The Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz papers document her scholarship, professional work, and activism re: indigenous rights (international and national), indigenous peoples in the United States, the Miskitu Indians in Nicaragua, class and racial politics, and feminism. The collection contains correspondence; writings; research files on the Miskitu Indians; subject Files; personalia; and audiovisual materials.

Activist, historian, and memoirist, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is Professor Emerita of Ethnic Studies at California State University East Bay. She was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1938 and grew up in Central Oklahoma. After receiving her Ph.D. in History at UCLA in 1974, Dunbar-Ortiz taught in the newly-established Native American Studies Program at California State University, Hayward (now CSU East Bay) and helped found the departments of Women’s and Ethnic Studies there. She has been active in the international indigenous movement for decades and is known for her lifelong commitment to national and international social justice issues. Dunbar-Ortiz has written extensively about indigenous rights, indigenous peoples in the United States and Central America, racial politics, 1960s social movements, and feminism.

13.95 linear feet (9 cartons, 4 boxes, 1 oversize box)

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Cartons 1-9, boxes 1, 2, and 4, and Oversize Box 1 are open for research. Box 3 includes restricted information and is closed to researchers until 2054.