Gary Svee was born in 1943, in Billings, Montana. He attended the University of Montana, where he took classes from author and journalist Dorothy Johnson, who became a mentor to him. He worked as a journalist for the
Svee was an active member of his community, and took an interest in social injustices. In the early 1980s, he became interested in the struggles of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa, referred to as the Landless Indians of Montana, particularly the community living on Hill 57, just outside of Great Falls, Montana. He worked to raise awareness of their situation and poor living conditions, including writing an article for the
Svee died in July, 2019. He and his wife Diane had two children, Darren and Nathan.
This collection contains unpublished manuscripts, research notes, and correspondence generated by Gary Svee. The collection spans 1971-2009, with most of the materials concentrated between 1980 and 1990. The collection includes materials about the Little Shell Chippewa and the larger population of Landless Indians in Montana, and correspondence with and about author Dorothy Johnson. The collection also includes manuscripts of some of Svee’s books, including
The collection has been divided into three series.
Series I: Svee Manuscripts, 1986-2009, 1.2 linear feet
Series II: "Landless" Indians and Hill 57, 1959-1982, 0.2 linear feet
Series III: Dorothy M. Johnson Correspondence and Manuscript, 1971-1984, 0.4 linear feet
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to the University of Montana. Copyright to Gary Svee's writings is held by Gary Svee. McIntosh and Otis, Inc. of New York serves as Dorothy M. Johnson's literary agent and handles all requests related to publication and republication of her works.
Gary D. Svee Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula.
The materials in this collection were held by Gary Svee until their transfer to Archives and Special Collections.
This collection was transferred to Archives and Special Collections at the University of Montana in 2003 and 2009.
Materials were refolded by Archives personnel and arranged into series during processing.
The University of Montana's Archives and Special Collections holds a collection of Dorothy M. Johnson Papers (Mss 127).
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Series I contains manuscripts of seven novels, with handwritten edits by Svee and his editors. Some manuscripts appear to be for books which were never published.
Manuscripts were placed into alphabetical order by title.
manuscript is not complete: chapter 3 exists only as an outline, and there are two copies of chapter four. Manuscript put in order during processing
Published as Incident at Pishkin Creek in 1989. Manuscript contains handwritten edits
Manuscript contains light handwritten edits
Manuscript contains handwritten edits
Manuscript contains handwritten edits
folder 1/2: prologue-chapter 8. Manuscript contains handwritten edits
folder 2/2: chapter 9-epilogue. Manuscript contains handwritten edits
folder 1/2: prologue-chapter 7. Chapter 8 is missing. Manuscript contains handwritten edits
folder 2/2: chapter 9-epilogue. Manuscript contains handwritten edits
Manuscript contains handwritten edits
folder 1/2: prologue-chapter 16. Published as The Peacemaker's Vengeance in 2003
folder 2/2: chapter 17-epilogue.
Published in The Saturday Evening Post magazine. Story begins on page 37
Series II contains correspondence and research notes about a book Svee proposed to write about the Landless Indians of Montana. This group was comprised primarily of Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa, Cree, and Métis families who did not have reservation lands of their own. Although there were communities of landless Indians across Montana, the most well-known settlement was Hill 57, outside of Great Falls, Montana. The inhabitants of Hill 57 had been pushed out of Great Falls by the white community there, and their resulting poverty and poor quality of life began attracting national attention in the 1950s and 1960s. This series contains correspondence between Svee and Sister Providencia, a sociology professor at the College of Great Falls who spent her career lobbying on behalf of the Landless Indians, and the Little Shell in particular. It also contains Svee’s correspondence with publishing houses to try and find a publisher for his book, and some records of the Little Shell Chippewa struggle for federal tribal recognition.
Correspondence was placed into chronological order and separated into research and publication correspondence. Little Shell federal recognition efforts and Svee’s research notes were kept in their original order.
Includes maps of Hill 57, a letter to James Murray from 1959, and a statement from the Little Shell tribe.
laminated newspaper article
Series III contains personal and professional correspondence between Svee and Dorothy Johnson. It also contains multiple obituaries for her, many of which she composed herself. The correspondence reveals Johnson’s wry humor and strong personality. The series also contains a manuscript version of her final, unpublished novel No Bombs Fell.
Correspondence from Johnson was separated from correspondence about Johnson. Personal correspondence was arranged in chronological order during processing, professional correspondence was left in the original order.
Includes a flyer for Natalie B. Manicke's campaign for president in 1984
folder 1/3: title page-pg. 149
folder 2/3: pg. 150-pg. 299
folder 3/3: pg. 300-end