Chiefly photographs documenting the San Francisco Bay Area urban Indian community and related organizations, events and activities, with an emphasis on the Intertribal Friendship House (I.F.H.) of Oakland. Majority of collection depicts I.F.H. administration, social activities, cultural events, education efforts, public outreach, activism and other functions.

The American Indian Community History Center is a project dedicated to preserving the history of the broader San Francisco Bay Area “urban Indian” community. One of the highpoints in this preservation effort included the book project, Urban Voices: The Bay Area American Indian Community (2002). In 1976, the Community History Project (CHP) grew out of the interests of Geraldine (Gerri) Martinez Lira (MSW), Marilyn LaPlante St. Germaine (MSW) and Susan Lobo (Ph.D., CHP coordinator) to preserve the histories of American Indians whose lives were greatly impacted by the federal relocation programs that moved them from reservations to the bay area with the promise of sustainable employment, better education for their children, and affordable housing. Initially, the CHP committee focused on recording their oral histories, but the committee expanded, with Sharon Mitchell Bennett, Charlene Betsillie and Joyce Keoke joining the project, and so too did the project’s focus.

approximately 15,700 photographs in 31 boxes, 4 sleeves and 1 oversize folder : chiefly gelatin silver prints, 35mm film negatives and 35mm slides ; various sizes.

Copyright in this material has been assigned by the donor to the Regents of the University of California, for the benefit of The Bancroft Library. In addition to copyright considerations, 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 the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For additional information about the University of California, Berkeley Library's permissions policy please see: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/permissions-policies .

Collection is open for research. Negatives and slides available by appointment only.