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Catalog Data

Creator:
Medicine, Beatrice  Search this
Extent:
28 Linear feet (65 document boxes, 1 box of oversize materials, 1 box of ephemera, 1 shoebox of index cards, 1 map drawer)
Culture:
Oglala Lakota (Oglala Sioux)  Search this
Native American  Search this
American Indian -- Education  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Place:
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota
Date:
1914-2003
bulk 1945-2003
Summary:
The Beatrice Medicine papers, 1913-2003 (bulk 1945-2003), document the professional life of Dr. Beatrice "Bea" Medicine (1923-2005), a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, anthropologist, scholar, educator, and Native rights activist. The collection also contains material collected by or given to Medicine to further her research and activism interests. Medicine, whose Lakota name was Hinsha Waste Agli Win, or "Returns Victorious with a Red Horse Woman," focused her research on a variety of topics affecting the Native American community: 1) mental health, 2) women's issues, 3) bilingual education, 4) alcohol and drug use, 5) ethno-methodologies and research needs of Native Americans, and 6) Children and identity issues. The collection represents Medicine's work as an educator for universities and colleges in the United States and in Canada, for which she taught Native American Studies courses. Additionally, because of the large amount of research material and Medicine's correspondence with elected U.S. officials and Native American leaders, and records from Medicine's involvement in Native American organizations, the collection serves to represent issues affecting Native Americans during the second half of the 20th century, and reflects what Native American leaders and organizations did to navigate and mitigate those issues. Collection materials include correspondence; committee, conference, and teaching material; ephemera; manuscripts and poetry; maps; notes; periodicals; photographs; training material; and transcripts.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Beatrice Medicine reflect Medicine's interests as an academic and an activist, and contain correspondence, committee, conference, and teaching material, ephemera, manuscripts and poetry, maps, notes, periodicals, photographs, and training material (see series scope notes for further details on contents). The majority of the material is printed matter that Medicine collected, with less of her own work included. Taken together, the collection reflects issues affecting Native Americans during the second half of the 20th century, as well as the network of Native American leaders and organizations that navigated these issues. Student papers, letters of recommendation, evaluations, and documents containing personally identifiable information are restricted.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into 24 series: Series 1: Native American Culture and History, 1954-1962, 1967-1975, 1978-1989, 1991-1997, 1999-2002 Series 2: Appropriations, Economics, and Labor, 1955, circa 1970-1980, 1988, 1993, circa 1995-2000 Series 3: Archaeology, 1935-1950, 1952-1973, 1987-1995 Series 4: Native American Artists, Authors, Crafts, Film, and Poets, 1951-1969, 1972-2002 Series 5: Census, Demographic, and Poll Data, 1974, 1984-1986 Series 6: Civil Rights, 1972, 1980, 1983-1997 Series 7: Committee Material: Correspondence, Meeting Minutes, and Memos, 1985-1995 Series 8: Conference Material, 1955-1962, 1965, 1968-1974, 1976-2002 Series 9: Correspondence, 1952, 1959, 1962, 1966-2000 Series 10: Education: Native American Institutions and Teaching Material, 1948-2002 Series 11: Ephemera: Campaign, Pow-Wow, and Other Event Buttons, and Calendars, 1973, 1976, circa 1980-2000 Series 12: Health: Alcohol and Drug Addiction and Recovery, Disabilities, Healthcare, Mental Health, Nutrition, and Wellness, 1955, 1965, 1969-1999, 2004 Series 13: Historic Preservation, 1942, 1956, 1960-1969, 1979, circa 1985-1998 Series 14: Invitations, 1966-1979, 1982, 1991-2002 Series 15: Linguistics: Native American Languages, 1961, 1963, 1975, 1978-1981, 1987-1995 Series 16: Manuscripts, 1964-2003 Series 17: Maps, 1982-1991 Series 18: Museum Material: Native American Museums, Exhibit Preparation, and the National Museum of the American Indian, 1949, 1962, circa 1976-1998 Series 19: Oversized Material, 1962, circa 1965-1996, 1999 Series 20: Published material: Journals, Magazines, Monographs, and Newsletters, 1914, 1932, 1944, 1946-1947, 1952-2003 Series 21: Reports, 1947-1949, 1956-1998 Series 22: Training Material, 1968, 1988-2000 Series 23: Women and Gender, 1962, 1965, circa 1970-1997 Series 24: Restricted Material, 1972, 1978, 1987-1999
