Summary
Overview
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.
Taos Blue Lake Collection
1947 - 1972 (mostly 1954-1970)
9.87 Linear feet, 23 archival boxes, 1 half-size archival box
Abstract
Taos Pueblo lost thousands of acres of land as well as Taos Lake, a sacred Pueblo shrine, when Carson National Forest was created in 1906. After a sixty-four year fight, the government returned the land to the Pueblo. This collection brings together four discrete collections: the papers of Barbara Greene Kilberg, a White House Presidential Fellow at the time of the dispute; the papers of Corinne Locker, secretary to Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA) president Oliver LaFarge (1901-1963) and later AAIA Southwest Field Secretary; the papers of Rufus G. Poole, regional attorney for the AAIA in New Mexico, and the papers of William G. Schaab, an Albuquerque attorney who became involved in the fight in 1967.
Description
Description
Contains correspondence, memoranda, news releases, ledgers, and copies of bills and hearings documenting part of a land title dispute between the Taos Indians of New Mexico and the federal government. The Barbara Greene Kilberg Collection of White House Papers documents Kilberg's lobbying of the Nixon administration on behalf of the Pueblo and her efforts to end the strong opposition of New Mexico Senator Clinton P. Anderson. Her papers include correspondence between White House administration and staff and the White House and members of Congress. The Corinne Locker Papers document her tenure in the AAIA with regard to the Blue Lake Case and the founding of the National Committee for Restoration of the Blue Lake Lands. Her papers contain a significant amount of correspondence regarding proposed Blue Lake Legislation as well as papers of the National Council of Churches, which replaced the AAIA as Taos Pueblo's Eastern representative. The Rufus G. Poole Papers include correspondence concerning his role as special attorney to the Pueblo and also document the founding of the National Committee for Restoration of the Blue Lake Lands. Significant correspondents include the Taos Pueblo Council and the Indian Claims Commission. The William C. Schaab Papers document the history of the dispute, particularly in relation to Senator Clinton Anderson, and contain publicity, records of congressional hearings, and correspondence with almost every principal individual involved in the case. Two boxes of miscellaneous photocopied material (bulk 1970-1972) include correspondence, legislative material, memoranda, reports, press releases, and articles.
Collection Creator
History
Taos Pueblo lost thousands of acres of land as well as Taos Lake, a sacred Pueblo shrine, when Carson National Forest was created in 1906. After a sixty-four year fight, the government returned the land to the Pueblo. This collection brings together four discrete collections: the papers of Barbara Greene Kilberg, a White House Presidential Fellow at the time of the dispute; the papers of Corinne Locker, secretary to Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA) president Oliver LaFarge (1901-1963) and later AAIA Southwest Field Secretary; the papers of Rufus G. Poole, regional attorney for the AAIA in New Mexico, and the papers of William G. Schaab, an Albuquerque attorney who became involved in the fight in 1967. (Oliver LaFarge's AAIA-related papers, including some related to Taos Blue Lake, can be found in the AAIA Archives.) In 1970 President Richard Nixon endorsed pending Blue Lake legislation; after the measure passed the Senate, Blue Lake and the surrounding wilderness were returned to the Taos Indians.
Access and Use
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research use.
Use Restrictions
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Curator of the Public Policy Papers . Any copyright vested in Princeton University Library has passed to Princeton University; researchers are responsible for determining any other copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Taos Blue Lake Collection; 1947 - 1972 (mostly 1954-1970), Public Policy Papers, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
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