George A. Boyce papers
Finding aid prepared by Celeste Navas, Student Processing Assistant.
Special Collections & University Archives
The UCR Library
P.O. Box 5900
University of California
Riverside, California 92517-5900
Phone: 951-827-3233
Fax: 951-827-4673
Email: specialcollections@ucr.edu
URL: http://library.ucr.edu/libraries/special-collections-university-archives
© 2017
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: George A. Boyce papers
Date (inclusive): 1936-1971
Date (bulk): 1936-1949
Collection Number: MS 167
Creator:
Boyce, George A., 1898-1976
Source:
United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs
Extent:
1.71 linear feet
(4 boxes, 2 flat file folders)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Abstract: The George Boyce papers consists of the professional papers and manuscripts of George Arthur Boyce, a Native American historian
and former Director of Navajo Education for the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. This collection documents his work
with Navajo education, and includes materials from his research and photographs depicting Navajo schools and students. Additionally,
the collection includes oversize posters of day school budgets and Navajo translated newsletters.
Languages: The collection is in English and Navajo.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright Unknown: Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction,
and/or commercial use, of some materials may be restricted by gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and
publicity rights, licensing agreement(s), and/or trademark rights. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by
copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions
apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights holder is also required. Responsibility for
obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], [date if possible]. George A. Boyce papers (MS 167). Special Collections & University Archives,
University of California, Riverside.
Acquisition Information
Provenance unknown.
Processing History
This collection was processed by Celeste Navas, Student Processing Assistant, in 2017.
Processing of the George Boyce papers was completed by undergraduate students from the University of California, Riverside
as part of the Special Collections and University Archives Backlog Processing Project started in 2015. This project was funded
by the UCR Library and administered by Jessica Geiser, Collections Management Librarian.
Biographical Note
George Arthur Boyce was born January 20, 1898, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Boyce received his bachelor's degree at Trinity
College in 1921 and received his master's degree from Cornell in 1926. He would later receive his doctoral degree in Education
at Columbia University where he wrote his doctoral thesis,
Economic Education for the Navajo Indians.
Boyce then took a position at the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs where he would later become the Director of Navajo
Education. Throughout his career he also held positions as Superintendent of the Intermountain Indian School, a member of
the board of directors of Verde Valley School, and as Chairman of Long-range Social Economic Planning on Navajo Reservations
for the U.S. Navajo Services.
Boyce was also a prolific writer, publishing and editing a number of Navajo related books and newspapers throughout his career.
His most notable titles include
When Navajoes Had Too Many Sheep,
Some People are Indians, and
Alcohol and American Indian Students. He believed strongly in nurturing rather than destroying cultural differences, which is evident in his writings.
He married Elizabeth A. Coleman in 1933, and they had two sons, George A. Jr. and Robert. Elizabeth passed away in 1962 and
George remarried in 1964 to Oleta Merry. George A. Boyce died on November 5, 1976.
Collection Scope and Contents
The collection contains the personal and professional papers of George Arthur Boyce, and consists of government reports on
Navajo education, a manuscript of his doctoral thesis, correspondence, and photographs. Notable files in the collection include
clipping files containing newspaper clippings and related documents covering Boyce's work, as well as "Letters and documents"
files containing correspondence between Boyce and his colleagues with related brochures on Navajo life. Other areas of significance
in the collection include materials documenting the budget of Navajo day schools, auction posters, and items related to his
career as the Director of Navajo Education for the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, which was chronicled in the
Navajo Language Newspaper and the
Adahooniligi News Series.
Collection Arrangement
The collection is arranged topically, and the original folder titles have been maintained.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs
Indians of North America -- Education
Navajo Indians -- Education
Navajo language -- Periodicals
Genres and Forms of Materials
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence
Photographs
Box 1, Folders 2-12, Flat-File-Folder 1
Clippings and materials
1946-1949
Box 2, Folders 1-11, Box 3, Folders 1-15
Letters and documents
1936-1971
Flat-File-Folder 2
Ádahooníłígíí - Issues and Mockups
1943-1944
Box 3, Folder 18
Boyce: "A Review of the Plight of the Navajo" manuscript
1947
Box 4, Folder 1
Clark, Elizabeth P: "Report on the Navajo"
1946
Box 4, Folder 2
Current Events, v.1 no.4-8, November-March
1943-1944
Box 4, Folder 3
Day Schools
1937-1969
1968-1969
Box 4, Folder 4
Doctoral Thesis,
Economic Education for the Navajo Indians (Ph.D., Columbia University)
1941
Box 4, Folder 5
First Report on Education to the Navaho Indian Tribe, Office of Indian Affairs
1946
Box 4, Folder 6
Second Report on Education to the Navaho Indian Tribe, Office of Indian Affairs
1946
Box 4, Folder 7
Second Report on Education to the Navaho Indian Tribe, Office of Indian Affairs rough draft
1946
Box 4, Folder 8
Kirk, Ruth F.: Transcript of meetings held on the Navaho Reservation
1948
Box 4, Folder 9
Methods of teaching reading in Navajo Indian special program (reprint 1955)
1952
Box 4, Folder 10
Navajo Language Newspaper in Navajo and English vol.1, no.1 August
1943
Box 4, Folder 11
Navajo Language Newspaper in Navajo and English vol.1, no.2 August
1943
Box 4, Folder 12
Navajo Language Newspaper in Navajo and English vol.1, no.3 August
1943
Box 4, Folder 13
New Mexico Association on Indian Affairs (pamphlet)
1956
Box 4, Folder 15
Revised program proposed for Navajo Community Schools, December
1942
Box 4, Folder 16
Teaching Navajos to Read in Navajo
undated