Biographical / Historical:
A member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, Beatrice "Bea" Medicine—also known by her Lakota name Hinsha Waste Agli Win, or "Returns Victorious with a Red Horse Woman"—was born on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in Wakpala, South Dakota on August 1, 1923. As a young adult, she studied at the South Dakota State University on the Laverne Noyes Scholarship, where she attained her B.A. in Anthropology in 1945. Between 1945 and 1951, Medicine worked a variety of teaching positions, including for three American Indian institutions (see Chronology for Medicine's complete work history). In 1951, Medicine went back to school and worked as a research assistant until she earned her master's degree in Sociology and Anthropology from Michigan State University in 1954. For the remainder of her life, Medicine served as faculty, visiting professor, and scholar-in-residence at thirty-one universities and colleges in the United States and Canada, teaching cultural and educational anthropology courses, as well as Native American Studies. As an educator, Medicine carried out her research on a variety of issues affecting Native American and First Nation communities, including: 1) mental health issues, 2) women's issues—professionalization, sterilization, socialization, and aging, 3) bilingual education, 4) alcohol and drug use and abuse, 5) ethno-methodologies and research needs, and 6) socialization of children and identity needs. Medicine's research in American Indian women's and children's issues, as well as her research in gender identity among the LGBT community was among the first to document the narratives of the members of these groups. In 1974, Medicine testified alongside her cousin, Vine Deloria, Jr., as an expert witness in the Wounded Knee trial (United States v. Banks and Means). Following this, Medicine returned to school to pursue her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology, which she completed in 1983 at the University of Wisconsin. With her experience as a researcher, educator, activist, and Lakota woman, medicine sought to create more opportunities for multicultural and bilingual education for minority students, especially those of Native American descent. Such education, she believed, provided students a means to preserve and legitimize their own cultural identity, debase negative stereotyes, and be recognized as individuals who are capable of academic and economic achievement. Medicine was an active member of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and pursued her educational agenda further through the establishment of the Committee of Anthropologists in Primarily Minority Institutions (CAPMI) (1987-1995), which brought anthropologists out of retirement to teach at minority institutions. (See Chronology for a complete list of organizations and committees in which Medicine was involved.) The program was short-lived but provided a space for minority students to confront a field that historically misrepresented them, reclaim their narratives and languages, and instigate positive change as potential future anthropologists. Medicine officially retired on August 1, 1989, but continued to be active in AAA and was honored many times for her contributions to the field of anthropology. Some of her recognitions include the Distinguished Service Award from AAA (1991) and the Bronislaw Malinowski Award from the Society for Applied Anthropology (1996). One of Medicine's highest honors, however, was serving as the Sacred Pipe Woman at the 1977 Sun Dance. Medicine continued her research into retirement, and went on to publish her first book in 2001, Learning to Be an Anthropologist and Remaining "Native": Selected Writings. Medicine died in Bismarck, North Dakota on December 19, 2005. Medicine's final work, Drinking and Sobriety Among the Lakota Sioux was published posthumously in 2006. In honor of her life's work and dedication to education, the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) created the Bea Medicine Award, a scholarship travel grant for students to attend the Annual Meeting of the SfAA. Chronology: Beatrice Medicine 1923 August 1 -- Beatrice Medicine (also known by her Lakota name, Hinsha Waste Agli Win, or "Returns Victorious with a Red Horse Woman") is born on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in Wakpala, South Dakota. 1941-1945 -- Receives scholarship: Laverne Noyes Scholarship, South Dakota State University 1945 -- Receives Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology, South Dakota State University. 