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Jean Chaudhuri Papers 1970-1997

MSS-417


Overview of the Collection

Creator: Chaudhuri, Jean, 1937-1997
Title: Jean Chaudhuri Papers next hit
Inclusive Dates: 1970-1997
Quantity: 27 Boxes (12.54 Linear Feet)
Abstract:The previous hitJean Chaudhuri Papers next hit contains correspondence letters, research, journals, biographical information on Jean Chaudhuri, creative writing, drawings, and sketches. Materials date from 1970-1997.
Identification: MSS-417
Language: Material in English.
Repository: Arizona State University Library Labriola National American Indian Data Center
P.O. Box 871006
Tempe, AZ 85287-1006
Phone: (480) 965-4932
E-Mail: archives@asu.edu
Questions? Ask An Archivist!

Biographical Note

Jean Chaudhuri was a Native American activist, author and storyteller. Wherever she lived she was involved in some aspect of community service from voting rights marches to counseling Native Americans in the Arizona Corrections system. Born in 1937 in Oklahoma, she was a full-blood Creek and a member of the Muscogee-Creek Nation. Jean showed an early interest in American Indian affairs when she fought alongside her parents for the Indians' right to elect their own officials among their people, instead of the US Government choosing for them. She moved to Arizona in 1972 where she became the Executive Director of the Tucson Indian Center and Director of the Traditional Indian Alliance. The Center assisted in service programs related to tutoring, employment assistance, alcoholism counseling and health issues for Native Americans in the Tucson area. She was also the founder of the first off-reservation Indian Health Clinic in Tucson.

Jean moved to Phoenix in 1985 and lived there until her death in 1997. As founder and President of the Arizona Indian Women in Progress (IWP), Jean built an inter-tribal network of Indian women on and off the reservation who were influential in articulating issues of Native American cultural survival in key areas of resources, education and the arts. During the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus, she wrote and produced a musical, "Indians Discover Christopher Columbus," a comedy about his misadventures and the hospitality of the American Indian. Jean was a traditional Indian storyteller. She spoke at many public meetings on the importance of Native American cultural heritage, the traditions of tribal peoples, as well as Native American rights and relations with the rest of the Arizona population.

In 1986 Jean founded and co-chaired the Native American Heritage Preservation Coalition, an organization that fought hard to prevent a land swap of the BIA Phoenix Indian School for the limited surface rights of a private developer's swampland in Florida. Jean mobilized considerable public opposition to the land swap and, in spite of the resistance of Arizona's entire Congressional delegation, was able to get a Congressional hearing on the matter. She worked to educate community and governmental leaders about the importance of honoring the legacy of the Phoenix Indian School where Indian children learned to read, write and adapt into American culture for 100+ years. In 1992, she and her group worked especially hard to prevent the construction of commercial buildings and high-rise condos on the Indian School property. She wanted the public to be able to use the Indian School property, to learn about boarding school policies of earlier times, the people it affected, and the continual attempts to preserve Indian cultures. Through her leadership and the work of many others, a part of the Indian School land was preserved for public use.

Jean co-authored A Sacred Path: The Way of the Muscogee Creeks with her husband, Joy Chaudhuri. For her work in Tucson, in 1977 she received the American Institute of Public Service's Jefferson Medal at a ceremony in the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. Jean died in 1997 at the age of 59. In 2000 she was posthumously given the Outstanding Native American Leader Award and in 2003, the Dr. Martin Luther King Living the Dream Award.


Scope and Content Note

The collection is arranged through Indigenous storytelling to reflect Indigenous archival practices. The previous hitJean Chaudhuri Papers contains journals, correspondence letters, research for various projects, creative writings, newsletters, photographs, and documents for Arizona Indian Women in Progress, Traditional Indian Alliance, Pheonix Indian School Support Team, Native American Preservation Coalition, and the Native American Religious Advisory Council.


