings of its Board of Directors, committees, and staff; chronicles its evolving goals and the programs designed to realize them; delineates its organizational structure and manner of conducting business; and, last but not least, records the enormous variety of issues it considered over the years. More than half of this subseries consists of files relating to Annual, Board of Directors, and Executive Committee meetings. These files, which for the most part are organized chronologically on a meeting by meeting basis, typically contain minutes, reports, and correspondence regarding the arrangement of meetings and the issues discussed at them. Files from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s often contain transcripts as well. The recordings from which many of these were made can be found in Series 5 (Audiovisual Material). A wide variety of internal committees are also represented in this subseries, including the Health Committee, which concerned itself with such matters as the over-representation of certain diseases, including tuberculosis and trachoma, in the Native American population; the Nominating Committee, which was charged with proposing candidates for the Board of Directors and its committees; the Film Committee, which focused on the frequently unflattering portrayal of Indians in motion pictures; and the Education Committee, which discussed, among other things, boarding schools, head start programs, home study, and the awarding of AAIA-sponsored scholarships. Files designated "Program & Budget" consist of annual discussions of the AAIA's plans for the forthcoming year in both their programmatic and financial aspects, as well as general long-term planning. Important issues raised in these files include Native American health, education, and welfare; the arts; land and water rights; the termination of federal responsibilities and tribal self-determination; and community development. Additional material related to the budgetary process can be found in Series 1, Subseries 4 (Finances). Other files document wide-ranging policy debates and organizational analyses, including a discussion in the 1950s regarding the merits of converting from a board-run to a staff-run association. Underpinning these deliberations are various foundational documents, such as by-laws, which, among other things, document the various changes in name which the AAIA has undergone. Of particular interest are several files on the merger in 1937 of the National Association on Indian Affairs, as the AAIA was then known, and the American Indian Defense Association, including correspondence reflecting the jockeying for power which accompanied this union of onetime foes. This subseries also contains numerous reports, including annual reports, albeit inconsistently published; reports of the executive director; and activity and program reports from various board and staff members, all of which offer useful insights into the day-to-day workings of the AAIA, as well as its overall vision. The different styles of the Association's executive directors are well-illustrated by the material in this subseries: from the expressive La Verne Madigan, whose reports could assume the character of stories, to the dispassionate Idrian Resnick, with his emphasis on system. In sum, this subseries provides a concise overview of the history of the AAIA and the personalities who shaped its course. Many, though not all, of the Association's internal dynamics are laid bare, including the changing relationship between board and staff and their divergent perspectives on the handling of such matters as the administration of programs and fund raising. Gains and setbacks are recorded -- from Secretary of the Interior Fred Seaton's disavowal of involuntary termination in 1958 to Madigan's untimely death in 1962 -- as is the frequently unglamorous activity between such poles. The changing concerns and changing terms of reference of the AAIA can be found elsewhere in this collection, but nowhere does this evolution unfold more plainly. Series 1: Organizational Files, Subseries 2: Affiliates and Offices (1922-1964) consists of correspondence, reports, minutes, by-laws, membership lists and other documents relating to a number of local organizations with ties to the AAIA. Also to be found in this subseries are somewhat meager files concerning the AAIA's Southwest and Washington, D.C. offices. The character and sphere of the Association's affiliates, which were also known as branches or chapters, varied considerably. At one end of the spectrum can be found the short-lived Missouri Association on Indian Affairs, which was little more than a source of funds and where "no one," it was reported, "is really more than mildly interested." Positioned at the other extreme is the long-running New Mexico Association on Indian Affairs -- later known as the Southwestern Association on Indian Affairs -- with its noteworthy history of involvement in and advocacy of Indian concerns, be it the preservation of their lands, the improvement of their health, or the promotion of their arts and crafts. The relationship between the AAIA and its affiliates lacked definition, reflecting the circumstances of each party rather than a systematic pattern. While this ambiguity did not go unchallenged, General Counsel Arthur Lazarus, Jr. voiced a prevailing view when, in 1958, he noted that the "present thinking of the Association is that its relationship with local organizations should not be in accordance with a rigid formula, but rather should depend upon the wishes of the local citizenry and the nature of their organization." Establishing affiliates was a precarious undertaking, as files on abortive ventures in Arizona, Idaho, and Illinois attest. Success was often attributable to the presence of a zealous individual, and the material in this subseries bears witness to the potency of women such as Mary Wheelwright in Massachusetts, Margretta Dietrich in New Mexico, and Pearl Chase in California. While the file on the AAIA's Massachusetts Branch includes a comprehensive set of minutes, among other internal documents, and while such material can be found in modest amounts elsewhere, it is the relationship between the AAIA and its affiliates which is the focus of this subseries. In the course of a rich correspondence, harmony -- "the Colorado Springs Chapter has done nobly" -- and discord -- "the whole Santa Barbara branch business is certainly a nightmare" -- are documented, as are many intervening shades of feeling. (The words are President Oliver La Farge's in 1933 and 1955 respectively.) What emerges from these exchanges is the strength, the weakness, and, above all, the individuality of the AAIA's affiliates, the product of local initiative and national outreach. Series 1: Organizational Files, Subseries 3: Correspondence (1929-1995) consists primarily of typescript letters from or to the AAIA's presidents, executive directors, general counsel, and staff members. While this subseries sheds considerable light on the AAIA's activities, it is especially useful in defining the preoccupations and, at a broader level, the personalities of the principal players in the Association: from its businesslike executive director, William Byler, to its colorful president, Alden Stevens. The consolidation of correspondence under the names of particular individuals, while a bar to ready access by subject, represents a distillation of viewpoints over an extended period, viewpoints which would otherwise lie scattered throughout the collection. Passing from one executive director to another, one encounters a diverse parade of topics: the right of tribes to legal counsel of their own choice (Alexander Lesser, 1951); the state of tension between President Oliver La Farge and onetime Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier (La Verne Madigan, 1955); the AAIA's relationship with the American Civil Liberties Union (Byler, 1975); the rationale behind postage-paid envelopes in fund raising appeals (Steven Unger, 1981); the solicitation of video recording equipment for Project Dream, a Native American rock group committed to the prevention of youth suicide (Idrian Resnick, 1987); the appointment of Robert Reich as Secretary of Labor (Gary Kimble, 1993); and the dearth of financial contributions from tribal casinos (Jerry Flute, 1995). Correspondence with the AAIA's general counsel of over 30 years, Arthur Lazarus, Jr. and Richard Schifter, and their predecessor, Felix Cohen, likewise chronicle a wide array of matters affecting the Association and its constituents. Of particular import were their opinions as to the advisability of filing amicus curiae -- "friend of the court" -- briefs in cases involving such issues as land and water rights. The general section of this subseries includes incoming and outgoing letters and facsimiles and is arranged chronologically. The facsimiles were maintained as a unit by the AAIA on the basis of their form and, thus, represent a broad spectrum of subjects. The letters, for their part, were segregated by the AAIA because of their generality. Many are inquiries from the public, and, due to their repetitive character and negligible value, only a sample has been preserved. Genealogical questions, which the AAIA was not in a position to answer, and requests for information about Indians were among the most common matters raised in these letters. Numerous letters, distinguished, in many cases, by their untrained penmanship, came from schoolchildren. In the words of one, "If you have any information on Sioux Indians, send me some. But if you don't have any on Sioux Indians, forget it. Please make it all free." While many of the exchanges in this subseries are comparatively pedestrian, some are highly revealing. For example, the correspondence between La Farge, then based in New York, and Moris Burge and Margaret McKittrick, the AAIA's field representatives, chronicles the difficulty of redefining and energizing the Association in the 1930s, as well as their mutual affection and their devotion to the Indian cause in the face of personal financial hardship. Following La Farge's death in New Mexico in 1963, administrative power was effectively concentrated in New York. This, coupled with a general decline in the involvement of the Association's president and directors in its daily activities, reduced the need for informal internal correspondence. Letter writing was limited primarily to exchanges between the AAIA and the parties it served or influenced, a shift which saw a falling off in the wit, candor, and elegance which had characterized much of the Association's correspondence in times past. Series 1: Organizational Files, Subseries 4: Finances (1933-1995) consists of correspondence, financial statements, spreadsheets, and reports. It documents the financial workings of the AAIA, including fund raising efforts, budgetary planning, allocation of funds, and auditing of accounts. This subseries includes official treasurer's reports as well as the annual and semi-annual reports of the Association's auditors Zeller & Goldschmidt. Together, they offer a precise measure of the fluctuating fortunes of the AAIA, stretching from the 1930s, when general receipts and disbursements could total $3,244 and $4,415 respectively, to the 1990s, when general revenue and expenses could stand at $1,597,703 and $1,504,704 respectively. The essential role played by Zeller & Goldschmidt in furnishing financial guidance to the Association is reflected in letters admonishing the AAIA for not improving its internal bookkeeping. Under the heading of "Budgets" can be found the financial outlines for the annual discussions of the AAIA's program and budget. Additional information on the budgetary process is contained in the files on these discussions in Series 1, Subseries 1 (Administration). Also contained in this subseries is material relating to the AAIA's exemption from various types of taxation and its understandable concern over changing tax laws and their effect on its non-profit status. A significant component of this subseries documents the AAIA's endeavors to raise money by a diversity of means, including direct mail solicitations, luncheons, benefits, personal contacts, the use of development consultants, and the establishment of funds such as the American Indian Fund and the Oliver La Farge Indian Fund, which was created as a memorial to the AAIA's long-serving president. These files illustrate the Association's reliance on well-to-do and well-placed board members for contributions and contacts; the importance to its financial welfare of major donors, many of whom remembered the AAIA posthumously; and its creativity in capitalizing its programs. Examples of direct mail solicitations can be found in files designated "Fund Raising Appeals" in Series 2, Subseries 6 (Publications and Circulars). Series 2: Subject Files (1851-1995) contains six subseries: General, Tribal, Legislation, Legal Cases, Programs, and Publications and Circulars. These document respectively the broad issues, such as child welfare or economic development, and the individuals and national entities with which the AAIA dealt; the hundreds of tribes, local organizations, and state-based issues in which it took an interest; the federal legislative and administrative actions which concerned its constituents; the litigation it pursued or monitored; a number of major activities it undertook on behalf on Native Americans; and the newsletters, brochures, and other printed matter with which it publicized its agenda. Series 2: Subject Files, Subseries 1: General (1868-1995) is distinguished by its breadth, embracing, as it does, the wide array of subjects -- and the even greater range of individuals and groups -- with which the AAIA has been associated over the years. It contains a diverse assortment of correspondence, running the gamut from official circulars to informal notes, as well as articles, brochures, reports, and clippings. Some files are notable for their fullness, attesting to the salience of a particular topic or the productivity of a particular individual, while others provide only the most general of glosses. This subseries also represents an interesting mix of the personal and the impersonal: from the reflections of Executive Director La Verne Madigan on Native American nationalism -- "our democracy is impure to the extent that the people we conquered do not accept it as their democracy" -- to an Acting Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs' memorandum on the cancellation of reimbursable charges "pursuant to the Indian Financing Act of 1974." Broadly speaking, this subseries can be divided into three categories: people; corporate bodies, both governmental and nongovernmental; and issues. Files which bear the names of individuals encompass board and staff members; elected and appointed public officials such as Senator George McGovern and Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash; Native American leaders such as Vine Deloria, Jr. and John Woodenlegs; and citizens with an interest in Indian matters, including a past and future First Lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Rodham. While the leanness of some files, including those of certain board members, reflect the peripheral or transitory nature of their subjects' involvement in the AAIA's concerns, others bear witness to years of diligent activity in the interests of Native Americans. Angie Debo's file, for instance, exemplifies the model board member, documenting her extensive knowledge of Indian affairs in Oklahoma, her interest in wider issues, and her wholehearted commitment to the work of the Association, for whom she was an important source of counsel. The interest taken by the AAIA in other entities concerned with Native Americans -- be they Indian or non-Indian in composition -- is also documented in this subseries. Particularly well-represented are the American Indian Development Corporation, the American Indian