Finding Aid to the Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California Records
Lara Michels
The Bancroft Library
2015
The Bancroft Library
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
bancref@library.berkeley.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California records
Creator:
Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California
Creator:
Collier, John
Creator:
Atwood, Stella M.
Creator:
Indian Defense Association of Santa Barbara
Creator:
American Indian Defense Association
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS C-A 360
Physical Description:
17 Linear Feet
12 cartons, 2 boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 2 cardfile boxes
Date (inclusive): approximately 1915-1939
Abstract: The records of the Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California, an Indian reform organization operating
from 1923 until 1938.
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction
of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions,
privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond
that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for
any use rests exclusively with the user.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California records were gifted to the Bancroft Library by the California
League for American Indians in 1962.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California records, BANC MSS C-A 360, The Bancroft
Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Lara Michels in 2015.
Separated Materials
Photographs transfered to the Pictorial Collections of the Bancroft Library (BANC PIC 1962.020--PIC).
Biographical / Historical
The Indian Defense Association was founded in 1923 by John Collier, an emerging critic of the federal Indian policies that
had taken shape in the wake of the 1887 Dawes General Allotment Act. In 1920, Mabel Dodge Luhan invited Collier, then a social
worker and adult educator in California, to Taos, New Mexico, where he observed Pueblo Indian culture and developed a strong
interest in its preservation. Shortly after his stay in Taos, Collier was appointed field worker for the General Federation
of Women's Club's Committee on Indian Welfare, a position that allowed him both to investigate the living conditions of Indians
in the Southwest and in California and to formulate ideas for reforming Indian policy. The Indian Defense Association was
founded, with initial funding from prominent women in the Caliofrnia women's club movement, to investigate and educate the
public about Indian living conditions as well as to promote government policies that, in the words of the IDA, "would permit
the Indian to remain spiritually and physically on this earth" (see founding documents in carton 4, folder 15). Collier and
the IDA sought to protect Indian rights to their land as well as their rights to practice their own religions. The IDA would
over the course of its existence advocate and lobby on issues relating to all aspects of Indian life in the United States,
including land, religion, housing, health, and education. The IDA had its main headquarters in Washington, D.C., where it
could be close to the government bodies and agencies that shaped Indian policy. The Indian Defense Association of Central
and Northern California (with offices in San Francisco) acted as a west coast headquarters. The IDA also had other California
branches in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. The California branches were active in issues relating to California Indians but
were also crucial advocates for Indians throughout the Southwest.
Scope and Content
The records of the Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California consist of seven series: correspondence,
administrative materials, legislative files, publications and publicity, assorted manuscripts, subject files, and clippings
scrapbooks.
The correspondence, which is arranged chronologically by year from 1923 to 1938, consists of a mixture of incoming and outgoing
letters to and from various officials in the Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California, including a large
amount of correspondence to and from John Collier. The correspondence documents all of the major areas of work of the organization
and includes some letters from prominent figures such as Mary Austin. Some correspondence from the IDA branches in Santa Barbara
and Los Angeles is included.
Adminstrative files include founding documents, scattered meeting minutes, financial records, and other materials. Legislative
files document the involvement of the IDA in legislative work on behalf of Indians in California and throughout the nation.
The publications and publicity series consists of bulletins written by John Collier about developments relating to Indian
policy in Washington, D.C. as well as other IDA publications and press releases.
The subject files, which arranged alphabetically, are a rich source of information on a range of issues relating to Indian
life in California and other states during the 1920s and 1930s.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California
Collier, John
United States. Indian Reorganization Act
United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs
Atwood, Stella M.
Indian Defense Association of Santa Barbara
American Indian Defense Association
Indians of North America -- California
Pueblo Indians
Pueblo Indians -- Government relations
Pueblo Indians -- Religion
Pueblo Indians -- Land tenure
Indians, Treatment of -- North America
Indians of North America -- Health and hygiene
Indians of North America -- Social Conditions
Indians of North America -- Land tenure
Indians of North America -- Legal status, laws, etc.
Series 1:
Correspondence
approximately 1915-1938
Physical Description: carton 1-3; carton 4, folder 1-14
Arrangement
Folders arranged chronologically by year. Documents within folders, consisting of a mixture of both incoming and outgoing
correspondence, are unarranged.
Content Note
Correspondence of various officers and staff of the Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California. A substantial
portion of the correspondence is to and from John Collier, founder of the Indian Defense Association and resident of Mill
Valley, California. Correspondents include officers of the Washington, D.C. office of the Indian Defense Association; officers
of regional offices of the Indian Defense Association of Northern and Central California, including those in Santa Barbara
and Southern California; various officers of the General Federation of Women's Clubs and the California Federation of Women's
Clubs; elected officials on the federal and state level; and various government agencies. Issues addressed include those in
which the organization was most involved during the 1920s and 1930s, including the controversies regarding land (the Bursum
Bill) and religious freedom for the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico that prompted the founding of the Indian Defense Association
in the 1920s; the investigations into Native American living conditions that led to the Meriam Report in 1928; and the campaign
surrounding the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.
