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Subseries 5: Alden Stevens, 1941-1971

3 boxes
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Restrictions may apply. See Access Note.
Collection Creator:
Association on American Indian Affairs
Dates:
1941-1971
Extent:
3 boxes
Languages:
English
Scope and Contents

Series 3: Personal Files, Subseries 5: Alden Stevens (1941-1971) is composed primarily of correspondence and printed matter relating to Stevens' long association with the AAIA and, in particular, to his tenure as its president. A graduate of the University of Chicago, Stevens (1907-1968) was a well-travelled writer and museum exhibition designer whose assignments took him to numerous reservations. In 1957 he was appointed Field Director of Mobil Travel Guide. It was President Oliver La Farge who invited him to join the American Association on Indian Affairs, as the AAIA was then known. Despite "disliking him intensely at first," Stevens agreed and, in 1941, was elected to its Board of Directors. In 1946 he assumed the duties of secretary, and, in 1964, following La Farge's death, he was elected president, a position he held for the remainder of his life. Stevens was under no illusions as to the nature of his office. As he put it in 1967, "Oliver once said to me 'you know, Alden, this work is like a Venus fly-trap -- you feel yourself encircled and after a while you can't get out of it.'... I have no intention, if I can help it, of dying in this fly-trap, but I'm not going to back out until I see the Association in a really intelligent, forward-moving posture."

Stevens' files offer a revealing if circumscribed picture of the AAIA and are especially instructive with regard to its internal dynamics. The bruising conflict between the Association's Southwest field secretary, executive director, and a divided Board of Directors over the Association's policies with regard to the Pueblo of Taos' struggle to regain its sacred Blue Lake is the most dramatic of a number of controversies documented in this subseries. Another area of tension involved a significant adjustment in the relationship between the Board of Directors and the Executive Director following the deaths of La Farge and Executive Director La Verne Madigan in 1963 and 1962 respectively. Under Stevens, who lacked his predecessor's public stature, and William Byler, Madigan's successor, the power of staff members increased at the expense of board members. Byler's assumption of responsibility and his "starchy" manner, as Stevens worded it, was frowned upon in certain quarters, but Stevens stood behind him. Bolstered by an irrepressible sense of humor, Stevens kept the AAIA from self-destructing during a period of transition, providing continuity while embracing change. If this subseries has a strength, it is the light it sheds on the human face of the AAIA, on the impact of personality on policy, and on the foibles and virtues which color any collectivity.

Conditions Governing Access

All records in Series 3 are open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, any copyright vested in the donor has passed to The Trustees of Princeton University and researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of donor-created materials within the collection. For materials in the collection not created by the donor, or where the material is not an original, the copyright is likely not held by the University. In these instances, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have a question about who owns the copyright for an item, you may request clarification by contacting us through the Ask Us! form.

Credit this material:

Subseries 5: Alden Stevens; Association on American Indian Affairs Records, MC147, Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (mudd): Box 407-409
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

This collection contains materials acquired from an Apple iMac desktop computer and other unknown desktop computers. Researchers are responsible for meeting the technical requirements needed to access these materials, including any and all hardware and software.

Processing Information

These Records were initially arranged and described between December 1995 - June 1997 by John S. Weeren, with the able assistance of many hands and, in particular, Tom Rosko, Mitra Martin, Christina Aragon, and Shawneequa Callier. Additions received from 2005 to 2008 were processed in 2008 by Lynn Durgin. An inventory, the MARC record and the finding aid were updated at this time. Materials from subsequent additions from 2009-2016 were added to the collection as separate series. Box and folder lists for these additionss were created and the MARC record and finding aid were updated. Some materials in the May 2011, September 2012, and 2014 additions were re-housed in archival boxes or folders during accessioning. Digital materials in Series 8 were processed by Elena Colon-Marrero in July 2015.