Policy Review Commission, the Association of Contract Tribal Schools, the National Congress of American Indians, the National Indian Education Association, and the Organization for Social and Technical Innovation. There are files which contain only informational material and, thus, suggest a minimum of interaction, as in the case of the American Indian Archaeological Institute, and there are files which reveal a collaborative spirit, as in the case of the Native American Rights Fund. Cordiality as well as hostility can be found. The American Indian Press Association, which the AAIA lauded as serving "an extremely useful and much needed function," is illustrative of the former, while the American Indian Federation, with its Nazi proclivities, -- "a notoriously disreputable group," in La Farge's words -- falls squarely in the latter camp. While the AAIA offered support to organizations such as the American Indian Nurses Association, it sought assistance from charitable institutions such as the John Hay Whitney Foundation. Indeed, the significant number of philanthropic bodies contained in this subseries underscores the financial pressures experienced by the Association as it sought to mount a diversified and effective program. Governmental bodies are also well-represented, either in their own right or in files addressing specific issues. Not unexpectedly, material relating to the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior predominates: evidence of the pervasive role its programs and personnel have played in Native American life. Of particular interest are files relating to the Association's vexed relationship with Commissioners of Indian Affairs Dillon Myer and Glenn Emmons in the 1950s, both of whom espoused the speedy termination of federal responsibilities for Native Americans. Rounding out this subseries are sometimes substantial files on the issues which engaged the attention and consumed the energies of the AAIA. While the files in this category hold evidence of concrete action, they also contain the accumulation of data on which the Association based its policies. A fluid picture emerges as the rejuvenation of Indian arts and crafts or the struggle to halt the termination of recognized tribes gives way to the preservation of Indian families or the struggle to secure the acknowledgement of unrecognized tribes. Issues such as health and education loomed large from one decade to the next, even if the focus shifted, for example, from trachoma to acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Still other matters, such as the occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' headquarters by the American Indian Movement in 1972, flared up and died down suddenly, baring old antagonisms. Taken as a whole, this subseries sheds a revealing light on the AAIA, the players who shared its stage, and the dramas -- sometimes resolved and sometimes not -- in which it acted. It also demonstrates that over the years this stage has grown ever more crowded and ever more Indian in representation, though the challenges confronting Native Americans have not thereby abated. Series 2: Subject Files, Subseries 2: Tribal (1852-1994), the single largest body of material in the collection, documents the AAIA's relationship with more than 300 Native American communities and organizations from one end of the country to the other and the matters of uppermost concern to them. The AAIA's involvement in the lives of these entities varied widely in duration and intensity, sometimes precipitated by natural or man-made crises, sometimes engendered by long-term but equally invidious threats to tribal self-sufficiency. Many critical junctures in Native American history are chronicled in this subseries, from the Pueblo of Taos' struggle to recover its sacred Blue Lake to the Native Village of Point Hope's opposition to nuclear detonations; from the termination of Wisconsin's Menominee to the recognition of Florida's Miccosukee. Less prominent but, to the communities concerned, vitally important issues abound in these files, be it the location of a high school, the consolidation of two Indian agencies, the preservation of traditional fishing rights, or the encroachment of a hydroelectric project. This subseries is composed mainly of correspondence but also includes such items as reports, clippings, and minutes. It is organized alphabetically, initially by state and then by tribe (e.g. San Carlos Apache), organization (e.g. American Indian Community House), or other subject (e.g. Tongue River Railroad Extension). In many instances, the name of a tribe is preceded by that of its reservation, reflecting the fact that members of the same Indian nation are often dispersed among two or more reservations. Some tribes are formally recognized as residing in two or more states and have been organized accordingly. The largest of these is the Navajo, whose far-flung territory encompasses parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Files relating to the Navajo have been grouped beneath this tri-state heading in the overall alphabetical sequence. Other tribes with a multiple heading include the Colorado River Tribes of Arizona and California, the Ute Mountain Tribe of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, and the Goshute of Nevada and Utah. Material of a miscellaneous nature has likewise been organized by state and can be found in a general file at the end of each sequence of files. It should be noted that in the interests of simplicity, North and South Dakota have been treated as one unit under the collective term, "Dakotas." The correspondence in this subseries is extremely varied, with many exchanges between Native American leaders and the AAIA's executive directors. The former spoke not only for tribes but for umbrella groups such as the Alaska Federation of Natives, the Association of Village Council Presidents, the Cook Inlet Native Association, the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council, the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, and the Tanana Chiefs Conference, to name the organizations most strongly represented here. Other correspondence takes the form of exchanges internal to the AAIA, including ever important communications between its office in New York and its field workers, general counsel, and, during his years in New Mexico, its president, Oliver La Farge, as it endeavored to craft a response to various tribal needs. Exchanges with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other governmental and nongovernmental entities can also be found. An important supplement to the correspondence in this subseries is offered by various tribal documents, among them constitutional and administrative records, and reports and surveys prepared or assembled by the AAIA in its efforts to inform itself and others about the situation of Native Americans. If this subseries has an overriding strength, it is its capacity to reveal the diversity and commonality of the American Indian experience. While, for example, the erection of massive dams and the concomitant loss of tribal patrimony was a recurring theme, the racial discrimination faced by Indians such as Louisiana's Houma and North Carolina's Lumbee had a distinctively segregationist stamp. If there is evidence of Native American cohesion in intertribal organizations such as the United Tribes of North Dakota or the Kumeyaay Tribal Council, there is also evidence of disunity, as in the case of the Osage, where a restricted franchise was bitterly contested, or in the case of the long-running territorial dispute between the Navajo and Hopi. The role of the AAIA was also variable, containing programmatic elements, as evidenced by broad initiatives in such fields as community development and child welfare, as well as innumerable actions shaped by local circumstances. The AAIA fostered change in modest ways -- a small grant here, a small grant there -- as well as through dramatic interventions, such as its defense of