Dear Mary Frances-Ronan
Hi Mary,
I am writing to you for help with some American Indian
research my community the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community of
Minnesota needs to advance our petition for federal recognition. You have been
a big help to us a few times over the past 20+ years. This last winter we had
started making plans for another trip to Washington to do some research,
however with the recent issues surrounding the closing of the archives due to COVID19,
and the health concerns of some of our researchers, our travel to Washington
will not be happening.
·
Do you know when the National Archives will be
accessible to researchers?
·
If the National Archives will be closed for the
foreseeable future to researchers, are there any services the National Archives
is offering towards that end?
You have helped us with your vast knowledge of the holdings
the National Archives have pertaining to the American Indian. We hope you can
help us again. Our plans were to go through the 48 letterboxes of the General
Records Concerning Indian Organization, 1934 – 1956 for anything related to the
Mdewakanton Sioux of Minnesota, Minnesota Sioux, or Pipestone Sioux Indians
generally, and more specifically about anything related to an Indian community
in Mendota Minnesota.
There is one document in particular that we are seeking,
that would be the preliminary survey for the Sioux in Minnesota. I
believe I had seen a copy of this document, it was dated 1935 to the best of my
recollection and would have been conducted by a field agent, the two names
that I have are an Archie Phinney, and a person named Lightfoot. This had what
I believe was a list of five towns in Minnesota with Sioux communities:
1.
Morton.
2.
Granite Falls.
3.
Welch.
4.
Prior Lake.
5.
Mendota.
Some of the town names may have been different, like Redwood
Falls instead of Morton, Eggleston instead of Welch, and Shakopee instead of
Prior Lake. The list of towns is the best I can do from recalling a document I
only saw in passing as it passed between four of us who had gathered at a restaurant
for dinner in 2003.
I see online that the “General Records Concerning Indian Organization,
1934 – 1956” are textual records that are arranged by jurisdiction and
thereunder by file number. I do not know what jurisdiction was used other than
Sioux in Minnesota, or some variant, or they used Pipestone Indian School /
Agency.
·
Does the NARA have an index to the General
Records Concerning Indian Organization, 1934 – 1956?
·
If so, is it a microfilm roll that can be
purchased, or is there a digitized copy for download?
General Records Concerning Indian
Organization, 1934 – 1956
ARC Identifier:
2107128
Inventory Entry
Number: 1012 Entry 1012 is located in the “Preliminary Inventory of the Records
of the Bureau of Indian Affairs”
HMS/MLR Entry
Number: PI-163 1012
We would also be interested in
any information, or any index to the following files:
Entry
1011 – Records Concerning the Wheeler- Howard Act. 1933 – 37 12 boxes.
Entry
1013 – Correspondence with Officials. 1934 – 46.
We hope you will be able to
locate this Preliminary Survey for the Sioux in Minnesota. We will pay all research
and copy costs.
We thank you for all the help you
have provided our community and look forward to one day returning to Washington
for more research.
Thank You,
--
Greg Strandmark
Historian – Mendota Mdewakanton
Dakota Tribal Community Council.
Chairman, Federal
Recognition Committee, MMDTC