1945-1946 -- Teacher, Home Economics, Haskell Indian Institute (B.I.A.) 1947-1948 -- Health Education Lecturer, Michigan Tuberculosis Association 1948-1949 -- Teacher, Santo Domingo Pueblo, United Pueblos Agency, Albuquerque, New Mexico 1949-1950 -- Teacher, Navajo Adult Beginner's Program, Albuquerque Indian School 1950-1951 -- Teacher, Home Economics, Flandreau Indian School 1950-1954 -- Fellowship: Illinois Federation of Women's Clubs Fellowships 1951-1954 -- Research Assistant, Sociology and Anthropology, Michigan State University 1953-1954 -- Fellowship: John Hay Whitney Foundation Fellowship 1954 -- Receives Master of Arts, Sociology and Anthropology, Michigan State University. Fellowship: American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship 1954- -- Charter Member, American Indian Women's Service League 1955-1958 -- Teaching and Research Assistant, University of Washington 1956 -- Honor: Outstanding Alumna, South Dakota State University 1960 -- Mentioned as "Who's Who Among American Indians" circa 1960 -- Alpha Kappa Delta, Sociology Hononary Phi Upsilon Omicron, Home Economic Honorary 1960-1963 -- Lecturer, Anthropology, University of British Columbia 1960-1964 -- Board of Directors, Native Urban Indian Centers in Vancouver, British Columbia and Calgary, Alberta 1963-1964 -- Lecturer/Sociology and Teacher/Counselor, Mount Royal College, Indian Affairs Branch Receives grant: American Council of Learned Societies Research Grant 1965 -- Lecturer, Social Science, Michigan State University 1966 -- Psychiatric Social Worker, Provincial Guidance Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada 1966-1967 -- Receives grant: Career Development Grant, National Institute of Mental Health 1966- -- Member, National Congress of American Indians (Education Issues) 1967 -- Receives grant: Ethnological Research Grant, National Museum of Canada 1967-1968 -- Lecturer, Sociology and Anthropology, University of Montana 1968 -- Teacher, "Cultural Enrichment Program," Standing Rock Indian Reservation, South Dakota Cited in "The Role of Racial Minorities in the United States," Seattle, Washington 1968 March -- Speaker: "The Pow-Wow as a Social Factor in the Northern Plains Ceremonialism," Montana Academy of Sciences 1968 May -- Speaker: "Patterns and Periphery of Plains Indian Pow-Wows," Central States Anthropological Society 1968 June -- Speaker: "Magic Among the Stoney Indians," Canadian Sociology and Anthropological Association, Calgary, Alberta 1968 August -- Speaker: "Magic Among the Stoney Indians," International Congress of Americanists, Stuttgart, German Speaker: "The Dynamics of a Dakota Indian Giveaway," International Congress of Americanists, Stuttgart, German 1968-1969 -- Director, American Indian Research, Oral History Project and Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of South Dakota 1968-1970 -- Consultant, Text Book Evaluation Committee, American Indians United 1969 -- Assistant Professor, Teacher Corps, University of Nebraska 1969 September -- Speaker: "The Red Man Yesterday," Governor's Interstate Indian Council, Wichita, Kansas 1969 December -- Speaker: "The Native American in Modern Society," Northwestern State College 1969-1970 -- Assistant Professor, San Francisco State University Speaker: "The Indian in Institutions of Higher Learning," Annual Conference, National Indian Education Association 1969-1975 -- Member, Editorial Board, American Indian Historical Society 1970 -- Mentioned for second time as "Who's Who Among American Indians" Steering Committee Member, Indian Ecumenical Convocation of North America Member, Planning Committee Indian Alcoholism and Drug Use 1970 August -- Speaker: "The Role of the White Indian Expert," 2nd Annual Conference, National Indian Education Association 1970 October -- Speaker: "The Ethnographic Study of Indian Women," Annual Convention, American Ethnohistorical Soceity 1970 November -- Speaker: "The Anthropologists as the Indian's Image Maker," Annual Meeting, American Anthropological Association Speaker: "The Anthropologist and Ethnic Studies Programs," Annual Meeting, American Anthropological Association 1970-1971 -- Associate Professor, Anthropology, San Francisco State University Member, Mayor's Committee on the Status of Women, San Francisco, California 1971 -- Member, Native American Scholars Board, Steering and Selection, American Indian Historical Society 1971 May -- Speaker: "Ethnic Studies and Native Americans," National Education Association 1971-1973 -- Pre-Doctoral Lecturer, Anthropology, University of Washington Consultant, American Indian Heritage Program 1972 -- Honored in "Potlatch" ceremony by Makah Tribal people at the National Indian Education Conference for contributions to Indian education Receives grant: American Council of Learned Societies Travel Grant, Americanist Annual Meeting, Rome, Italy