Arrangement

The collection is arranged through Indigenous storytelling to reflect Indigenous archival practices.
Series I: Personal Files
Series II: Traditional Indian Alliance
Series III: Indian Women In Progress
Series IV: World Hunger Ecumenical Arizona Task Force (WHEAT)
Series V: Native American Preservation Coalition (NAPC)
Series VI: Phoenix Indian High School
Series VII: Phoenix Indian High School Support Team
Series VIII: Plays, Music
Series IX: Native American Religious Advisory Council
Series X: News-Sheets
Series XI: Research Files
Series XII: Cultural Resources
Series XIII: Oversize
Series XIV: Unprocessed

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Culturally sensitive Native American materials located in this collection are restricted and cannot be made available to patrons in accordance with the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials

To view this collection, please contact Ask an Archivist or call (480) 965-4932 at least five days in advance. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Patrons can also arrange to view this collection at the Labriola National American Indian Data Center (rm. 305) at Fletcher Library on the West campus. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

The Arizona Board of Regents retains copyright to this collection for and on behalf of Distinctive Collections, Arizona State University Library. Requests for permissions to publish, display, or redistribute information from this collection must be submitted via our online application.


Access Terms

Personal Name(s)
Chaudhuri, Jean, 1937-1997

Geographic Name(s)
Arizona
Arizona -- History -- 1951-

Subject(s)
Indian women -- Arizona -- Social Conditions
Indian women -- Southwest, New
Prison administration -- Arizona
Women in charitable work -- Arizona -- Phoenix

Occupation(s)
Indian women authors
Indian women poets

Genre Form(s)
American literature -- Indian authors


Administrative Information

Credit Line

[Identification of item], previous hitJean Chaudhuri Papers next hit, MSS-417, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

Materials donated in 2017 by Jonodev Chaudhuri, the son of Jean Chaudhuri.