Arizona's Havasupai, the "Prisoners," to use its words, "of the Grand Canyon." As this subseries attests, the Association's views did not necessarily prevail -- its failure to halt the construction of the Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River is a case in point -- nor could it devote its energies in equal measure to all tribes. Yet, from its limited beginnings in the Southwest, the AAIA developed an ever widening interest in the fate of Native Americans, leaving not only a legacy of concrete accomplishments but a paper trail which documents the evolving fortunes and the growing self-assurance of the communities it served. Series 2: Subject Files, Subseries 3: Legislation (1851-1994) consists of correspondence, articles, memoranda, and Congressional bills, resolutions, reports, and testimony relating to a wide variety of legislative and administrative issues of concern to the AAIA. These are embodied in sometimes voluminous subject files and an extensive series of memoranda containing synopses of governmental activities impinging on Native Americans. The bulk of the latter were prepared for general circulation by the AAIA's general counsel. The scope of this subseries reflects the importance the AAIA attached to effecting change in Washington, be it in a supportive or an adversarial role. Leaders of the Association such as President Oliver La Farge, General Counsel Richard Schifter, and Executive Director William Byler took an interest in everything from the implications of Alaskan statehood to the protection and repatriation of Indian remains and artifacts to the transfer of civil and criminal jurisdiction from federal to state authorities. Attention was given to measures affecting every tribe, such as the far-reaching Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, which sought to give Native Americans a meaningful say in programs intended for their benefit, as well as to localized initiatives, such as the resolution politicizing the superintendency of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma in 1935. Some matters, of course, received more attention than others. Files such as "Pueblo Lands," which documents the formative struggle of the AAIA, then known as the Eastern Association on Indian Affairs, to safeguard the dwindling land base of New Mexico's Pueblo Indians in the 1920s, and "Indian Child Welfare Act," a major focus of concern in the 1970s and 1980s, are remarkable for their depth. Such files illustrate the significant role played by the AAIA in influencing Congressional action not only through detailed critiques but through the submission of draft legislation. Although other files, such as those addressing issues of economic development, juvenile alcohol and drug abuse, law enforcement, and sanitation, are not as large, they, too, shed light on the sometimes subtle, sometimes explicit pressures exerted by the AAIA when policymakers considered laws and regulations affecting Native Americans. Not only does this subseries chronicle many decades of public debate over the proper scope and direction of federal Indian policy, but it offers insights into the internal discussions which determined the nature and tone of the AAIA's position in this volatile arena. In either case, the stakes were large, for if these files make one thing plain, it is that the federal government has exercised enormous influence for good and ill in the lives of Native Americans. Indeed, their very survival as tribal entities has, at times, hung in the balance. Even when legislation favorable to them has been enacted, as in the case of the groundbreaking Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, there has been no guarantee that it would not be repealed or emasculated in a subsequent session of Congress. From the struggle over Indian religious freedom to the struggle over the termination of federal responsibilities, it is clear from this subseries that the AAIA has played a significant role in safeguarding fundamental Native American interests through legislative and administrative action. Series 2: Subject Files, Subseries 4: Legal Cases (1934-1991) consists of correspondence, briefs, pleadings, transcripts, and clippings dating largely from the 1950s to the 1980s and concerning the various legal cases in which the AAIA was interested or involved, whether through direct representation or through the filing of amicus curiae -- "friend of the court" -- briefs. The material in this subseries was generated in significant measure by staff attorney Bertram Hirsch and General Counsel Arthur Lazarus, Jr., though the activities of attorneys such as Richard Schifter, Lawrence Rappoport, and William Lamb and executive directors such as La Verne Madigan, William Byler, and Steven Unger are also documented. While some files reveal the strategy employed by the Association in selecting cases and offer insights into the tactics it pursued within and without the courtroom, others consist solely of court related documents. This subseries clearly demonstrates the shifting focus of the AAIA's legal concerns: from matters of criminal law in the 1950s and 1960s to matters of family law in the 1970s and 1980s, a practical extension of its commitment to the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. The precise success rate of the Association's legal activities cannot be readily determined given the fact that many files fail to cover cases from their initiation, through the long appellate process, to their ultimate conclusion. However, as favorable correspondence and court opinions show, the AAIA could take satisfaction in many judgements. Some files are closed for 75 years from the date of creation of their most recent document for reasons of confidentiality. These include all Family Law cases, typically involving minors in highly sensitive proceedings, and some of the material in the Criminal Law and Legal Aid components of this subseries. Files are arranged alphabetically by case name, or, in the absence of identifiable court action, by the name of the individual, entity, or subject at issue. Supplemental information indicating the subject of the case and the tribe or jurisdiction involved is frequently provided parenthetically. The files in this subseries are divided into five broad groupings: Constitutional Rights; Criminal Law; Family Law -- by far the largest of these components -- ; Land and Water Rights; and Legal Aid. Constitutional Rights includes issues of taxation, voting rights, educational rights and school desegregation, religious freedom, and requests for entitlements. Of major interest to the Association was a class action suit against the state of Alaska, Molly Hootch, et al. v. Alaska State-Operated School System, et al. (Hootch later settled out of court, and the case continued as Anna Tobeluk, et al. v. Marshall Lind, et al.), which represented an attempt by native communities to secure state funds to establish schools. The decision in this case, which went against the state, proved controversial, as very small towns, some with just a few children, were given large sums of money to erect school buildings. Also under this heading can be found cases concerning the right of Native Americans to use peyote in religious ceremonies, veterans' desires to be buried in private cemeteries, battles over liquor laws, claims for welfare and social security payments, and issues relating to the termination of the federal government's relationship with certain tribes. Criminal Law includes such matters as rights to due process, denial of parole, capital punishment, complaints of police brutality, and police jurisdiction on reservations. Of particular interest is the capital case, Loyd Grandsinger v. Nebraska, which involved a man whose due process rights had plainly been violated through the incompetence of his attorney. The AAIA's counsel and officers were less concerned with Grandsinger's guilt or innocence than with ensuring his right to a fair trial. The Association rallied to his