Online content
Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Cameron, Barbara M.
- Abstract:
- Barbara M. Cameron was a Native American lesbian writer, speaker, photographer, and political activist. Her papers include speeches, writings, subject files, photographs, audiotapes, and printed materials on the subjects of: rights for lesbians, for women and for Native Americans; race; HIV education; and homophobia.
- Extent:
- 2 boxes + 5 oversized folders (2 cubic feet)
- Language:
- Collection materials are in English , with one item in German.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Barbara Cameron Papers (GLC 63), LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The papers primarily document Cameron's life in San Francisco. The collection is strongest in Cameron's speeches and writings. Additional materials demonstrate her involvement with several organizations that provided support to the Native American, lesbian, and women's communities.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Barbara M. Cameron was a Native American lesbian writer, speaker, photographer, and political activist. She was born on May 22, 1954 in Fort Yates, North Dakota. She was raised on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in South Dakota principally by her grandparents. After high school graduation, Cameron moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico where she attended the Institute of American Indian Arts. She majored in photography and film and won many awards. In 1973 she moved to San Francisco to attend the San Francisco Art Institute.
In 1975 Cameron co-founded the group Gay American Indians. She was a principal organizer of the Lesbian Gay Freedom Day Parade and Celebration (1980-1985), the executive director (1989-1992) of CUAV (Community United Against Violence), and a delegate to the 1988 Democratic Convention. She was appointed by Mayor Dianne Feinstein to the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and the Citizens Committee on Community Development, and by Mayor Frank Jordan to the Commission on the Status of Women. She also served on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the American Indian AIDS Institute; and she was a member of the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian/Gay Democratic Club.
In 1986 Cameron traveled to Nicaragua as a member of Somos Hermanas, a group of women who went to learn about, and show solidarity with, the women working to improve life there. She went to Berlin in 1993 to the International Conference on AIDS, participating in the International Indigenous AIDS Network. Throughout 1993 she traveled to reservations in the continental U.S. and Hawaii, working to further AIDS education.
Cameron's writing is published in several anthologies, including both versions of Our Right to Love and This Bridge Called My Back. Her writing is included in the curriculum in many colleges and universities.
Barbara Cameron died in San Francisco on February 12, 2002. She was survived by her partner of twenty-one years, Linda Boyd, and their son Rhys Boyd-Farrell.
- Acquisition information:
- Donated by Rhys Boyd-Farrell, July 10, 2006.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is arranged into six series: Series 1. Personal Papers; Series 2. Speeches and Writings; Series 3. Subject Files; Series 4. Printed Materials; Series 5. Photographs; and, Series 6. Ephemera and Audiorecordings.
- Physical location:
- Open for research. The collection is offsite and advance notice is required for retrieval. Material must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for research and available for use during San Francisco History Center hours. Photographs are available during Photo Desk hours. This collection must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.
- Terms of access:
-
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Barbara Cameron Papers (GLC 63), LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library.
- Location of this collection:
-
San Francisco Public Library100 Larkin StreetSan Francisco, CA 94102, US
- Contact:
- (415) 557-4567