Container List

Series I: Personal Files
BoxFolder
11 Personal Files: Biography
12 Personal Files: Awards
13 Personal Files: Published Works
14 Personal Files: Published Works
15 Personal Files: Correspondence, Undated
16 Personal Files: Correspondence, 1970s
17 Personal Files: Correspondence, 1980s
18 Personal Files: Correspondence, 1990s
19 Personal Files: Correspondence, Postcards
BoxFolder
21 Personal Files: Creative Writing (Typed/Handwritten)
22 Personal Files: Creative Writing (Handwritten)
23 Personal Files: Creative Writing (Handwritten)
24 Personal Files: Creative Writing (Handwritten)
25 Personal Files: Creative Writing (Handwritten)
26 Personal Files: Creative Writing (Typed)
27 Personal Files: Creative Writing (Typed)
28 Personal Files: Creative Writing (Typed)
29 Personal Files: Creative Writing (Typed)
210 Personal Files: Creative Writing (Typed)
BoxFolder
31 Personal Files: Creative Writing, Fire and the Goddess: Mind of the Muskogee Creeks
32 Personal Files: Reflections/Tasks
33 Personal Files: Journaling, Undated (Typed)
34 Personal Files: Journaling, Undated (Handwritten)
35 Personal Files: Journaling, Undated (Handwritten)
36 Personal Files: Journaling, Undated (Handwritten)
37 Personal Files: Journaling, 1970s
38 Personal Files: Journaling 1980s
39 Personal Files: Journaling 1990s
Box
3A Personal Files: Journaling, Undated
3A1 Personal Files: Journaling, 1973 (Book)
3A2 Personal Files: Journaling, 1990 (Book)
3A3 Personal Files: Journaling, 1991 (Book)
3A4 Personal Files: Journaling, 1991 (Book)
3A5 Personal Files: Journaling, 1992
BoxFolder
41 Personal Files: Organizational Writing Drafts (Handwritten)
42 Personal Files: Organizational Writing Drafts (Handwritten)
43 Personal Files: Organizational Writing Drafts (Handwritten)
BoxFolder
54 Personal Files: Organizational Writing Drafts (Handwritten)
BoxFolder
45 Personal Files: Organizational Writing Drafts (Handwritten)
46 Personal Files: Organizational Writing Drafts (Handwritten)
BoxFolder
57 Personal Files: Organizational Writing Drafts (Typed)
51 Personal Files: Booklet Drafts
52 Personal Files: Booklet Drafts
53 Personal Files: Booklet Drafts
54 Personal Files: Booklet Drafts
55 Personal Files: Booklet Drafts
56 Personal Files: Drawings
57 Personal Files: Research, Poems
58 Personal Files: Photographs
Series II: Traditional Indian Alliance
BoxFolder
61 Traditional Indian Alliance: Background
62 Traditional Indian Alliance: Background
63 Traditional Indian Alliance: Pamphlets
64 Traditional Indian Alliance: ByLaws
65 Traditional Indian Alliance: Board Meetings
66 Traditional Indian Alliance: Correspondence, Undated
67 Traditional Indian Alliance: Correspondence 1970-1974
68 Traditional Indian Alliance: Correspondence 1975
69 Traditional Indian Alliance: Correspondence, 1975
610 Traditional Indian Alliance: Correspondence 1975
BoxFolder
71 Traditional Indian Alliance: Correspondence 1976
72 Traditional Indian Alliance: Correspondence 1977
73 Traditional Indian Alliance: Correspondence 1978
74 Traditional Indian Alliance: Correspondence 1979
75 Traditional Indian Alliance: Correspondence 1980s
76 Traditional Indian Alliance: Newsletter
77 Traditional Indian Alliance Research: External Newsletters
78 Traditional Indian Alliance: Reports, 1975
79 Traditional Indian Alliance: Reports, 1976
BoxFolder
81 Traditional Indian Alliance: Reports, 1977
82 Traditional Indian Alliance: Proposals Undated
83 Traditional Indian Alliance: Proposals, 1975
84 Traditional Indian Alliance: Proposal/Grant (Original Order), 1976
85 Traditional Indian Alliance: Proposals, 1977
86 Traditional Indian Alliance: Proposals, 1977
BoxFolder
91 Traditional Indian Alliance: Proposals, 1978
92 Traditional Indian Alliance: Programs
93 Traditional Indian Alliance: Programs
94 Traditional Indian Alliance: Programs
95 Traditional Indian Alliance: Tucson Indian Clinic, Board of Health Meetings
96 Traditional Indian Alliance: Tucson Indian Center
97 Traditional Indian Alliance: Tucson Indian Center
98 Traditional Indian Alliance: Tucson Indian Center
99 Traditional Indian Alliance: Photographs
910 Traditional Indian Alliance: Tucson Indian Education Reinforcement
Series III: Indian Women In Progress
BoxFolder
101 Indian Woman in Progress: Background
102 Indian Women in Progress: Correspondence
103 Indian Women in Progress: Events and Programs
104 Indian Women in Progress: Annual Traditional Indian Dinner
105 Indian Women in Progress: Newspaper Clippings
106 Indian Women in Progress: Mothers Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.)
107 Indian Women in Progress: Pageants
Series IV: World Hunger Ecumerical Arizona Task Force (WHEAT)
BoxFolder
108 WHEAT: Board Meetings 1987-1996
109 WHEAT: Correspondence
1010 WHEAT: Events
Series V: Native American Preservation Coalition (NAPC)
BoxFolder
111 NAPC: Background
112 NAPC: Background
113 NAPC: Drafts
114 NAPC: Drafts
115 NAPC: ByLaws