defense and orchestrated a Defense Committee, which raised money to aid his cause. Grandsinger's conviction was overturned, and he was released. However, a few weeks after his release he was arrested for stealing a car, and the Defense Committee was dissolved amid some embarrassment. Family Law encompasses such subjects as adoption, child abuse, parental rights, and the "kidnapping" of children by state welfare agencies. Many files provide a heart wrenching account of family loss and the primitive living conditions, substance abuse, and general poverty endured by a disturbing number of Native Americans. As the plethora of material under this heading attests, the welfare of Native American children became one of the AAIA's major preoccupations. Most of these files concern the reunification of families through the repatriation of children removed from reservations and placed in foster or adoptive homes, many of which were geographically and culturally remote. While bereft mothers were often at the center of such cases, tribal leaders, fearing that a disproportionately large number of Native American children were being taken from their natural families and placed in non-Indian care, sued for custody as well. Thus, while some cases deal with familial issues on an intensely personal level, others are broadly concerned with the rights of tribes to jurisdiction over the welfare and future of their children. Land and Water Rights is concerned with issues relating to land claims, rights to natural resources, fishing and hunting rights, the sale of lands by the federal government, and the prerogative of Native American landlords to remove their non-Indian tenants. The Oneida Indian Nation land claims in New York constitute a large proportion of material under this heading. The Oneidas sought to regain a five million acre strip of land running from the northern border to the southern border of New York, including Syracuse, by challenging the legality of treaties concluded in the eighteenth century. A smaller claim for 250,000 acres, including Oneida County, was granted by the courts but then reversed. The initial ruling worried many non-Indian land owners, who feared that the precedent set by the court could have the potential to radically undermine existing property relations, a fear which proved unfounded. Legal Aid contains material relating to clinics held on the Pine Ridge Oglala Sioux, Lake Traverse Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux, and Devils Lake Sioux reservations in the 1960s and 1970s. Funded by the AAIA and coordinated by local attorney Dennis Hill, these activities took the form of "advice and counseling services" rather than legal representation and included "interpretation of laws, discussing and explaining rights, advice in preparing wills or other legal documents, referring individual cases or persons to appropriate agencies or firms," and so forth. Among the items to be found in these files are reports on the clinics, discussions of the practices of tribal courts, and guidelines for and evaluations of the program as a whole. Series 2: Subject Files, Subseries 5: Programs (1927-1994) documents a number of significant activities undertaken by the AAIA to enhance the lives of Native Americans and fulfill its mission, namely, to "sustain and perpetuate their cultures and languages; protect their sovereignty, their constitutional, legal and human rights; their natural resources; and improve their health, education, economic and community development." The programs represented in this subseries vary widely in structure and focus and attest to the Association's breadth of interest and organizational sophistication, tempered, at times, by constrained resources or human failings. While some of these programs were pursued concurrently, they also illustrate an evolution in the AAIA's agenda and environment. In the 1920s and 1930s, for example, the provision of nursing services to the Pueblo and Navajo was a major preoccupation. In the 1970s and 1980s, in contrast, maintaining the integrity of Native American families and communities through new national and local child welfare policies was a high priority. The AAIA's activities were both practical and theoretical in nature. The latter are well-represented in this subseries in the form of conferences, workshops, and institutes which explored such issues as Native American health (six conferences were held on themes ranging from the United States Public Health Service to environmentally conditioned diseases), education, assimilation, self-government, and taxation. In addition to letters of invitation, programs, lists of participants, and the like, a number of files contain transcripts of proceedings. Among the activities which transcended the confines of the conference hall was We Shake Hands, a multifaceted program designed to help Native American communities "rediscover their power to act on their own behalf, and fulfill their desire for independence by relating themselves as political, economic and social equals to other communities of the United States," its primary constituents being the Omaha of Nebraska, the Oglala Sioux of South Dakota, and the Northern Cheyenne of Montana. Further particulars about this community-based experiment in self-assertion and cooperation can be found in the files of these tribes in Series 2, Subseries 2 (Tribal). Also worthy of note is the Indian Participation Project, which facilitated the tribal assumption on a contractual basis of operations traditionally managed by federal agencies, as well as the American Indian Arts Center, a shop which operated at various locations in Manhattan from 1963 to 1977 with the object of stimulating interest in and sales of Native American arts and crafts. In addition to correspondence, financial statements, and inventories, the files of the American Indian Arts Center contain five albums documenting various promotional activities, among them the inclusion of Native American jewelry and other accessories in the fashion pages of such magazines as Harper's Bazaar, Gentlemen's Quarterly, and Vogue. The most substantial body of material among these files was generated by the AAIA's long-running scholarship program, which for a time was a cooperative effort with the Board for Homeland Ministries of the United Church of Christ and the National Council of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The program's beginnings were modest, but over the years it grew and ultimately provided financial assistance to hundreds of Native Americans each year. In 1990, for example, 448 awards of varying kinds were made totaling $114,425. A sample of the thousands of applications handled by the AAIA over the years has been preserved. Series 2: Subject Files, Subseries 6: Publications and Circulars (1924-1994) consists of a variety of printed matter designed for general consumption, ranging from substantial newsletters and bulletins to one- or two-page letters and releases. The material in this subseries offers readily accessible insights into the evolving program of the AAIA, the issues which preoccupied it, and the climate in which it operated. The picture formed by these publications and circulars is a comprehensive one, notwithstanding a number of missing issues. As Oliver La Farge's biographer Robert Hecht observed of the AAIA's primary mouthpiece, Indian Affairs, "Almost every major event in Indian affairs (and many minor ones) since 1949 has been reported in the newsletter." Among the myriad topics addressed in these years were the rights of Alaskan natives, the Navajo rehabilitation program, the termination of federal responsibilities for Native Americans, the "virtual legal lynching" of South Dakotan Indian Loyd Grandsinger, the recognition and protection of Florida's Miccosukee, the death of Oliver La Farge, the preservation of Nevada's Pyramid Lake, and the water rights of central Arizona's tribes. The chronicle which unfolds here is considerably longer than this, however. The