The Teriananda Papers contain writings authored by Teriananda, as well as various position papers, news articles, flyers, correspondence, and group newsletters that represent the political activities she participated in on behalf of Native American and other Indigenous peoples.
Scope and Contents:
This collection, from the 1970s to the 1990s, is comprised of published and unpublished writings by Teriananda, as well as letters, reports, newspaper and magazine articles, group newsletters, flyers and announcements of political events, and news releases. The issues represented here, including support work for "The Longest Walk," the campaign for justice for Leonard Peltier, and the Big Mountain relocation are indicative of the concerns in parts of Indian Country in the United States and elsewhere during these decades.
Arrangement:
The Teriananda papers are arranged into two series:
Series I: Writings (1978-1991)
Series II: Political Activities (undated; 1972-1996)
Biographical / Historical:
Teriananda was born in Manhattan in 1947, where she grew up and has continued to live throughout her adult life. Teriananda's father, born in Brooklyn, became a financial officer and independent scholar, her mother, born in British Guiana (now Guyana), was a classical pianist who immigrated to the United States and later became an editorial assistant, working part-time during Teriananda's childhood. Her parents instilled in Teriananda a belief that she was "a citizen of the world." She studied ballet as a youngster, and, as a teenager, immersed herself in the artistic and intellectual milieu of the Lower East Side and Greenwich Village. An improperly diagnosed back injury while she was a senior in high school resulted in severe back problems in the 1970s that have persisted throughout her life.
Teriananda became interested in Indigenous struggles in the 1970s following a "back crisis" that almost took her life yet proved to be psychically transformative. In seeking to know who she was, she realized she needed to know where she was, and this led her to ask who the original inhabitants of the continent were. She soon became involved in activist struggles for Indigenous rights, and worked with a number of Native American groups during the 1970s and 1980s, including, among other things, the International Treaty Council's attempts to found the U.N.'s permanent Working Group on Indigenous People, support for Yvonne Wanrow and Leonard Peltier, the issue of uranium contamination from mining on Native American land, and the problem of the Joint Land Use Area near Big Mountain on the Hopi and Navajo reservations.
Teriananda also worked on issues surrounding the AIDS crisis after the death of several friends from this disease. She had become familiar with the possibilities of natural medicines, partly through contact with traditional Native teachers, and she became active promoting the benefits of nutritional, herbal and other natural therapies to sufferers of AIDS. As Teriananda's own health issues persisted and worsened, she turned to Tibetan Buddhism, and has devoted herself to artistic pursuits influenced by this spiritual path, although she has worked artistically since the early 1970s, when she stopped dancing. Although she has cut back on her activism, due to health problems and family demands, Teriananda remains a committed political activist who stays informed of current issues and is determined to pass on the heritage of struggles for peace and justice to the next generation.
Provenance:
Donated to the National Museum of the American Indian Archives by Teriananda in March 2003
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 3:30 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 materials from the collection must be requested from the NMAI Archivist. The Archives has no information on the status of literary rights for the work of others found in these papers; researchers are responsible for determining any question of copyright.
Topic:
Indians of North America -- Civil rights Search this
Indians of North America -- Relocation Search this
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Teriananda papers, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Wounded Knee (S.D.) -- History -- Indian occupation, 1973
Date:
1970-1973
Summary:
The majority of Pearse-Hocker's momentous negatives give eyewitness account to two weeks of both the mundane and brutal reality of daily life during the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. The takeover of the town and the conflict between about 200 members of AIM (American Indian Movement, the Native American civil rights activist organization begun in the 1968) and the United States Marshals Service began on February 27 and lasted for 71 days, resulting in tragedy on both sides of the conflict. Members of AIM along with some local Oglala (Lakota) Sioux from the local reservation took over the town in protest against the United States Government's history of broken treaties with various Native groups, the poverty and maltreatment of Native populations, as well as in defiance against the corruption and paternalism within the local subsidiary of the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs). The siege finally came to an end on May 5 when members of AIM and the assistant attorney general for the Civil Division of the US Justice Department Harlington Wood Jr. settled on a ceasefire. Kent Frizzell served as Chief Government Negotiator in the capacity of Assistant Attorney General (Land and Natural Resources Division, U. S. Department of Justice) and later as Solicitor, U. S. Department of the Interior. Among those pictured both during and post-conflict are AIM activists Dennis Banks, Clyde and Vernon Bellecourt, Ted and Russell Means, Frank Clearwater, Wallace Black Elk and Anna Mae Pictou Aquash. A small number of negatives also document AIM's takeover of the BIA building and the AIM Powwow both in Minneapolis in 1970.
Arrangement note:
Negatives: organized in binders; arranged in sleeves by strip and image number, interspersed with relevant applicable contact sheets
Biographical/Historical note:
Anne Pearse-Hocker is a photojournalist who first encountered the American Indian Movement while a student on assignment for a journalism class at the University of Kansas. Her photographs document some very important moments in the early history of the American Indian Movement (AIM).
Pearse-Hocker was scheduled to interview the area director of the BIA in Minneapolis in the spring of 1970 as part of an Investigative Reporting class, and walked into the middle of an AIM occupation of the building, which she documented on film and with taped interviews. She stayed well past her spring break plans to use this opportunity to develop contacts with AIM leaders Clyde Bellecourt and Dennis Banks.