Collection Overview

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Series 3: Personal Files, Subseries 5: Alden Stevens (1941-1971) is composed primarily of correspondence and printed matter relating to Stevens' long association with the AAIA and, in particular, to his tenure as its president. A graduate of the University of Chicago, Stevens (1907-1968) was a well-travelled writer and museum exhibition designer whose assignments took him to numerous reservations. In 1957 he was appointed Field Director of Mobil Travel Guide. It was President Oliver La Farge who invited him to join the American Association on Indian Affairs, as the AAIA was then known. Despite "disliking him intensely at first," Stevens agreed and, in 1941, was elected to its Board of Directors. In 1946 he assumed the duties of secretary, and, in 1964, following La Farge's death, he was elected president, a position he held for the remainder of his life. Stevens was under no illusions as to the nature of his office. As he put it in 1967, "Oliver once said to me 'you know, Alden, this work is like a Venus fly-trap -- you feel yourself encircled and after a while you can't get out of it.'... I have no intention, if I can help it, of dying in this fly-trap, but I'm not going to back out until I see the Association in a really intelligent, forward-moving posture."

Stevens' files offer a revealing if circumscribed picture of the AAIA and are especially instructive with regard to its internal dynamics. The bruising conflict between the Association's Southwest field secretary, executive director, and a divided Board of Directors over the Association's policies with regard to the Pueblo of Taos' struggle to regain its sacred Blue Lake is the most dramatic of a number of controversies documented in this subseries. Another area of tension involved a significant adjustment in the relationship between the Board of Directors and the Executive Director following the deaths of La Farge and Executive Director La Verne Madigan in 1963 and 1962 respectively. Under Stevens, who lacked his predecessor's public stature, and William Byler, Madigan's successor, the power of staff members increased at the expense of board members. Byler's assumption of responsibility and his "starchy" manner, as Stevens worded it, was frowned upon in certain quarters, but Stevens stood behind him. Bolstered by an irrepressible sense of humor, Stevens kept the AAIA from self-destructing during a period of transition, providing continuity while embracing change. If this subseries has a strength, it is the light it sheds on the human face of the AAIA, on the impact of personality on policy, and on the foibles and virtues which color any collectivity.

Arrangement

The materials in this subseries are arranged alphabetically by subject or last name of correspondent.

Collection History

Appraisal

No information about appraisal is available for this collection prior to the 2007 addition. Materials related to particular scholarships were separated from the August 2007 addition [ML.2007.027] and returned to the donor as requested.

No materials were separated from subsequent additions in 2008-2015. The exception is the 2014 addition [ML.2014.007]; AAIA newsletters that had already been catalogued by Princeton's Firestone Library were removed.

Approximately 1.5 linear feet consisting of routine financial information, personnel records, and other out-of-scope materials were removed from the October 2016 addition [ML.2016.034].

Sponsorship:

These records were processed with the generous support of The National Endowment for the Humanities and The John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Fund.

Processing Information

These Records were initially arranged and described between December 1995 - June 1997 by John S. Weeren, with the able assistance of many hands and, in particular, Tom Rosko, Mitra Martin, Christina Aragon, and Shawneequa Callier. Additions received from 2005 to 2008 were processed in 2008 by Lynn Durgin. An inventory, the MARC record and the finding aid were updated at this time. Materials from subsequent additions from 2009-2016 were added to the collection as separate series. Box and folder lists for these additionss were created and the MARC record and finding aid were updated. Some materials in the May 2011, September 2012, and 2014 additions were re-housed in archival boxes or folders during accessioning. Digital materials in Series 8 were processed by Elena Colon-Marrero in July 2015.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

All records in Series 3 are open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, any copyright vested in the donor has passed to The Trustees of Princeton University and researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of donor-created materials within the collection. For materials in the collection not created by the donor, or where the material is not an original, the copyright is likely not held by the University. In these instances, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have a question about who owns the copyright for an item, you may request clarification by contacting us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

This collection contains materials acquired from an Apple iMac desktop computer and other unknown desktop computers. Researchers are responsible for meeting the technical requirements needed to access these materials, including any and all hardware and software.

Credit this material:

Subseries 5: Alden Stevens; Association on American Indian Affairs Records, MC147, Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Location:
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
65 Olden Street
Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
(609) 258-6345
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Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (mudd): Box 407-409