Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers, circa 1920-1990, undated., bulk 1970-1980

Summary

Creators:

Costo, Rupert and Costo, Jeannette Henry

Abstract:

The Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers, housed in Special Collections & Archives of the Tomás Rivera Library at the University of California, Riverside is a collection consisting of printed material (correspondence, typescripts, original manuscripts and ephemera), film and photographs collected by Jeannette and Rupert Costo. This collection is largely dedicated to information on American Indians with an emphasis on California Indians and contemporary issues. Water, land, hunting and fishing rights, sovereignty, gaming, language and education are among the major subject areas.

Extent:

117 linear feet (160 document boxes; multiple containers)

Language:

The collection is in primarily in English .

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], [date if possible]. Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers (MS 170). Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.

Background

Scope and content:

The Rupert Costo Library of the American Indian consists of about 7,000 volumes and over 9,000 documents, pamphlets, tape recordings, slides, and art work. The Library was formed by Rupert and Jeannette Costo when they merged their private collections after their marriage in 1954. The material was collected over a period of fifty years. In 1964 the Costo's founded the American Indian Historical Society in San Francisco. The library is one of the most important collections of research materials relating to the Native Americans in the United States and the world. The Costo's generously gave their collection to the University of California, Riverside in 1986.

The Costo Library is of great significance to scholars and researchers in American Indian history and supports the chair in American Indian History endowed by the American Indian Historical Society and the Costo's. The books and archival materials in the collection cover the span of Indian history from the arrival of the first settlers, over 55,000 years ago, up to the present day. The materials chiefly deal with Indian history and culture of the past four centuries after the settlement of America by Europeans. Most of the materials are scholarly books published in the last fifty years. There are reprints of older classic works which are very scarce today. These items are shelved in the Reading Room. The rarer items-old books, art albums, scarce booklets, issued by individual tribes and researchers-are shelved in Special Collections & Archives.

Documents and private correspondence have been collected directly from individuals and Indian tribal leaders and are shelved in Special Collections & Archives. Among these are nine boxes containing documentation about Indian water rights. Framed pictures of original artwork, historic prints and photos are part of the treasure (along with baskets and pottery on display in the Library). These materials make the library extremely useful to the researcher.

The Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers, housed in Special Collections & Archives of the Tomás Rivera Library at the University of California, Riverside, is a collection consisting of printed material (correspondence, typescripts, original manuscripts and ephemera), film and photographs collected by Jeannette and Rupert Costo. This collection is largely dedicated to information on American Indians with an emphasis on California Indians and contemporary issues. Water, land, hunting and fishing rights, sovereignty, gaming, language and education are among the major subject areas.

A portion of this collection remains unprocessed. Please contact Special Collections & Archives for additional information regarding this material.

Acquisition information:

The Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers were acquired as a gift in 1986.

Processing information:

The initial finding aid for the Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers was designed and implemented by Sidney E. Berger (Head of Special Collections & Archives at UC Riverside) with the assistance of interns from UCLA and California State University, Fullerton. Cheryl Metoyer-Duran supervised Dawn Marsh in inputting the raw data into an electronic database. Additional revisions by Eric Milenkiewicz, 2009.

Arrangement:

Items are arranged numerically into 110 sections according to their assigned nine digit identification number (items in boxes 5-7, 110 have been assigned six digit identification numbers; see explanation below). The first three digits represent the section number, the second three digits represent the file number, and the last three digits represent the item number. Example, identification number 009.002.001 is equivalent to Section 009, File 002, Item 001.

Items in boxes 5-7, 110 are arranged numerically according to their assigned six digit identification number. The first three digits represent the section number and the second three digits represent the file number. Example, identification number 005.003 is equivalent to Section 005, File 003.

The underlined headings in Sections 001-003 (identifcation numbers 001.001.001 thru 003.041.011) represent subdivisions created by Jeannette Costo.

(Corel WordPerfect 7 was the software used to create the original guide)

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Other descriptive data:

The Guide to the Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers is dedicated to Jeannette Costo, whose heartfelt interest in California Indians helped to build this Archive. It is her passion to "preserve the record" that initiated the development of this Guide.

The staff of Special Collections & Archives of the Tomás Rivera Library was especially cooperative throughout this project. A special thanks is extended to Sidney Berger, Ph.D., Head, Special Collections & Archives and Gladys Murphy, Library Assistant, Special Collections & Archives for providing access to the collection. Their patience is much appreciated. Jane Liara (Mountain Cahuilla) and Michelle Mazzanti were University of California, Riverside students who also contributed to the organization of the collection. We are grateful for their initial efforts.

In addition, funding for this project was made possible by the collaborative efforts of the Costo Endowment and the Tomás Rivera Library. James Erickson, Vice Chancellor and John Tanno, Associate University Librarian, generously gave of their time to formulate a viable funding strategy.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Cahuilla Indians
Indians of North America
Administrative records
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence
Documents
Photographs
Publications

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright Unknown: Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction, and/or commercial use, of some materials may be restricted by gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing agreement(s), and/or trademark rights. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], [date if possible]. Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers (MS 170). Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.

Location of this collection:

UC Riverside, Special Collections and Archives

University of California, Riverside - Special Collections and University Archives

P.O. Box 5900

Riverside, CA 92517-5900, US

Contact:

(951) 827-3233

specialcollections@ucr.edu

Website