Her connections came in handy in 1973 during the occupation of Wounded Knee. Pearse-Hocker sneaked into the compound with a CBS news crew at night, and was allowed to remain due to her acquaintance with Banks, who remembered her from Minneapolis. She had strategically arrived the evening before the standoff was supposed to end, but when the settlement negotiations fell through, she remained in the compound for an additional few weeks, documenting the daily events including the firefight that claimed Frank Clearwater's life.
Pearse-Hocker returned to Wounded Knee in 1998 to revisit the site on the 25th anniversary of the occupation, and documented the experience for the journal 'Native Americas' (Spring 1998 issue) with new photographs of some of the survivors of the event.
After a career of news photography in broadcast journalism, she is retired and living in Montana.
Restrictions:
Access is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the Archive Center to make an appointment.
Rights:
Copyright: Anne Pearse-Hocker, 1973. Researchers must contact copyright holder for permissions, reproductions, and use.
101 Guitarmaking Workshop / Oscar Ramírez. Guitar.
102 Border Stories / Arturo Carrillo Strong, Brad Bonaparte, Peter S. Yucupicio.
Local Numbers:
FP-1993-CT-0087
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, July 2, 1993.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
102 Borders Stories / Arturo Carrillo Strong, Brad Bonaparte, Richard M. Bernholz.
103 Paper Crafts Workshop / Maria G. Moroyoqui'd de Rogues.
Local Numbers:
FP-1993-CT-0094
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, July 4, 1993.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
107 Welcome Welcome Emigrante / Broadside Singers (Musical group), Buffy Sainte-Marie, Patrick Sky. Guitar.
108 Migrant's Song / Agustin Lira, Danny Valdez. Guitar.
109 The Faucets are Dripping / Malvina Reynolds. Guitar.
110 The Willing Conscript / Pete Seeger. Banjo.
111 Inez / Human Condition (Musical group), Beverly Grant. Guitar,Violin.
Local Numbers:
SF-COMM-CD-40129
Smithsonian Folkways.40129
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Folkways 2000
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
101 Fernando Cellicion- Zuni Flute / Fernando Cellcion. Flute.
102 Images, Tourists and Traditions / Benito Concha, Consuelo Martinez, Peter Garcia.
103 Cuentos: Stories from the Rio Grande Valley / Paulette Atencio.
Local Numbers:
FP-1992-CT-0133
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, June 26, 1992.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
101 Contemporary Native American A Cappella / Ulali (Musical group), Jennifer Kreisberg, Pura Fé.
102 Songs of Stuggle / Freedom Singers, Bettie Mae Fikes, Rutha Harris.
103 Country / Louisiana Hayride Band, Margaret Lewis Warwick, Tillman Franks. Hawaiian guitar,Keyboards (Music),Guitar,Fiddle.
Local Numbers:
FP-1996-CT-0032
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, July 5, 1996.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
101 Border Stories / Francisco Paulino Sierra Cruz, Julius Collins, Reynaldo B. Hernandez.
102 Crafts and Occupations / Alonso Encina Herrera, Gloria López López, Ofelia Santos López.
Local Numbers:
FP-1993-CT-0086
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, July 2, 1993.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Blowin' in the wind; New World Singers.--Ballad of old Monroe; Pete Seeger.--John Brown; Blind Boy Grunt.--As long as the grass shall grow; Peter La Farge.--William Worthy; Phil Ochs.--Benny Kid Paret; Gil Turner.--Faubus' follies; Peter La Farge.--I will not go down under the ground ; Happy Traum.--Only a hobo, Talkin' Devil.; Blind Boy Grunt.--Ain't gonna let segregation turn us around; Freedom Singers.--Go limp; Matt McGinn.--Bizness ain't dead; New World Singers.--The civil defense sign; Mark Spoelstra.--I can see a new day; New World Singers.
Track Information:
101 Fabus Foibles / Peter La Farge. Guitar.
102 Let Me Die in My Footsteps / Bob Dylan, Happy Traum. Guitar.
103 Only a Hobo / Bob Dylan. Guitar.
103 Talkin' Devil / Bob Dylan. Guitar.
103 Ain't Gonna Let Segregation Turn Us Around / Freedom Singers.
104 Go Limp / Matt McGinn.
105 Bizness Ain't Dead / Happy Traum, New World Singers, Gil Turner. Guitar.
107 I Can See a New Day / Happy Traum, New World Singers, Gil Turner. Guitar.
106 Civil Defense Sign / Mark Spoelstra. Guitar.
Local Numbers:
FW-ASCH-10RR-3047
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: New York, United States.
General:
Folkways 55301B
Topical songs from Broadside magazine.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Copies made from a photograph album compiled by Robert Burnett that appears to relate to three periods. A few photographs dated around 1910-1912 were likely received from Burnett's family and depict family members, ranchers, tipis, and people gathered for White River Frontier Days. Other photographs show Burnette and friends while he was in high school and then in the US Marine Corps during World War II. Many of the later photographs date around 1961-1964, when Burnette was Executive Secretary of the National Congress of American Indians; some of these depict Burnette and other Native Americans with John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, George McGovern, and Stewart L. Udall.
Biographical/Historical note:
Robert Burnette (1926-1984) was a Native American civil rights leader, Tribal Chair of the Rosebud Sioux, and Executive Secretary of the National Congress of American Indians. He is also the coauthor of The Road to Wounded Knee, published in 1974.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 92-45
Reproduction Note:
Copy negatives made by Smithsonian Institution, 1990.
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The National Museum of the American Indian Archives holds the National Congress of American Indians Records, 1933-1990.
