Navajo oral history collection

Navajo oral history collection, 1975

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Weber, Nita Beth, 1949-
Title: Navajo oral history collection
Dates: 1975 (inclusive)
19751975
Quantity: 1 folder, (0.25 linear feet)
Collection Number: ACCN 0941
Summary: The Navajo oral history collection (1975) consist of transcripts of interviews conducted by Nita Weber as research for her graduate thesis.
Repository: University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860

Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu
Access Restrictions: Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Languages: English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Nita Weber (b. 1949) received an M.A. in Health at the University of Utah in 1975.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Navajo oral history collection consist of transcripts of interviews conducted by Nita Weber as research for her graduate thesis, entitled A History of Health Care at the Navajo Lutheran Mission, Rock Point, Arizona, 1953-1974.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Preferred Citation

Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donated by Nita Weber, date unknown.

Processing Note

Processed by Karen Carver in 2008.

Separated Materials

Audio tapes have been transferred to the Multimedia Archives (A0296).

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Volume
1	1	Navajo Oral Histories Helen Begay (b. 1924) talks about the Rock Point community. (interview fragment, 2 pages) Elsie Benson (b. 1913) recalls her training as a licensed practical nurse and decision to come to the mission in 1961. Other topics include the mission and clinic background, health education, nursing care and physician services, home visits, community health, and home remedies. (24 pages) Warren Campbell, M.D. describes his first sight of the clinic in 1957, and talks about the equipment, nurses, patients, education, John Carlsen, and Allen Dyrud. (8 pages) Pastor Wallis Cole and his wife, Fern D. Cole describe being called to the mission in 1965 and the problems encountered. Other topics include early work by nurses, transportation, services offered by the mission, great snow storm of 1967, Mormon missionaries on the reservation, Elsie Benson, medicine men, health education, intermarriage, Navajo cultural mores, singers, celebrations, and homelife. (51 pages) Allen Dyrud recalls the foundation of the clinic in 1953 and talks about early personnel and programs. (10 pages) Lynn M. Dewey describes the water, crops, climate of the Rock Point area, and talks about public health. (3 pages) Pastor Kenneth Hatland speaks of hearing about the mission from John Carlsen and describes his duties there. (6 pages) In a telephone interview, Emma Twedt and Mable Johnson explain how they came to the mission in 1953 and talk about their duties there, health education, medicine men, transportation, and living conditions. (11 pages) Albert Kukulski talks about being principal-teacher of the boarding school in the Rock Point area. He recalls the origin of the mission, nurses, transportation, teaching, medicine men, and the impact of the mission. (9 pages) Lillian V. Lundahl recalls coming to the mission as a nurse in 1966, home visits, buildings and roads, home remedies, treating minor medical problems, dispensing medicine, and health education. (8 pages) Erling Ostergaard, M.D. describes his duties at the mission during his six months there in 1961, and talks about equipment, nurses, transportation, public health, mission administration, and problems. (5 pages) Eula Mae Swenson describes teaching the Navajo language, home visits, health problems, and changes in the community. (4 pages) Willis Wilson (b. 1922) talks about herding sheep, Shiprock Indian School, George Christensen, the trading post, the mission, medicine men, the school, and life on the reservation. (11 pages) Lorraine Witt recalls moving to Rock Point to manage the trading post in 1948. Other topics include transportation, the government school, a diptheria epidemic, water, crops, squaw dances, and jobs. (10 pages)	1975

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Navajo Indians--Interviews
Navajo Indians--Medical care

Personal Names

Weber, Nita Beth, 1949- (contributor)

Form or Genre Terms

Audiocassettes
Oral histories

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents