Taos Blue Lake Collection, 1947 - 1972 (mostly 1954-1970)

Contents and Arrangement

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Collection Overview

Collector:

Princeton University. Library. Special Collections

Title:

Taos Blue Lake Collection

Repository:

Public Policy Papers

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/zc77sq09n

Dates:

1947 - 1972 (mostly 1954-1970)

Size:

24 boxes

Storage Note:

Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-24

Language:

English

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.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents: 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.
Arrangement: This unprocessed collection is arranged alphabetically by individual's last name, and then loosely arranged by topic therein.

Collection History

Acquisition:: Available information indicates that the bulk of this material was acquired as a transfer from the library, where they were part of Alfred Bush's Western Americana holdings.
Appraisal: No information about appraisal is available for this collection.
Processing Information: This collection is an amalgamation of four smaller unprocessed collections all pertaining to the Taos Blue Lake land dispute. There was no further processing of the material after their transfer to Mudd Library. The contents list was created in Archivists' Toolkit and provides a preliminary inventory.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. For quotations that are fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For those few instances beyond fair use, any copyright vested in the donor has passed to Princeton University and researchers are free to move forward with use of materials without anything further from Mudd Library. For materials not created by the donor, where the copyright is not held by the University, researchers are responsible for determining who may hold the copyright and obtaining approval from them. In these instances, researchers do not need anything further from the Mudd Library to move forward with their use. 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.

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