Curriculum Advisor, Lakota Higher Education Center, Prine Ridge, South Dakota 1972 March -- Speaker: "Warrior Women Societies," Northwest Anthropological Conference 1972 April -- Chairperson and Speaker: "Racism and Ethnic Relations," Society for Applied Anthropology 1972 June -- Chairperson, Native American Studies Symposium, International Congress of Americanists, Mexico 1972 August -- Speaker: "Warrior Women of the Plains," International Congress of Americanists, Rome, Italy 1972 November -- Speaker: "Native Americans in the Modern World," Southwest Minnesota State College 1973 -- Expert Witness, Yvonne Wanro Trial, Spokane, Washington Member, Organization of American States, First Congress of Indigenous Women, Chiapas, Mexico Speaker: "Self-Direction in Sioux Education," American Anthropological Association Speaker: "North American Native Women: The Aspirations and Their Associations," presented as a Delegate to the Inter-American Commission on Indigenous Women, Chiapas, Mexico 1973-1974 -- Visiting Professor, Anthropology, Native American Studies Program, Dartmouth College 1973-1976 -- Member, Committee on Minorities in Anthropology, American Anthropological Association 1973- -- Consultant, Human Services Department, Sinte Gleska Community College 1974 -- Expert Witness, Wounded Knee Trial, Lincoln, Nebraska Speaker: "Indian Women's Roles: Traditional and Contemporary," Annual Meeting, American Anthropological Association 1974-1975 -- Visiting Professor, Anthropology, Colorado College 1975-1976 -- Visiting Associate Professor, Anthropology, Stanford University 1975-1977 -- Member, Steering Committee, Council of Anthropology and Education, American Anthropological Association 1976 -- Visiting Professor, Educational Anthropology, University of New Brunswick Expert Witness, Topsky Eagle Feathers Trial, Pocatello, Idaho Panelist, White House Conference on Ethnic Studies, Washington, D.C. 1977 -- Expert Witness, Greybull Grandchildren Custody Case, Portland, Oregon American Indian representative to the World Conference on Indigenous People, Geneva, Switzerland Honor: Outstanding Alumna, South Dakota State University 1977 August 18 -- Medicine serves as Sacred Pipe Woman at the Sun Dance, Green Grass, South Dakota 1977-1980 -- Education Consultant, National Congress of American Indians, Washington, D.C. 1978 -- Cited in the Directory of Significant 20th Century American Minority Women, Gaylord Professional Publications Biographical Sketch in "Moving Forward" of the Bookmark Reading Program, Third Edition 1978 August -- Speaker: "Issues in the Professionalization of Native American Women," Annual Meeting, American Psychological Association 1978-1982 -- Advanced Opportunity Fellow, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 1979 -- Visiting Professor, Department of Education Policy Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison 1979 August -- Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters, Northern Michigan University Speaker: "The Dakota Indian Memorial Feast: Reservation and Urban Manifestations," International Congress of Americanists, Lima, Peru 1980 -- Member, Nominations Committee, American Anthropological Association Biographical Sketch in "Native American Indian Personalities, Historical and Contemporary," Dansville, New York: The Instructor Publications, Inc. 1981 -- Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Public Affairs, University of Washington-Seattle Speaker: "Linguistically Marginated: The Transformation of Dominated Speech Varieties," American Anthropological Association 1982 -- School of Social and Behavioral Science Academic Planning, California State University Speaker: "Policy Decisions: Federal Regulations and American Indian Identity Issues," Annual Meeting, American Anthropological Association 1982-1983 -- Anthropology Department Curriculum Committee, California State University 1982-1985 -- Associate Professor of Anthropology, Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Program in American Indian Studies, California State University Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Program in American Studies Program, California State University 1982- -- President, Assembly of California Indian Women 1983 -- Receives Ph.D., Cultural Anthropology, University of Wisconsin Expert Witness, Fortunate Eagle Trial, Reno, Nevada Award: Outstanding Woman of Color, National Institute of Women of Color, Washingtonton, D.C. (for anthropological contributions) Award: Outstanding Minority Researcher, American Educational Research Association Publishes book with Patricia Albers: The Hidden Half: Indian Women of the Northern Plains Honor: Significant Academic Book (The Hidden Half), Choice, Association