Eastern Association on Indian Affairs' Bulletin dates from the 1920s and covers, among other subjects, its defense of Native American dances, its promotion of Indian health, its surveys of conditions on Southwestern reservations, and its review of the Meriam Report, a major federally commissioned study of Indian questions. Indian Affairs itself first appeared in 1933, though its initial life was short, ceasing publication in 1938. Another early perspective is furnished by American Indian Life, published on behalf of the American Indian Defense Association by the Indian Defense Associations of California. The American Indian Defense Association, which merged with the AAIA (then known as the National Association on Indian Affairs) in 1937, was the more aggressive organization of the two, and its stridency is reflected in its publication. Indeed, one issue likened the Bureau of Indian Affairs to a "devouring czar." In addition to these and other publications, including two devoted to a single issue, -- the protection of Native American families and natural resources -- this subseries contains numerous fund raising appeals, reflecting the financial realities faced by any organization dependent on voluntary contributions. Also to be found are various brochures and informational documents which outline the work of the AAIA or highlight particular matters. Be it a factual statement, as in the case of William Byler's appointment as Executive Director, or a call to action, as in the case of Congressional consideration of Alaskan native land claims, this material served to raise the profile and advance the agenda of the AAIA. Series 3: Personal Files (1927-1991) contains five subseries which bear the names and document the AAIA-related activities of Alaskan Policy Committee Chairman Henry S. Forbes, Secretary Hildegarde B. Forbes, President Oliver La Farge, Vice President Corinna Lindon Smith, and President Alden Stevens. Series 3: Personal Files, Subseries 1: Henry S. Forbes (1954-1981) consists of correspondence, notes, articles, reports, clippings, and photographs belonging to Henry Stone Forbes (1882-1968). Forbes, a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, devoted most of his medical career to research on neuropathology. Forbes became interested in the AAIA through Dr. Haven Emerson, a onetime President of the Association, who invited him to join its National Committee on Indian Health. He joined its Board of Directors in 1958. In 1961 President Oliver La Farge asked Forbes to serve as chairman of the AAIA's Committee on Alaskan Policy, to which he replied, "I don't know anything about Alaska, but I'll do what I can." Forbes rectified this situation by journeying to Alaska, travels which are well-documented in this subseries. His inaugural visit, in the company of Executive Director La Verne Madigan in the summer of 1961, was at the request of the Alaskan natives of Point Hope. The members of this community were gravely concerned about the potential effects of Project Chariot, a plan by the federal government to detonate a nuclear device as a means of blasting a new harbor. Fearing that radiation from the blast would harm the local population's food supply, the AAIA stepped in and was instrumental in derailing the plan. Madigan, the driving force behind the AAIA's involvement in Alaska, died in 1962, placing new responsibilities on Forbes. As the wealth of material relating to Alaska in this subseries attests, he shouldered this burden, playing an active role in Alaskan affairs until his death. Forbes' most enduring legacy and one to which a significant amount of material is devoted was the Tundra Times, a newspaper published and edited by Alaskan natives. Forbes was largely responsible for its financing and was an important source of counsel to its staff. As its editor, Howard Rock, reflected on Forbes' death, "The native people have lost a great benefactor. . . . Dr. Henry S. Forbes, perhaps more than he realized, has done the greatest of services by making it possible for us to point out the dire needs of our people in Alaska. . . . Whatever will be established for the good of all of us will be a living monument to a man who exercised so much of his generosity." The files on this subject contain substantive correspondence, much of it with Rock, regarding the start-up, everyday workings, content, and financial difficulties of the Tundra Times as it strove to make the voice of Alaskan natives heard. This subseries also includes material relating to a number of groundbreaking conferences which brought together the leaders of Alaska's native communities, including the Inupiat and Dena' Nena' Henash gatherings; the Alaskan Association for Native Affairs, formerly known as the Alaska Native Rights Association; fishing, whaling, and hunting rights; land claims, including concerns over the displacement of Alaskan natives from their villages; and the abortive Rampart Dam. A small collection of photographs contains pictures taken in the course of Forbes' travels in Alaska, among other items. It should be noted that prior to their transfer to Princeton University, Forbes' files were sorted and annotated by his wife, Hildegarde Forbes, whose own papers can be found in Series 3, Subseries 2. Series 3: Personal Files, Subseries 2: Hildegarde B. Forbes (1927-1991) consists chiefly of correspondence and printed matter from the files of Hildegarde Boughton Forbes (1894-1991). Raised in affluent surroundings, she gamely faced the hardships of a nurse's aide at Fort MacPherson, Georgia during and after the First World War. In 1922 she married Henry Forbes, whose papers are located in Series 3, Subseries 1, and it was at his urging that she formed her connection with the AAIA. Elected to its Board of Directors in 1961, she soon became an influential presence. While she served the Association in a variety of capacities, including as co-chairman of its Ways and Means Committee, and contributed generously to its coffers, it was as its secretary that she left her most indelible mark. Her primary duty in this position, which she occupied from 1964 until failing eyesight compelled her to resign in 1980, was the taking of minutes, both at meetings of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. Her handiwork can be found in Series 1, Subseries 1 (Administration). The material contained in Forbes' files covers a wide array of matters and constitutes a sort of microcosm of other subseries in the collection during her time of active involvement in the Association. There is a thinness to her files which limit their usefulness, however, though not as an ancillary source of information. The most interesting portion of Forbes' papers is her personal correspondence, documenting, as it does, the AAIA's evolving character and interests and her reactions to these changes. An avid letter writer, she kept in touch with the AAIA's key players from her home in Massachusetts, be it General Counsel Arthur Lazarus, Jr., President Oliver La Farge, or Executive Director William Byler. Forbes' forceful personality emerges clearly in her writing. Self-described as "hard-boiled," she harbored strong opinions and was not afraid to voice them. Her peppery manner could be off-putting, but no one could doubt her dedication to the AAIA. Her underlying warmth of spirit was also palpable when she wrote to President Roger Ernst in 1972, "I was really glad to hear that you are going to a so-called head shrinker. I feel sure that he will -- rather than shrinking -- give you confidence in your own ability, which is great. For several years I was in psychotherapy and wouldn't have missed the experience for anything on earth. Among other things that it did for me was to give me courage to needle 3 Presidents of the AAIA when I saw things going wrong. Now maybe you'll find the courage to hit me over the head when I step out of line." Series 3: Personal Files, Subseries 3: Oliver La Farge (1939-1963) is largely composed of correspondence and