Series 2:
Administrative
approximately 1923-1938
Physical Description: carton 4, folder 15-45; carton 5, folder 1-7; cardfile box 1-2
Content Note
Includes some bylaws and other founding documents; sporadic meeting minutes; a number of mailing and membership lists; information
about fundraising; a file on the organization's junior auxiliary; and assorted financial records. Also includes a 1926 report
on field activities by field worker Alida C. Bowler from a research trip to Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino Counties. Here
Bowler explored the living conditions of the Indians under the jurisdiction of the Hoopa Valley superintendency. The report
includes photographs of Indians along the Klamath River, Indian dwellings, and the reservation boarding school at Hoopa Valley.
Also included in this series is an alphabetical card file of Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California
members.
Carton 4, Folder 15-45
General administrative files
1923-1938
Carton 5, Folder 1-7
General administrative files
1923-1938
cardfile-box 1
Card file of Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California members
cardfile-box 2
Card file of Indian Defense Association of Central and Northern California members (continued)
Series 3:
Legislative
1925-1937
Physical Description: carton 5, folder 8-41; carton 6, folder 1-20
Content Note
Materials relating to national and state legislation affecting Indians. Files might include correspondence, copies of bills,
and statements and bulletins produced by the Indian Defense Association relating to legislation. Topics include California
emergency relief for Indians (1925); the Frear Bill (H.R. 9315, 69th) and H.R. 7826, which sought to subject Indians on reservations
to United States criminal law; Navajo bridge appropriation (1926); H.R. 9602 (Regulating Indian allotments); the Swing Johnson
Bill (California; 1926); Senator James Frear's call for investigation of Indian Bureau (with letter from John Collier to Senator
Robert M. LaFollette, Jr.); Indian civil and criminal jursidiction bills; oil leasing bills; the Lea Bill (1926-1928); the
Kahn Bill (H.R. 9497); state versus federal responsibilities; appropriations; S. 1505 (Regulating Indian allotments disposed
of by will); H.R. 7963, 69th (creating a United States Court of Indian Claims); Yakima Water Rights Bill; the Wheeler-Howard
Bill (1934); and various California legislation. Also included are some IDA legislative bulletins and a typescript of Indian
Hearings before United States Senate Sub-Committee, San Francisco, California (November, 1928).
Carton 5, Folder 8-41
Assorted legislative files
1925-1937
Carton 6, Folder 1-20
Assorted legislative files
1925-1937
Series 4:
Publications and Publicity
approximately 1923-1939
Physical Description: carton 6, folder 21-46; box 1
Content Note
Includes John Collier's Washington Bulletins (scattered from 1923 to 1932); Allan G. Harper's Bulletins from 1935; other Indian
Defense Association publications; statements and press releases; other publicity related materials; assorted press releases
from the United States Department of the Interior; and the Department of the Interior's publication Indians at Work from March
1939.
Carton 6, Folder 21-46
Assorted publications and publicity
1923-1939
box 1
Assorted publications and publicity
1923-1939
Series 5:
Assorted manuscripts
approximately 1923-1938
Physical Description: carton 6, folder 47-48; carton 7, folder 1-3; box
Content Note
Assorted typescripts of John Collier's writings (3 folders); Leola Snow Gunter's manuscript "The Navaho."
Carton 6, Folder 47-48
Assorted manuscripts
1923-1938
Carton 7, Folder 1-3
Assorted manuscripts
1923-1938
Series 6:
Subject Files
approximately 1923-1938
Physical Description: carton 7, folder 4-49; carton 8-10;
carton 7, folder 8
American Civil Liberties Union
carton 7, folder 9
American Indian Federation
carton 7, folder 10
American Indian Progressive Association
carton 7, folder 12
Anthropological and theoretical data
carton 7, folder 13
Application, Workers in Indian Service
carton 7, folder 14-23
Arizona, assorted
Scope and Contents
General; San Carlos Apache; Voting Case; Walapai Case; Hopi; Navajos; Pimas; Navajo relief; Fort Mojave; Apaches.
