Guide to Federal Records

Records of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board [IACB]


(Record Group 435)
1929-88

Overview of Records Locations

Table of Contents

  • 435.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
  • 435.2 RECORDS OF THE HEADQUARTERS OFFICE 1929-88
  • 435.2.1 General records
  • 435.2.2 Records relating to exhibits
  • 435.3 RECORDS OF AREA OFFICES 1930-83
  • 435.4 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL) 1941-42, 1950-83

435.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

Established: In the Department of the Interior by an act of August 27, 1935 (49 Stat. 891).

Functions: Serves as a clearinghouse for development of Native American (American Indian and Alaska Native) arts and crafts. Operates museums at Anadarko, OK; Rapid City, SD; and Browning, MT. Maintained field representatives until the 1980's.

Related Records: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, RG 75.

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435.2 RECORDS OF THE HEADQUARTERS OFFICE
1929-88

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435.2.1 General records

Textual Records: Records concerning legislation establishing the IACB and defining its authority, 1931-45. Records relating to IACB's organization, 1937-43. Records documenting IACB's relationship with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), consisting of correspondence between IACB and BIA, 1936-72; and subject files ("Miscellaneous Files") of BIA concerning programs assumed by IACB after its establishment, 1930-35. Correspondence concerning misrepresentation of Native American arts and crafts, 1932-80; and relating to museums, exhibitions, and publications, 1961-88. Correspondence and other records relating to museum and craft centers, 1965-76; arts and crafts programs in the Southwest and the southern plains region, 1949-73; the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and one of its facilities, the Plains Indian Museum, Cody, WY, 1978-79; and arts and crafts projects in Alaska, 1947-80, and a proposed Alaskan educational institution for native cultures, 1973-75. Subject file dealing with specialists' efforts to promote Native American crafts and assisting the artists ("Records Relating to Technical Assistance"), 1932-48. "Cultural Areas Reference File," 1932-88 (10 ft.). Records relating to Native American arts and crafts enterprises, 1937-86, and associations, 1963-74. Publications and related records, 1929-80, with an index to publications (1890- 1940), compiled 1940. Indexes, by tribe, to Native American arts and crafts, 1934-39 and n.d. Geographic index to businesses and individuals interested in purchasing or retailing Native American arts and crafts, 1936-44. Memorandums and press releases relating to subjects in IACB photographs, 1962-77. Transcripts of interviews conducted 1940-43 with Blackfeet tribal elders concerning tales and legends, 1973-79.

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435.2.2 Records relating to exhibits

Textual Records: Correspondence and other records concerning Native American exhibits at expositions, 1939-41 (13 ft.), including the Indian Art of the Americas exhibit and the Covelo Indian Market at the Golden Gate Exposition, San Francisco, CA, 1939-40, with indexes; and an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 1941. Press releases relating to art exhibitions, 1961-78.

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435.3 RECORDS OF AREA OFFICES
1930-83

Textual Records: Correspondence and other records of the following area offices: Alaska, ca. 1958-69 (in Anchorage); Cherokee, 1963-83 (in Atlanta); Minneapolis, ca. 1935-83 (in Chicago); Oklahoma, 1935-67 (in Fort Worth); Phoenix, 1930-63 (in Los Angeles); Portland, 1963-68 (in Seattle); and Southwest, 1938-69 (in Denver).

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435.4 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL)
1941-42, 1950-83
7,887 images

Photographs: Native American arts and crafts in the Alaska State Museum and the Alaska Historical Museum, 1960 (AL, 276 images). Artworks depicting Blackfeet tepees and other objects, 1973 (BF, 83 images). Used in "Report on the Survey of Hopi Crafts," by Alfred W. Whiting, 1941-42 (CAT, 185 images). Photographs of Native American museums, schools, and businesses, 1965-72 (300 images). American Indian and Alaska Native art exhibits, workshops, artisans, and arts and crafts, 1960-65 (ERM, 242 images). Photographs of Native American museums, schools, and businesses, 1965-72 (300 images). Eastern Cherokee and other Native American artists and artisans, 1950-83 (RJ, 6,000 images). Training in arts and crafts production among Native Americans, 1958-65 (950 images). Photographic prints of Indian life, cultural events, and arts and crafts, 1939-81 (815 images). Photographs of collections and exhibitions at the Southern Plains Indian Museum and Crafts Center, Anadarko, OK, 1964-79 (175 images). Photographs of collections and exhibitions at the Sioux Indian Museum, Rapid City, SD, 1968-71 (300 images). Photographs of collections and exhibitions at the Museum of the Plains Indian, Browning, MT, 1967-75 (1,155 images). Photographs and catalog for the exhibition "Photographs and Poems by Sioux Children," 1968-70 (53 images). Photographic prints of the Porcupine Day School, 1968-71 (179 images).

Slides (151 images): Contained in lecture kits, "Contemporary Indian and Eskimo Crafts of the United States," 1972 (SL, 74 images); and "Contemporary Sioux Painting," 1972 (SL, 77 images).


Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.

Ordering information

This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.


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