of Colleges and Research Libraries, American Library Association 1983-1984 -- Student Affirmative Action Coordinating Council, California State University 1983-1986 -- Member, Executive Board, Southwest Anthropological Association Member, Governing Board, Common Cause 1984 -- Member, Advisory Board of National Research for Handicapped Native Americans, North Arizona University Scholarly Publications Award Selection Committee, California State University Award: Faculty Award for Meritorious Service, California State University Speaker: Field Work Methods: "Ties That Bond," Committee on the Status of Women in Anthropology," Annual Meeting, American Anthropological Association Speaker: "Career Patterns of American Indian Women," Council of Education and Anthropology, Annual Meeting, American Anthropological Association 1984 November -- Faculty Award for Meritorious Service, California State University 1984-1985 -- Participant, Chancellor's Office Grant to "Cross-Cultural Perspectives in the Social Sciences," California State University 1985 November -- Speaker: Conference on "The Native American: His Arts, His Culture, and His History," West Virginia State College 1985-1986 -- Board of Directors, Naechi Institute on Alcohol and Drug Education 1985-1988 -- Professor, Department of Anthropology and Director, Native Centre, University of Calgary 1985-1989 -- Member, Malinowski Awards Committee, Society for Applied Anthropology 1987 -- Honor: Outstanding Minority Professorship Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks Visiting Professor, University of Michigan 1987-1995 -- Member, Committee of Anthropologists in Primarily Minority Institutions, American Anthropological Association 1988 August 1 -- Medicine officially retires. 1989 -- Volunteer (Committee of Anthropologists in Primarily Minority Institutions, American Anthropological Association), Standing Rock College Honor (twice): Outstanding Minority Professorship Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks Visiting Professor, Wayne State University. 1990 -- Honor: "Outstanding Contributions for the promotion of sex equity in Education," Illinois State Board of Education Honor: Outstanding Lakota Woman, Standing Rock College 1991 -- Honor: Distinguished Service Award, American Anthropological Association. Medicine was the first American Indian to receive this award. 1991 -- Visiting Professor, Saskatchewan Indian Federal College Visiting Professor, Colorado College Visiting Professor, Anthropology, Humboldt State University 1992 -- Visiting Distinguished Professor, Women's Studies, University of Toronto 1993 -- Visiting Professor, Rural Sociology, South Dakota State University Award: Distinguished Native American Alumna Award, South Dakota State University 1993-1994 December -- Research Co-ordinator, Women's Perspectives, Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples 1994- -- Adjunct Professor, University of Alberta 1995 -- Scholar in Residence, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul Visiting Scholar, Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia Award: Ohana Award, Multi-Cultural Counseling Excellence, American Association of Counselors 1996 -- Award: Bronislaw Malinowski Award, Society for Applied Anthropology. Buckman Professor, Department of Human Ecology, University of Minnesota circa 1997- -- Associate Professor of Anthropology Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, California State University 2001 -- Publishes book: Learning to Be an Anthropologist and Remaining "Native": Selected Writings. 2005 -- Award: George and Louise Spindler Award, Council on Anthropology and Education, American Anthropological Association. 2005 December 19 -- Medicine dies during emergency surgery in Bismarck, North Dakota. 2006 -- Book: Drinking and Sobriety Among the Lakota Sioux is published posthumously. 2008 -- The Society for Applied Anthropology creates the Bea Medicine Award.
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Beatrice Medicine between 1997 and 2003, and by Ted Garner in 2006.
Restrictions:
Materials relating to student grades, letters of recommendation, and evaluations have been restricted.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Alcohol  Search this
Gender imagery  Search this
Discrimination  Search this
Linguistics -- Research -- United States  Search this
Photographs  Search this
Lakota Indians  Search this
Genre/Form:
Correspondence
Citation:
Beatrice Medicine papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NAA.1997-05
See more items in:
Beatrice Medicine papers
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3cae267e3-888b-46b8-a525-c7c0ad396b59
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-1997-05