Records of the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records (CoPAR)
Creator:
Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records Search this
Names:
Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Search this
Extent:
2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1989 - 2005
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the history and activities of the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records (CoPAR), including the first symposiums on records preservation, sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, which led to the formal establishment of the organization. The collection consists of manuscripts, articles, photographs, notes, grant proposals, conference proceedings, speeches and computer disks.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Historical Note:
In 1992, the Wenner-Gren Foundation sponsored a symposium entitled Preserving the Anthropological Record: Issues and Strategies for the purpose of bringing together individuals concerned with records preservation in anthropology. The result was the founding of the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records (CoPAR), an organization which seeks "to identify, encourage the preservation, and foster the use of the records of anthropological research." CoPAR was active on issues of education, standardization, and capacity-building for anthropological archives, with a series of conferences throughout the 1990s. CoPAR continues today as a loose network of archivally-interested anthropologists, archaeologists, librarians, archivists, and tribal representatives.
Related Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds the papers of Sydel Silverman , who co-founded CoPAR along with Nancy Parezo.
Provenance:
Received from the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records in 2005.
Restrictions:
Computer disks in the collection are restricted for preservation reasons.
Access to the CoPAR Records requires an appointment.
Paleoecology of Beringia edited by David M. Hopkins [and others] ; Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, Symposium #81, Burg Wartenstein, Austria, June 8-17, 1979
Author:
Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Symposium (81st : 1979 : Burg Wartenstein, Austria) Search this
These records document the governance and programmatic activities of the Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (MAI) from its inception in 1904 until its sublimation by the Smithsonian Institution in 1990. The types of materials present in this collection include personal and institutional correspondence, individual subject files, minutes and annual reports, financial ledgers, legal records, expedition field notes, research notes, catalog and object lists, publications, clippings, flyers, maps, photographs, negatives and audio-visual materials. These materials span a varied range of subjects relating to the activities of the museum which are more fully described on the series level.
Scope and Contents:
These records document the governance and programmatic activities of the Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (MAI) from its inception in 1904 until its sublimation by the Smithsonian Institution in 1990. The types of materials present in this collection include personal and institutional correspondence, individual subject files, minutes and annual reports, financial ledgers, legal records, expedition field notes, research notes, catalog and object lists, publications, clippings, flyers, maps, photographs, negatives and audio-visual materials. These materials span a varied range of subjects relating to the activities of the museum which are more fully described on the series level.
Arrangement:
The MAI, Heye Foundation records have been arranged into 21 series and 50 subseries:
Series 1: Directors, 1908-1990 (1.1: George Gustav Heye, 1863-1962, 1.2: Edwin K. Burnett, 1943-1960, 1.3: Frederick Dockstader, 1950-1976, 1.4: Alexander F. Draper, 1972-1977, 1.5:Roland W. Force, 1963-1990, 1.6: George Eager, Assistant Director, 1977-1990)
Series 2: Board of Trustees, 1916-1990 (2.1: Board of Trustee Minutes, 1916-1990, 2.2: Individual Board Correspondence, 1943-1990, 2.3: Subject Files, 1917-1990)
Series 3: Administrative, 1916-1989 (3.1: Subject Files, 1904-1991, 3.2: Personnel, 1956-1991, 3.3: Legal, 1900-1989, 3.4: Task Force, 1976-1986, 3.5: George Abrams, 1980-1991)
Series 4: Financial, 1916-1990 (4.1: Ledgers, 1900-1962, 4.2: Correspondence, 1905-1985, 4.3: Subject Files, 1916-1990)
Series 5: Expeditions, 1896-1973Series 6: Collectors, 1872-1981Series 7: Registration, 1856-1993Series 8: Collections Management, 1937-1988Series 9: Curatorial, 1963-1990 (9.1: Curatorial Council, 1973-1990, 9.2: Gary Galante, 1979-1991, 9.3: Mary Jane Lenz, 1974-1994, 9.4: James G. E. Smith, 1963-1990, 9.5: U. Vincent Wilcox, 1968-1984, 9.6: Anna C. Roosevelt, 1973-1988)
Series 10: Exhibits, 1923-1991 (10.1: MAI Exhibits, 1923-1990, 10.2: Non-MAI Exhibits, 1937-1991)
Series 11: Public Programs, 1935-1990Series 12: Publications, 1904-1994 (12.1: Annual Reports, 1917-1989, 12.2: Publications by MAI, 1904-1990, 12.3: Publications by Other Sources, 1881-1990, 12.4: Administration, 1920-1988, 12.5: Archival Set of Official Publications, 1907-1976)
Series 13: Public Affairs, 1938-1991Series 14: Development, 1927-1991 (14.1: Administration, 1979-1990, 14.2: Donors, 1978-1990, 14.3: Fundraising, 1973-1990, 14.4: Grants, 1970-1990, 14.5: Subject Files, 1976-1990)
Series 15: Other Departments, 1914-1990 (15.1: Archives, 1914-1990, 15.2: Conservation, 1972-1989, 15.3: Education, 1921-1990, 15.4: Indian Information Center, 1977-1989, 15.5: Museum Shop, 1947-1989, 15.6: Photography, 1918-1990, 15.7: Physical Anthropology, 1919-1956)
Series 16: Huntington Free Library, 1926-1991Series 17: Museum Relocation, 1969-1992 (17.1: Subject Files, 1979-1990, 17.2: American Museum of Natural History, 1980-1987, 17.3: Dallas, Texas, 1984-1987, 17.4: Smithsonian Institution, 1979-1990, 17.5: U.S. Custom House, 1977-1990, 17.6: Other Locations, 1974-1987)
Series 18: MediaSeries 19: PhotographsSeries 20: Miscellaneous, 1837-1990Series 21: Oversize, 1873-1972 (21.1: Maps, 1873-1975, 21.2: Miscellaneous, 1884-1982)
History of the Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation:
The Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation was established by wealthy collector George Gustav Heye in 1908. Heye began collecting American Indian artifacts as early as 1897 and his collection rapidly increased over the next several years. Based in New York, Heye bought collections and documentary photographs, sponsored expeditions, and traveled and collected items himself. In addition, once MAI was established he sponsored numerous expeditions across the Western Hemisphere, including North American, Canada, South America and Central America.
From 1908 to 1917 Heye housed his artifacts on temporary loan at the University of Pennsylvania's University Museum, Pennsylvania, in lofts on East 33rd Street in New York City, and at other depositories. In 1917, the collections moved from his apartment to their permanent museum location at Audubon Terrace, at 155th Street and Broadway in New York City. The museum, containing ethnographic and archaeological collections from North, Central and South America, opened to the public in 1922. Less than ten years later, Heye completed a storage facility in the Pelham Bay area of the Bronx, known as the Research Branch. Heye served as Chairman of the Board and Museum Director until his death in 1957. After growing concern about the financial and other management of the collections came to a head, the museum became part of the Smithsonian Institution in 1989 and in 1994 opened exhibit space in the U.S. Customs House at Bowling Green near New York City's Battery Park. The Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Maryland later opened in 1999 and the main Washington, DC museum opened in 2004.
Please visit the following links for more information about the history of the museum; History of the Collection, Collections Overview, and Significance of the Collection. Moreover, for information about how the museum currently cares for and exhibits the collection, please see the Conservation department and recent entries regarding Exhibitions and Conservation on the NMAI Blog. In addition, see portions of the NMAI Archive Center's collections highlighted in the SIRIS Blog.
Related Materials:
In 2004, the Huntington Fee Library, once part of the MAI/Heye Foundation, was transferred to the Cornell University Library Rare Book and Manuscript Collection. While this collection mainly contained books, it also contained a significant amount of archival materials. The Huntington Free Library's Native American Collection contains outstanding materials documenting the history, culture, languages, and arts of the native tribes of both North and South America, as well as contemporary politics and human rights issues are also important components of the collection. Further information about the collection and links to finding aids can be found here: rmc.library.cornell.edu/collections/HFL_old.html.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
This photograph was taken by Dr. Marilyn Houlberg while conducting research among the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria in 1970-1971, 1973, and 1975. At the time Dr. Houlberg was on a Kress Foundation Research grant and on a Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research grant.
Original title reads,"R7-28, Egungun mask at Lanlate, carved in Erua by Afinfon. (I doubt it), owned by Ojelabi."
Publication title reads, "[Fig.] 8. Egungun headdress depicting a Hausa Muslim carved by Afinfon of Erua. Lanlate, 1970."
Local Numbers:
R7-28
General:
Title source: Marilyn Houlberg and EEPA staff based on slide information
Restrictions:
Access by appointment only. Email: elisofonarchives@si.edu
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
This photograph was taken by Dr. Marilyn Houlberg while conducting research among the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria in 1970-1971, 1973, and 1975. At the time Dr. Houlberg was on a Kress Foundation Research grant and on a Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research grant.
Original title reads,"R7-32, Egungun at Lanlate. Owned by Akewe Egun."
Local Numbers:
R7-32
General:
Title source: Marilyn Houlberg and EEPA staff based on slide information
Restrictions:
Access by appointment only. Email: elisofonarchives@si.edu
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
This photograph was taken by Dr. Marilyn Houlberg while conducting research among the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria in 1970-1971, 1973, and 1975. At the time Dr. Houlberg was on a Kress Foundation Research grant and on a Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research grant.
Original title reads,"R8-4, Egungun at Otu - Carved by Akano in Isalu, Iseyin. Male - Left, Female - Right, Monkey in Foreground."
Publication title reads, "Top: [Fig.] 3. Egungun headdress named Alapala. The white feathers on the foreheads of the male and female human heads indicate that the headdress has recently received a chicken sacrifice. The teeth of the two monkeys are bared and have been rubbed with white chalk, Efun. Said to have been carved by Akano of Isalu quarter, Iseyin. Otu, 1970."
Local Numbers:
R8-4
General:
Title source: Marilyn Houlberg and EEPA staff based on slide information
Restrictions:
Access by appointment only. Email: elisofonarchives@si.edu
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
This photograph was taken by Dr. Marilyn Houlberg while conducting research among the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria in 1970-1971, 1973, and 1975. At the time Dr. Houlberg was on a Kress Foundation Research grant and on a Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research grant.
Original title reads,"R8-15, Egungun at Otu. Also called Janduku - hooligan masquerade."
Publication title reads, "[Fig.] 1. Paka Egungun named Janduku, Otu, 1970."
Local Numbers:
R8-15
General:
Title source: Marilyn Houlberg and EEPA staff based on slide information
Restrictions:
Access by appointment only. Email: elisofonarchives@si.edu
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.