University of Nevada, Reno, Ethnological Archives

Collection

Identifier: 92-09

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The National Science Foundation Graduate Field Training Project in Anthropology produced a valuable series of records which became known as the University of Nevada Ethnographic Archives. These archives, maintained until 1992 in the Anthropology Department of the University of Nevada, Reno, consist of three series of records: field reports and notes of the student participants; administrative and reference materials; and student kinship charts and term papers generated in Dr. d'Azevedo's Anthropology classes, and related kinship studies conducted by him between 1960-1977.

The first series consists of field notes and final reports of each student in the program. Students were required to compile and turn in, typed observations on both their formal work and their personal experiences while at their study sites. These are filed with their final reports. Each report was numbered sequentially, beginning with report #1 in 1964 and continuing to report #83 in 1970. Not all of the reports are in this collection. Reports #8, 10, and part of 19 were missing when transferred from the Anthropology Department, and based on an inventory done in 1977 by that Department, seem to have been missing for many years. All of the 1967 reports are in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia. All of the 1968 field school reports except for report #49 are in the Department of Anthropology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California.

The second series contains all of the administrative materials for the field schools: correspondence, grant applications to NSF, grant progress reports, student applications, and financial materials. This series also contains materials handed out to all students, including orientation papers and copies of reference articles. The reference materials for 1970 are particularly voluminous, as they include copies of a number of journal articles about kinship and Warren d'Azevedo's notes and outline for his research on kith and kin.

Series three is a complex group of related materials titled "Kinship Projects;" the common thread is Dr. d'Azevedo. It includes a series of student papers from Dr. d'Azevedo's anthropology classes at the University of Utah and University of Nevada, Reno. It was generally a course requirement that the students complete two research papers. One paper detailed the student's personal kinship lines. The second paper described a cultural or religious ritual; many focused on aspects of the Mormon Church or life in Utah. Part of this series is comprised of those research and kinship papers. Dr. d'Azevedo abstracted the information from the student kinship papers for a massive study on kinship (referred to as "Kith and Kin") which remained unpublished at the time of the transfer of the collection to the Special Collections Department. Some of this work was also carried out as part of the NSF summer field projects of the late 1960s (those based in southern Utah).

The arrangement for all three series follows d'Azevedo's original organization.

Dates

1960-1977

Creator

National Science Foundation. Tri-Institutional Field Training Program in Anthropology (U.S.) (Creator, Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

There are restrictions on use of the collection. Researchers are allowed to read this material but may not cite without the permission of the author or the Anthropology Department of the University of Nevada, Reno, specifically, Warren d'Azevedo or Catherine Fowler. No documents may be reproduced without obtaining permission from d'Azevedo or Fowler. Names of persons mentioned in the archival documents may not be referred to publicly either in print or speech, nor should the source of any information be indicated. These restrictions will be in effect for twenty-five years from March 17, 1992, after which time access and copying shall be at the discretion of the Manuscript Curator of the Special Collections Department of the University of Nevada, Reno.

Any use of this material in public presentation must carry the following citation:

Name of author. (Year of report) Field Report, University of Nevada Ethnographic Archive, No. (report number). In the University of Nevada, Reno, Ethnological Archives, Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Reno.

Collection contains information subject to federal and state privacy and/or educational laws and policies. Student evaluations, applications and other identifiable student information is restricted. Other sensitive material may be restricted as well. Consult department for more information.

Unrestricted materials in the collection are open for research, but have additional requirements for use.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers may not cite from reports and student work without the permission of the author. No documents may be reproduced without obtaining permission from the student author. Names of persons mentioned in the archival documents may not be referred to publicly either in print or speech, nor should the source of any information be indicated.

If permission is received, any use of this material in public presentation must carry the following citation:

Name of author. (Year of report) Field Report, University of Nevada Ethnographic Archive, No. (report number). In the University of Nevada, Reno, Ethnological Archives, Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Reno.

Administrative History

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Field Training Project in Anthropology was organized by the University of Nevada, Reno and held in conjunction with Stanford University and the University of Pittsburgh. Anthropological field schools were held from 1964-1970 and supported by funding from the National Science Foundation. They were discontinued after 1970 because of lack of funding at NSF for such projects. Warren d'Azevedo, head of the University of Nevada, Reno, Anthropology Department was the project coordinator; he was later assisted by Catherine Fowler, also of the University of Nevada, Reno.

The goal of the field school project was to provide practical field experience to graduate students in anthropology. Twelve students were selected each summer and awarded a stipend which allowed them to undertake these studies. Different sites were selected each summer. They included:

1964 Washo, Paiute, Shoshone in northern Nevada.

1965 Washo, Paiute in northern Nevada.

1966 Navaho at Kaibito, New Mexico.

1967 Native Americans on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

1968 Samoans in the San Francisco Bay area, California.

1969 Urban studies in Reno and Sparks, Nevada.

1970 Mormon communities in southern Utah.

The summer field schools were invaluable because they provided hands-on training in anthropology and a field experience not obtainable through normal course work. A number of student projects became the basis for thesis or dissertations, others were subsequently published or read at professional conferences.

Extent

14 Linear Feet (14 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

Included are students' final field reports; administrative correspondence, grant applications and reports; reference material distributed to students; and research material compiled by Drs. Warren d'Azevedo and Catherine Fowler on kinship in Washington County, Utah, and Reno, Nevada.,Topics of student reports include the Washo, Paiute, and Shoshone Indians of northern Nevada; Navaho at Kaibito, New Mexico; Indians on Vancouver Island, British Columbia; Samoans in the San Francisco Bay area, California; urban studies in Reno and Sparks, Nevada; and kinship in Mormon communities in Utah. Material between 1960-1977.

Arrangement

Arranged in the following series: 1) Field Reports; 2) Administration and Reference Materials; 3) Kinship Projects

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred to the Special Collections Department by Warren d'Azevedo and Catherine Fowler in 1992.

Related Materials

Field reports for 1967 Field School studies of Indians of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Held by Anthropology Department, University of British Columbia.

Field reports for 1968 Field School studies of Samoans in San Francisco. Held by Department of Anthropology, San Francisco State University.

Separated Materials

Photographs have been transferred to the Special Collections Department photo archive as collection number UNRS-P1993-15.

Update to restrictions on access and use

Kim Anderson edited the restrictions for this collection. The original restrictions placed on the collection by the anthropology department expired in 2017. However, access to these materials may violate FERPA. Kim added a new note and unpublished the old one. She kept the requirements to seek permission from authors in place, but restricted the files d'Azevedo kept on students. This collection should also be reviewed for cultural protocols or restrictions.