116 NAPC: Task Force
117 NAPC: City of Phoenix Site Development
118 NAPC: City of Phoenix Site Use
119 NAPC: Phoenix Indian School Preservation Coalition
1110 NAPC: Phoenix Indian School Preservation Coalition
BoxFolder
121 NAPC: Cultural Center and Heritage Park Proposal
122 NAPC: Heritage Park Planning Development
123 NAPC: Correspondence, Undated
124 NAPC: Correspondence 1980s
125 NAPC: Correspondence 1990-1991
126 NAPC: Correspondence 1992
127 NAPC: Correspondence 1993
128 NAPC: Correspondence 1994
129 NAPC: Correspondence, 1995
1210 NAPC: Correspondence, 1996
1211 NAPC: City of Phoenix Public Meetings
BoxFolder
131 NAPC: City of Phoenix Council Chamber Meeting
132 NAPC: Phoenix Indian School Testimonies
133 NAPC: Petitions
134 NAPC: Petitions
135 NAPC: Goldfield Area Plan
136 NAPC: Events
137 NAPC: Pow Wow Committee
138 NAPC: Phoenix Indian School Preservation Coalition: Maps and Programs
139 NAPC: Phoenix Indian School Preservation Coalition: Newspaper Clippings
1310 NAPC: Phoenix Indian School Preservation Coalition: Phoenix Indian School Brochure Drafts
Series VI: Phoenix Indian High School
BoxFolder
141 Phoenix Indian High School: History
142 Phoenix Indian High School: History, "The Preparation of BIA Teacher and Dormitory Aides" 1968 April
143 Phoenix Indian High School: History, "The New Trail" 1931
144 Phoenix Indian High School: Student Rights and Responsibilities
145 Phoenix Indian High School: Correspondence
146 Phoenix Indian High School: Lesson Planning
147 Phoenix Indian High School: Bulletins
148 Phoenix Indian High School: Event Photographs
149 Phoenix Indian High School: Yearbook 1966
Series VII: Phoenix Indian High School Support Team
BoxFolder
1410 Phoenix Indian High School Support Team: History
1411 Phoenix Indian High School Support Team: Correspondence
1412 Phoenix Indian High School Support Team: Tutoring
1413 Phoenix Indian High School Support Team: Programs
Series VIII: Plays, Music
BoxFolder
151 Plays (Drafts; Handwritten)
152 Plays (Drafts; Typed/Handwritten)
153 Plays: Assorted (Incomplete)
154 Plays: Correspondence
155 Plays: "Indians Discover Christopher Columbus" (Incomplete)
156 Plays: "Indians Discover Christopher Columbus"
157 Plays: "Indians Discover Christopher Columbus"
158 Plays: "Indians Discover Christopher Columbus"
BoxFolder
161 Plays: Research, "Indians Discover Christopher Columbus"
162 Plays: "Four Seasons of an Indian Woman's Life" (Incomplete)
163 Plays: "Four Seasons of an Indian Woman's Life" (Incomplete)
164 Plays: "Four Seasons of an Indian Woman's Life" (Incomplete)
165 Plays: "Artie the Papago Boy" (Incomplete)
166 Plays: "Squanto" (Incomplete)
167 Plays: "Chekilli the Creek Boy" (Incomplete)
168 Plays: "The Ugly Wild Zuni Boy"
169 Plays: Photographs
1610 Music: Indian Masterpiece Theater Score
1611 Music: "The Rebirth of the Goddess"
Series IX: Native American Religious Advisory Council
BoxFolder
171 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Native American Brotherhood
172 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Native American Brotherhood
173 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Inmate Letters
174 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Inmate Letters
175 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Correspondence, Undated, 1986-1995
176 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Correspondence, Undated, 1986-1995
177 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Correspondence, 1996-1997
178 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Correspondence, 1996-1997
BoxFolder
181 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Board Meetings
182 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Reports
183 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Arizona Department of Corrections Policies
184 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Arizona Department of Corrections Policies
185 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Expenditures
186 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Expenditures
187 Native American Religious Advisory Council: Pow Wow
Series X: News-Sheets
BoxFolder
188 Newspapers: Arts
189 Newspapers: Gaming
1810 Newspapers: Land Disputes
1811 Newspapers: Identity
1812 Newspapers: Governmental Relations
1813 Newsletters
1814 Newsletters
Series XI: Research Files
BoxFolder
191 Research Files: Conferences
192 Research Files: Brochures
193 Research Files: Drugs, Alcohol, Alcohol (Substance Abuse) Programs
194 Research Files: Drugs, Alcohol (Substance Abuse) Programs
195 Research Files: Drugs, Alcohol, Alcohol (Substance Abuse) Programs
196 Research Files: Drunk Driving
197 Research Files: Juveniles, Juvenile Detention, Child Services
198 Research Files: Juvenile Detention, Adult Corrections, Treatments
BoxFolder
201 Research Files: Food and Food Assistance Programs
202 Research Files: Nutrition Programs
203 Research Files: American Friends Service Committee
204 Research Files: Mental Health
205 Research Files: Mental Health
206 Research Files: Public Health
207 Research Files: Public Health
208 Research Files: Public Health
BoxFolder
211 Research Files: Public Health
212 Research Files: Public Health
213 Research Files: Leadership Training, Profit Organization, Management Training
214 Research Files: How to Run a Board Meeting, KRWG-FM Production Manual, Events and Presentations How-To
215 Research Files: Legal System, Intergovernmental Relations
216 Research Files: Legal System, Intergovernmental Relations
217 Research Files: Religion, Church
218 Research Files: Religion, Church
BoxFolder
221 Research Files: Religious Groups and Committees, Conferences
222 Research Files: Native American Board Representatives Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
223 Research Files: Scholarly Publications
224 Research Files: Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs
225 Research Files: Education, Arizona Tribes
226 Research Files: Education
227 Research Files: Education
228 Research Files: Education
229 Research Files: Education
BoxFolder
231 Research Files: Heart of the Hearth Survival School
232 Research Files: Preservation
233 Research Files: Preservation
234 Research Files: Preservation
235 Research Files: Preservation
236 Research Files: Native American Religious Rights
237 Research Files: Cultural Centers, Educational Centers
238 Research Files: Cultural Centers, Educational Centers
BoxFolder
241 Research Files: Native American Employment
242 Research Files: Native American Employment
243 Research Files: Internship, Funding
244 Research Files: Indian Resources Development and Internship Program (New Mexico State University) 1982
245 Research Files: Women's Issues
246 Research Files: Domestic Violence
247 Research Files: Bureau of Indian Affairs
248 Research Files: Arts
249 Research Files: Performing Arts
2410 Research Files: Media
2411 Research Files: Environmental Issues
2412 Research Files: Gaming
2413 Research Files: Indian versus Anglo Views
2414 Research Files: General U.S. and Native History
2415 Research Files: Family Services
Series XII: Cultural Resources
The items contained within this box are all culturally restricted.
BoxFolder
251 Cultural Resources: Archaeology
Restricted
252 Cultural Resources: Apache
Restricted
253 Cultural Resources: Creek / Muskogee
Restricted
254 Cultural Resources: Chippewa
Restricted
255 Cultural Resource: Kwakiutl
Restricted
256 Cultural Resource: Lakota / Dakota
Restricted
257 Cultural Resource: Navajo / Diné
Restricted
258 Cultural Resource: Nez Pearce
Restricted
259 Cultural Resource: O'odham / Papago
Restricted
2510 Cultural Resource: Osage
Restricted
2511 Cultural Resource: Seminole, Seminole Oral History Project
Restricted
2512 Cultural Research: Hopi
Restricted
2513 Cultural Resource: Yaqui
Restricted
2514 Cultural Resource: Zuni
Restricted
2515 Cultural Resource: General / Unknown
Restricted
2516 Cultural Resource: General / Unknown
Restricted
2517 Cultural Resource: General / Unknown
Restricted
Series XIII: Oversize
Items in this box include newspapers, newsletters, and various publications. Information in the publications involves the Traditional Indian Alliance, Indian Women in Progress, WHEAT, Jean Chaudhuri's creative works, and her journaling and calendars. Not all publications are complete.
Box
27 Phoenix Indian School: Newspaper Clippings, Posters, and Photographs
27 Traditional Indian Alliance: Newspaper Clippings, Newsletters
27 "Americans Before Columbus: A Publication of the National Indian Youth Council" 1990
Volume 18, No. 2.
27 "Americans Before Columbus: Published by the National Indian Youth Council" 1970
Volume 2, Issue 3, April 1970-July 1970.
27 "Americans Before Columbus: Published by the National Indian Youth Council" 1972
Volume 14, Issue 2, July-November 1972.
27 "Arizona Native Science" 2008 March
Volume 15, No. 2, Section A and Section B.
27 "Masinaigan" 1992 Spring
27 Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings and Articles (Incomplete Volumes and Issues)
27 "The Muscogee Nation News" 1995 August
Volume 25, Issue 8.
27 "Mesa Legend" 1996 October 1
Volume 34, Number 3.
27 "Native Monthly Reader", 1994-1995
Volume 6, Issue 2, Academic Year 1994-1995.
27 "Smoke Signals: Voice of the Nations" 1993 April
Volume 1, Issue 1.
27 "The Arizona Republic" 1986 February 28
96th Year No. 288.
27 "Pan-American Indian Assoc News" 1992
Volume 9, Number 2, Issue 36.
27 "Native Monthly Reader" 1991-1992
Volume 3, Issue 5 Academic Year 1991-1992.
27 "Indian Country Today"
Miscellaneous articles.
Series XIV: Unprocessed
The folders within this box contain unprocessed and incomplete information about Jean Chaudhuri's personal writings, the Traditional Indian Alliance, and the Phoenix Indian School. None of these items are culturally restricted.