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Register of the Sweet (Evander M., Jr.) Bureau of Indian Affairs Collection, 1915-1921
Mss47  
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  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Access Points
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Sweet (Evander M., Jr.) Bureau of Indian Affairs Collection,
    Date (inclusive): 1915-1921
    Collection number: Mss47
    Creator: Frank Strauss
    Extent: 6.75 linear ft.
    Repository: University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
    Stockton, CA 95211
    Shelf location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
    Language: English.

    Administrative Information

    Access

    Collection is open for research.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Sweet (Evander M., Jr.) Bureau of Indian Affairs Collection, Mss47, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library

    Access Points

    personal name

    Sweet, Evander McIver, Jr.

    corporate name

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs

    subject

    Apache Indians

    subject

    Klamath Indians

    subject

    Tohono O'Odham Indians

    subject

    Pima Indians

    subject

    Navajo Indians

    subject

    Hupa Indians

    subject

    Skitswish Indians

    subject

    Campo Indians

    subject

    Winnebago Indians

    subject

    Southern Paiute Indians

    subject

    Pueblo Indians

    subject

    Indians of North America -Education

    subject

    Indians, treatment of -North America

    subject

    Papago Indian Reservation (Ariz.)

    subject

    Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation (Calif.)

    subject

    Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation (Idaho)

    subject

    Sac and Fox Indian Reservation (Kan. and Neb.)

    subject

    San Carlos Indian Reservation (Ariz.)

    subject

    Winnebago Reservation (Neb.)

    subject

    Agua Caliente Indian Reservation (Calif.)

    subject

    Fort Yuma Indian Reservation (Ariz.)

    subject

    Shivwits Reservation (Utah)

    subject

    Klamath Indian Reservation (Ore.)

    Biography

    Evander M. Sweet, Jr., a Southern Methodist preacher, began his ministry in Oklahoma during that region's first years of statehood (1907-1914). He represented Protestant churches there in a successful drive to place an amendment in the State Constitution restricting the use of alcoholic beverages among Native Americans. From 1915-1921 he was an Inspector with the US Bureau of Indian Affairs. During these years, Federal appropriations for Indian needs were dramatically decreased in an effort to force Native Americans from reservations into the mainstream of American life. By 1920 the deterioration of the quality of Indian life was so apparent that the need for reforms was evident. Sweet's investigation reports cover a wide range of Indian complaints and provide a valuable picture of Indian-White relations under the Dawes Act. Sweet was terminated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1921 and became an agent for Pacific Mutual Life, eventually moving to Stockton (Calif.) where he remained active in Methodist affairs.

    Scope and Content

    This collection of correspondence, agency reports, field notes, and photographs was compiled by Evander M. Sweet, Jr., Inspector of Indian Services for the BIA from 1915 to 1921. Much of the material consists of Sweet's inspection and investigative reports prepared for Indian reservations and agencies in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington.