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Anne M. Smith papers, 1936-1980

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Smith, Anne M. (Anne Milne), 1900-1981
Title
Anne M. Smith papers
Dates
1936-1980 (inclusive)
Quantity
6.25 linear feet, (13 boxes)
Collection Number
ACCN 2829
Summary
The Anne M. Smith papers (1936-1980) primarily stem from material gathered by Dr. Smith in 1936 and 1937 in the course of field work conducted among the Native American peoples of the Great Basin, the Ute Tribe in particular.
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
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Biographical Note

Anne "Nan" Millspaugh Smith (1900-1981) was born in New York City and was educated at Cornell University (B.A., 1922) and Yale University (M.A., 1937; Ph.D., 1940) where she pursued a doctorate in anthropology under the tutelage of Edward Sapir and Leslie Spier. In 1936 and 1937, as part of her studies, she traveled to the Intermountain West where she conducted interviews with the elder members of local Native American Tribes, the Ute of the Uinta and Ouray Reservation in particular. Along with her secondary research--record of which is included in this collection--Dr. Smith's findings from this period form the basis both of her master's thesis, The material Culture of the Northern Ute and her doctoral dissertation, An Analysis of Basin Mythology. In preparation of this work, Dr. Smith compiled the tales she had collected in an unpublished multi-volume manuscript (c.f. boxes twelve and thirteen). In the years that followed, two separate publications would make more widely available the valuable information gathered by Smith in this period: Ethnography of the Northern Utes in 1974 and an abridged collection of myths, Ute Tales in 1992.

After receiving her Ph.D., Dr. Smith joined the faculty of the University of New Mexico Field School, staying on as a special lecturer until 1941. In 1939 she married Eastburn Smith. Early in World War II, the couple directed the local War Relocation Authority, but resigned after only a year in protest of the treatment of Japanese internees. From 1957-1960 and from 1962 until her retirement in 1965 Dr. Smith worked as curator at the Museum of New Mexico.

Throughout a varied career both in and outside academia, Dr. Smith's commitment to various causes affecting Native Americans was a constant. In the 1950s, she was an expert witness in the Uinta and Ouray Reservation's Land Claims lawsuit against the Federal Government. She worked with numerous state and non-profit organizations treating issues that affected New Mexico's Native American populations.

References:

Marilyn Ogilvie and Joy Harvey, eds., The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science (New York: Routledge, 2000), 1201-1202.

Joseph Jorgensen, Forward to Ute Tales, Anne M. Smith and Alden Hayes, Collectors. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1992.

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Content Description

The Anne M. Smith papers consist of field notebooks, manuscripts, subject files and tales organized by tribe and region.

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Use of the Collection

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.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged by subject.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Don D. Fowler in 2014.

Processing Note

Processed by Matthew Weathered in 2015.

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Separated Materials

Photographs have been transferred to the Multimedia Archives in Special Collections.

Related Materials

Forms part of the Aileen H. Clyde 20th Century Women's Legacy Archives.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid created by Matthew Weathered
2015 (last modified: 2018)

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