Thomas Buckley Papers

Title: Thomas Buckley Papers

Dates: 1880-2009

Collection Number: 2001.04

Creator/Collector:

Extent: 6 cubic feet (8 boxes)

Repository: Humboldt State University Library

Abstract: Thomas (Tim) Buckley, professor of anthropology and American Studies at University of Massachusetts, Boston (1980-2000), had a primary research interest in the Yurok Indians of northwestern California, beginning with his graduate work (1977, 1982) and culminating in the 2002 publication of Standing Ground: Yurok Indian Spirituality, 1850-1990. His papers include published and manuscript materials related to these publications, to the Gasquet-Orleans (G-O) Road (Lyng v. NICPA) in the 1970s-80s, northwestern California environmental issues, land claims issues, fishing rights, Yurok traditional law, culture, language, and tribal government.

Language of Material: English

Processed materials are available by appointment. The audiotapes are not currently available. In consultation with the donor, some correspondence has been closed to research use until 2036.

Copyright has not been assigned to Humboldt State University. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce in any format, please contact the Special Collections Librarian.

Thomas Buckley Papers. Humboldt State University Library

In 2000, Thomas Buckley donated his research materials, original recordings, field notes, photographs and reports pertaining to the study of the Native peoples of northwestern California to Humboldt State University. In August 2010 Buckley donated one box of additional materials which include his dissertation manuscript, some of his publications and their supporting documentation, some unpublished papers, correspondence and additional background on the G-O Road.

Thomas (Tim) Buckley conducted fieldwork and practiced advocacy anthropology on the lower Klamath River between 1976 and 1990. His 1976 report advocating against the Chimney Rock section of the G-O Road incorporated Native testimony. He completed his dissertation Yurok Realities in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries and received his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Chicago in 1982. Buckley was on the faculty of the department of anthropology of the University of Massachusetts at Boston for many years (1980-2000). His book Standing Ground: Yurok Indian Spirituality 1850-1990 was published in 2002. After retirement he moved to Maine continuing his work as an independent scholar, poet, and photographer.

The Thomas (Tim) Buckley Papers are comprised of research files related to his 1976 report to the USDA Forest Service regarding the spiritual High Country of the Native peoples of northwestern California; his 1977 thesis; his 1982 dissertation, Yurok Realities in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries; his 2002 book Standing Ground: Yurok Indian Spirituality, 1850-1990; and other publications of his related to Yurok and other Indians of northwestern California. Significant topics represented in this collection include the Gasquet-Orleans [G-O] Road, northwestern California environmental issues, land claims issues, fishing rights, Yurok traditional law, culture, language, and tribal government. The collection includes Buckley’s field notes and field recordings, copies of other researchers’ field notes, transcripts of recorded interviews, dissertation and manuscript drafts, bibliographies, news clippings, legal documents and one cubic foot of cultural resources studies and environmental impact statements of the Six Rivers National Forest, authored primarily by Kathy Heffner. Also included are approximately 300 photographs, and 44 audio recordings containing Yurok language, research interviews, public lectures, and music of northwestern California Indian peoples. The University of Washington Library Special Collections holds field notes and tape recordings from Buckley’s 1976, 1978 and 1988 fieldwork fulfilling an agreement for receiving financial support from the Melville and Elizabeth Jacobs Fund, Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, Washington. Buckley’s work on the Wabanaki Indians of Maine and the 1604 English settlement at Popham, Maine are not represented in this collection. These materials will be donated to the West Bath Historical Society of Maine.