reports relating to La Farge's presidency of the AAIA, an organization with which he was synonymous. La Farge (1901-1963), an anthropologist and Pulitzer Prize winning author, dedicated half his life to the Association and the causes it championed. Born into a cultured New England family, he first encountered Native Americans when, as a student at Harvard University, he accompanied an archaeological expedition to the Navajo reservation. It was a seminal experience. As he would later say, "the Indians got me in 1921." Further trips to the Southwest followed, as did anthropological expeditions to Mexico and Guatemala on behalf of Tulane and Columbia Universities. In 1930 he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Eastern Association on Indian Affairs, as the AAIA was then known, and, in 1933, accepted its presidency. He held this post until his death, with the exception of the years between 1943 and 1948, an interregnum necessitated by his appointment as historical officer for the United States Army's Air Transport Command. La Farge's assumption of the Association's presidency in 1933 also saw the adoption of a new name: the National Association on Indian Affairs. It was an appropriate conjunction, for, under his leadership, the Association evolved from a small and precariously situated entity to a vibrant organization with a multidimensional program and a national reach. Despite physical and financial hardships, he strove to better the lives of Native Americans by cultivating understanding, challenging injustice, and answering wants. His deftly written letters demonstrate an acute understanding of human character, and while he was intolerant of the inept and disingenuous, he could exercise great patience and diplomacy. His comprehension of Native Americans was not without limitations, but his commitment to them ran deep. As The New York Times declared on his death, "Oliver La Farge approached the Indian without maudlin sentiment. He liked and respected him, and with gentle but firm good nature he repelled the caricature of the modern Indian as a drunk and a wastrel. . . . He fought the Indian's battles before many a Congressional committee and White House advisory group. Others were in the fight, too, but it was La Farge's voice that was heard most frequently and most movingly in behalf of the country's original settler." The material in this subseries documents La Farge's contribution and that of the AAIA to this struggle during the postwar portion of his presidency -- only a handful of items predate it -- and sheds light on the temperament of this influential figure. Researchers will encounter frank remarks on the AAIA's internal organization, its direction, and its relationship with such entities as the National Congress of American Indians and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Of particular interest are taut discussions in 1955 concerning the future of Executive Director Alexander Lesser, who, according to La Farge, "is wrecking the association, and no amount of pleading, persuading, or arguing seems to make him see it." Administrative matters form only a part of this subseries, however. It includes substantial files on tribes such as the Navajo and Northern Cheyenne, as well as a collection of field reports containing detailed analyses of Indian communities in various parts of the country. Critical issues confronting Native Americans are also addressed, including the federal government's campaign to terminate its relationship with tribes and its efforts to regulate tribal attorney contracts, thereby limiting the ability of Indians to secure independent counsel. Other files document the AAIA's role in specific battles, such as the vain attempt of the Seneca to halt construction of the Kinzua Dam or the successful efforts of the Pueblo of Taos to secure title to its sacred Blue Lake. This subseries also offers insights into steps the Association took to foster change in public attitudes, a task at which La Farge, wordsmith that he was, excelled. Series 3: Personal Files, Subseries 4: Corinna Lindon Smith (1932-1965) consists largely of correspondence from the files of this long-standing member and sometime vice president of the AAIA. Smith (1875-1965) could take pride in a connection with the Association reaching back to its beginnings, -- she was elected to the Board of Directors of the Eastern Association on Indian Affairs in 1925 -- but the material in this subseries corresponds almost wholly with her latter-day tenure on this body, a period framed by her re-election in 1953 and her death. Smith was comfortably circumstanced in life and travelled widely overseas in the company of her husband, the artist and archaeologist, Joseph Lindon Smith. Her active interest in Native Americans began with a recuperative holiday in Florida in 1923, which introduced her to the Seminole and Miccosukee peoples. She and her party, which included a nurse, were soon ministering to their needs, and, in the course of this visit and subsequent sojourns in states such as New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Montana, Smith committed herself to promoting the welfare and, in particular, the health of Indians throughout the United States. She carried out this mission not only on behalf of the AAIA and its affiliates but as head of the General Federation of Women's Clubs' Division of Indian Welfare. The lone prewar document in this subseries bears witness to her work under the latter's aegis in the field of home improvement. Smith also served as an advisor to organizations ranging from the National Congress of American Indians to the State and Provincial Health Authorities of North America. The most voluminous file in this subseries relates to Native American health, reflecting Smith's long-standing interest in this area. Unfortunately, comparatively little of her own correspondence has been preserved. The bulk of material in her files was penned by others, and while these include letters directed specifically to Smith, there are also a profusion of carbon copies and other duplicated items sent to her in her capacity as Second Vice President of the AAIA between 1958 and 1965. Though impersonal, the latter shed a succinct light on issues of organizational concern, from the defense of Alaska's natives to the inclusion of Indians in the Johnson administration's anti-poverty crusade to the establishment of a National Service Corps. This subseries is more broad than deep, but it offers an easily compassed picture of the AAIA through the medium of one its most dedicated members. Smith's presence is not an obtrusive one, but here and there her redoubtable personality reveals itself. "My premise," she wrote in her ninetieth year, "is never stop being useful. To do this, set up a scale of priorities to determine what not to delegate to young associates." Series 3: Personal Files, Subseries 5: Alden Stevens (1941-1971) is composed primarily of correspondence and printed matter relating to Stevens' long association with the AAIA and, in particular, to his tenure as its president. A graduate of the University of Chicago, Stevens (1907-1968) was a well-travelled writer and museum exhibition designer whose assignments took him to numerous reservations. In 1957 he was appointed Field Director of Mobil Travel Guide. It was President Oliver La Farge who invited him to join the American Association on Indian Affairs, as the AAIA was then known. Despite "disliking him intensely at first," Stevens agreed and, in 1941, was elected to its Board of Directors. In 1946 he assumed the duties of secretary, and, in 1964, following La Farge's death, he was elected president, a position he held for the remainder of his life. Stevens was under no illusions as to the nature of his office. As he put it in 1967, "Oliver once said to me 'you know, Alden, this work is like a Venus fly-trap -- you feel yourself encircled and after a while you can't get out of it.' . . . I have no intention, if I can help it, of dying