carton 7, folder 24
Article on California Baskets for American Indian Life
carton 7, folder 29
Bureaucracy a la mode (Joseph W. Latimer), with assorted correspondence
carton 7, folder 30
California Committee on Indian Relief Work
carton 7, folder 31
California Conference of Social Work
carton 7, folder 32
California Department of Social Welfare, Governor Rolph's State White House Conference on Child Health and Protection
carton 7, folder 33-34
California Emergency Relief
carton 7, folder 35
California Indians: Bay District
carton 7, folder 36
California Indians: Butte County
carton 7, folder 37
California Indians: Colusa County
carton 7, folder 38
California Indians: Contra Costa County
carton 7, folder 39
California Indians: Del Norte County
carton 7, folder 40
California Indians: Folsom Prison
carton 7, folder 41
California Indians: Fort Bidwell (William Frazier)
carton 7, folder 42-43
California Indians: Fresno County
carton 7, folder 44
California Indians: Hoopa Valley
carton 7, folder 45
California Indians: Humboldt County
carton 7, folder 46
California Indians: Inyo County
carton 7, folder 47
California Indians: Kern County
carton 7, folder 48
California Indians: Kings County
carton 7, folder 49
California Indians: Klamath River
carton 8, folder 1
California Indians: Klamath River (closing of commerical fishing)
carton 8, folder 2
California Indians: Klamath River, liquor
carton 8, folder 3
California Indians: Lake County
carton 8, folder 4
California Indians: Lassen County
carton 8, folder 5
California Indians: Los Angeles County
carton 8, folder 6
California Indians: Mariposa County
carton 8, folder 7-8
California Indians: Mendocino County (excluding Round Valley)
carton 8, folder 9
California Indians: Mission Indian Federation
carton 8, folder 10
California Indians: Modoc County
carton 8, folder 11
California Indians: Monterey County
carton 8, folder 12
California Indians: Napa County
carton 8, folder 13
California Indians: Owens Valley
carton 8, folder 14
California Indians: Palm Springs leases
carton 8, folder 15
California Indians: Palm Springs
carton 8, folder 16
California Indians: Plumas County
carton 8, folder 17
California Indians: Riverside County (excluding Coachella Valley, Palm Springs)
carton 8, folder 18-19
California Indians: Round Valley
carton 8, folder 20
California Indians: San Bernadino
carton 8, folder 21-22
California Indians: San Diego County, El Capitan Grande
carton 8, folder 23
California Indians: San Luis Obispo
carton 8, folder 24
California Indians: San Quentin
carton 8, folder 25
California Indians: Shasta County
carton 8, folder 26
California Indians: Sherman Institute, Riverside
carton 8, folder 27
California Indians: Siskiyou County
carton 8, folder 28
California Indians: Sonoma County
carton 8, folder 29
California Indians: Stanislaus County
carton 8, folder 30
California Indians: Trinity County
carton 8, folder 31
California Indians:Yosemite
carton 8, folder 33
California Indians: Yurock Club
carton 8, folder 34
California Industrical Accident Commission, Louden case and others
carton 8, folder 35
California names and their meanings
carton 8, folder 38
Civil Works Administration
carton 8, folder 40-41
Commonwealth Club, Section on Indian Affairs data
carton 8, folder 42
Corporal Punishment in Indian boarding schools
carton 8, folder 44-45
Eastern Association on Indian Affairs
carton 8, folder 49
Enrollment, California Indians
carton 8, folder 55
Illegal leases and Indian land
carton 9, folder 2-6
Indian Board of Cooperation
carton 9, folder 8
Indian Land, executive order reservations
carton 9, folder 9
Indian names and meanings
carton 9, folder 10
Indian Rights Association
carton 9, folder 12
Indian Welfare Association
carton 9, folder 13
Indian work: assorted organizations
carton 9, folder 15-16
King resolution, clippings and copy of speech
carton 9, folder 17
Lake Mohonk Conference on the Indian (1929)
carton 9, folder 20
Los Angeles Saturday Night
carton 9, folder 27-36
Montana, various
Scope and Contents
Fort Peck Reserve; Blackfeet (5 folders); Flathead Power Scheme (2 folders); Crow Agency.
carton 9, folder 39
National League of Justice for the American Indian
carton 9, folder 45
New Mexico Association of Indian Affairs
carton 9, folder 53
Oklahoma Arts and Crafts Project
carton 10, folder 1-2
Oregon (including Klamath)
carton 10, folder 6
Pueblo Indians: economic conditions (1922-1923)
carton 10, folder 7
Pueblo Indians: Bursum Bill clippings
carton 10, folder 8-14
Pueblo Indians: land fight (1923-1932)
carton 10, folder 15
Pueblo Indians: Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, letters, circulars, etcetera
carton 10, folder 16
Pueblo Indians: El Palacio (magazine published by the Museum of New Mexico and School of American Research; 1922-1925)
carton 10, folder 17-25
Pueblo Indians: Religious liberty (1924-1926)
carton 10, folder 26
Pueblo Indians: Religious education controversy
carton 10, folder 27-32
Pueblo Indians: Middle Rio Grande Conservancy
carton 10, folder 33-35
Pueblo Indians: Council of All the Pueblos, meetings, declarations, etcetera (1924-1933)
carton 10, folder 36-39
Pueblo Indians: visit to California (1925)
carton 10, folder 40
Pueblo Indians: IDA Pueblo Fund renewals
Box 2, folder 2
Shewano powerplant site (1928)
Box 2, folder 3
Submarginal land purchase
Box 2, folder 4
Ukiah medicine men case (1929)
Box 2, folder 5
Volunteer Relief for Destitute Indians (1930-1931)
Box 2, folder 8
White Bird and the War Paint Club (Hollywood)
Box 2, folder 16
Young Women's Christian Association, Oakland Branch
Series 7:
Clippings Scrapbooks
1923-1929
Physical Description: oversize box 1-2
oversize-box 1
Clippings scrapbook
1923-1927
oversize-box 2
Clippings scrapbook (and some cartoon drawings)
1929
