Warren L. d'Azevedo Research Papers

The Warren L. d'Azevedo Research Papers reflects the d'Azevedo's years of research and teaching in the field of anthropology, exclusive of his work in African cultures. This material formerly was housed in Dr. d'Azevedo's office filing cabinets. Additional materials from a related collection located in his home may be donated in the future.

The collection consists of materials related to the study of anthropology, especially that of the Washo Indians of Nevada and California. Included are research papers and notes; articles; monographs; reprints; correspondence; legal files; records of the Washo Tribe; materials from the Great Basin Anthropological Conferences; clippings; references and copied materials from the Bureau of Indian Affairs records at the National Archives in San Bruno, California; and materials on contemporary Indians. Topics include the Washo, California and Great Basin anthropology, archaeology, baskets, linguistics, peyotism, mythology, food sharing, the Washo Cultural Center and Foundation, the founding of the Inter-Tribal Council, Pine Nut litigation, and Diamond Valley and the South Tahoe Public Utility District.

The collection consists solely of textual materials; there were no photographs or audio materials. The collection contained an extensive number of student research papers from anthropology and ethnic studies classes taught by d'Azevedo at the University of Nevada, Reno, which were transferred to the University Archives. A finding aid for that collection is available in the Archives.

Dr. d'Azevedo's collection originally contained a great deal of photocopied materials and published monographs. Photocopies of title pages of monographs were made and the originals pulled from this manuscript collection for inclusion into the Special Collections or general library stacks. Photocopied title pages were usually grouped in one folder at the end of each series or subseries to provide researchers with references to those materials. Photocopies of journal articles or other published materials were treated in the same manner. If the journal in which the item was originally published was readily available, only the first page of the article was kept for future reference. Photocopied articles from obscure journal titles or other published sources were kept with the manuscript collection.

Before the collection was transferred to the Special Collections Department, manuscript curator Susan Searcy directed a project by student intern Penny Rucks to study the materials and recommend an archival arrangement. Rucks found the collection to be in good order (despite protests to the contrary from the donor) and that arrangement was, for the most part, retained. Some minor rearrangement of materials was undertaken to improve consistency. Rucks' original plan was to divide the collection into nine series with a number of subseries and that plan was followed with one exception: Series 9, Ethnic Studies, was eliminated when the contents were transferred to the University Archives.

This collection provides a rich resource for the study of the Washo Tribe of Nevada and California and for the study of anthropology in the state of Nevada. Three decades of scholars were trained by Dr. d'Azevedo, who generously shared his research and knowledge. It was Warren's intention in donating these materials to the Special Collections Department that scholars continue to benefit from this rich resource.