in this fly-trap, but I'm not going to back out until I see the Association in a really intelligent, forward-moving posture." Stevens' files offer a revealing if circumscribed picture of the AAIA and are especially instructive with regard to its internal dynamics. The bruising conflict between the Association's Southwest field secretary, executive director, and a divided Board of Directors over the Association's policies with regard to the Pueblo of Taos' struggle to regain its sacred Blue Lake is the most dramatic of a number of controversies documented in this subseries. Another area of tension involved a significant adjustment in the relationship between the Board of Directors and the Executive Director following the deaths of La Farge and Executive Director La Verne Madigan in 1963 and 1962 respectively. Under Stevens, who lacked his predecessor's public stature, and William Byler, Madigan's successor, the power of staff members increased at the expense of board members. Byler's assumption of responsibility and his "starchy" manner, as Stevens worded it, was frowned upon in certain quarters, but Stevens stood behind him. Bolstered by an irrepressible sense of humor, Stevens kept the AAIA from self-destructing during a period of transition, providing continuity while embracing change. If this subseries has a strength, it is the light it sheds on the human face of the AAIA, on the impact of personality on policy, and on the foibles and virtues which color any collectivity. Series 4: Photographs (1928-1992) captures many of the personalities and settings documented elsewhere in the collection. The vast majority of these photographs, which are largely black and white, measure 8" x 10" or less. Only a modest number predate the Second World War, and many, regrettably, are undated and unidentified. The photographs in this series have been divided into four groupings: Individuals, People and Places, Arts and Artifacts, and Indians in the Military. There is also a small collection of oversized photographs which has itself been subdivided in accordance with this schema. There is, however, an addition in this case: a file entitled "Derogatory Images," which contains two photographs of a toy called "Nutty Mad Indian," one of many offensive products or depictions protested by the AAIA. Photographs of individuals, pictured either singly or in groups, include prominent figures in the Association such as Presidents Oliver La Farge, Haven Emerson, Alden Stevens, Roger Ernst, and Alfonso Ortiz, and Executive Directors Alexander Lesser, La Verne Madigan, William Byler, Steven Unger, and Gary Kimble. Also represented are some of the numberless individuals with whom the AAIA has had dealings, among them Commissioner of Indian Affairs William Brophy, San Carlos Apache Tribal Council Chairman Clarence Wesley, Senator Robert Kennedy, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, Alaskan sculptor Karoo Ashevak, and Israeli educator Reuven Feuerstein. Two men who influenced the Association and its constituents from afar are also numbered among these photographs, namely, Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Under the umbrella of People and Places can be found a wide variety of scenes: some filled with human activity, others dominated by a solitary figure or a man-made structure, and still others suffused with the beauty of the natural world. In contrast to the generally staid photographs assembled under the heading of Individuals, these products of the camera possess a vibrant quality, even when their subject is a desolate one, as in the case of dilapidated Native American dwellings and facilities. Scenes in this grouping include a series of small but variegated photographs from the Alaska of the 1930s, glimpses of domestic life in the Southwest, the splendor of Montana's Glacier National Park, Indian children, gatherings sponsored by the AAIA, and traditionally attired participants in celebrations of Native American culture. Arts and Artifacts consists of a substantial body of photographs depicting such creative works as paintings, clothing, sculpture, jewelry, masks, and basketry, many of which were displayed at the AAIA's American Indian Arts Center in New York. For its part, Indians in the Military documents the participation of Native Americans in the armed forces of the United States during the Second World War. Their heroic involvement in this struggle could not but bolster the Association's contention that Native Americans deserved well of their country. As one of its brochures declared, "He helped YOU win the war. Won't You help him win his rights?" Series 5: Audiovisual Material (1961-1987) numbers 71 reel-to-reel tapes, 23 audio cassette tapes, and seven black and white or color 16 mm films, which, together, provide a distinctive entree to many of the individuals and issues which defined the AAIA over a 26-year period. While much of this ground is covered elsewhere -- even, at times, in the form of transcripts -- the sounds and images contained in this subseries serve to vivify the printed word. Half the audio tapes are recordings of Board and Executive Committee Meetings, which assisted the Secretary -- an office held by Hildegarde Forbes during most of this period -- in preparing minutes. These can be found in Series 1, Subseries 1 (Administration), accompanied, in some instances, by laborious transcripts. While the recordings in this subseries constitute a fuller account of the AAIA's administrative deliberations than even the most detailed minutes, they contain unintelligible moments and, it is important to note, were subject to interruption when particularly sensitive matters were broached. A vast amount of verbiage has, however, been preserved, ranging from routine reports to intense discussions. A particularly revealing mix of the prosaic and portentous can be found in the recording of the Board Meeting of May 9, 1967, at which internal differences arising from the Pueblo of Taos' struggle to recover its sacred Blue Lake came to a head. The other audio tapes in this subseries were recorded in a variety of settings and encompass a diversity of issues. Among them can be found broadcast interviews with such figures as Executive Director William Byler and General Counsel Arthur Lazarus, Jr., proceedings of meetings such as the Point Barrow Conference on Native Rights, the discussion and exposition of major issues such as child welfare and federal recognition of tribes, and the documentation of tribal life, as in case of the Devils Lake Sioux. Especially evocative in this regard is an Indian woman's testimony concerning the plight of her people, including their "slow termination" through the removal of children to non-Indian homes. Another voice which can be heard, albeit briefly, is that of Oliver La Farge, on the occasion of Pueblo of Taos Governor Severino Martinez's address to the membership of the AAIA in 1961. The films included in this subseries consist of television documentaries and newscasts, a majority of which were produced by the Columbia Broadcasting System. Their tone is critical of the white man's treatment of Native Americans, though, in surveying the contemporary socioeconomic landscape, their optimism varies. The picture which emerges from these films is a mixed one. Instances of self-assertion, such as the recruitment of industry by the Pueblo of Laguna or the reclamation of ranch lands by the Sioux of South Dakota, are documented. On the other hand, attention is compellingly drawn to the poverty and disorientation which haunt too many Native American communities. The AAIA does not go unmentioned, and Oliver La Farge is prominently featured in a film about the Hopi. Among the images likely to linger in viewers' minds is one of Hopi children, a ceremonial rattle in one hand, a geography text book in the other: an image emblematic of the cultural duality to which these films attest. Download 0.8 Mb. Share with your friends:
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