Register to the Papers of By Anna Z. Thompson October 1998 Chronology of the Life of R. Weston La Barre Series Descriptions and Container Lists
Weston La Barre donated his papers to the National Anthropological Archives in 1975. At that time, portions of the collection were covered by copyright. The collection occupies approximately seven (7) linear feet of shelf space.
This collection reflects part of the work and study of R. Weston La Barre (1911–1996), anthropologist and ethnologist. Included are field notes, research noteslips, correspondence, bound and unbound manuscripts, a scrapbook, materials on ethnobotany, photographs, special subject files, and miscellany consisting of publications, processed material and clippings. The collection is divided into three broad subject areas. The Kiowa Studies and Peyote Studies relate to La Barre's field trips to Oklahoma in 1935 and 1936 and his study of peyotism and the ethnography of the Kiowa Indians. Considerable material relates to the Native American Church. The field notes are the result of interviews with informants among the Kiowas and have never been published. There is also some material on Kiowa linguistics. Related photographs (in Box 13) include portraits of Indians, many of whom were active in the Native American Church and peyotism. Other Peyote Studies materials represent La Barre's interest in peyote and drug use during the 1960's. Much of this material relates to the Kiowa-Peyote Materials but with less emphasis on the Kiowas and more emphasis on hallucinogenic drugs. It is also of a later time period. Some attention is paid to legal aspects of religious use of peyote. The Aymara Studies relate to La Barre's field trip to Bolivia, 1937-1938. Most of the material pertains to the culture of the Aymara Indians, with some lesser emphasis on the Uru and the Chipaya. Aymara linguistics, folklore and ethnobotany are included. Related photographs (in Box 14) cover a cross section of the cultures with an emphasis on the festivals and dancing of the Aymara. The correspondence throughout the entire collection deals mainly with the editing and publication of La Barre's various manuscripts. Very little correspondence is of a professional nature. Among correspondents whose letters are included are Richard E. SCHULTES, Donald COLLIER, John COLLIER, Leslie SPIER, William BASCOM, Heinrich KLUVER, Julian H. STEWARD, Morris OPLER, Elsie Clues PARSONS, Alfred WILSON, Alfred METRAUX, Sol TAX and G. P. MURDOCK. Duke University holds other R. Weston La Barre material.
Chronology of the Life of R. Weston La Barre
Series Descriptions and Container Lists This Series contains field notes from 1935 which deal with material gathered on the Santa Fe Laboratory of Anthropology field trip. Included are: Three spiral steno notebooks with notes from conversations with Indian informants. They are arranged in a chronological sequence and contain, among many other items of interest, a diagram of the seating arrangement at peyote meetings and a pattern for buckskin garments; and: Notes from the notebooks organized into typed copy for inclusion with the notes of other members of the field trip. Included is information on the sun dance ritual, women's societies, cults, names and naming. Additional notes on Kiowa ethnography which are typed and bound. All of the daily notes of all of the members of the 1935 Santa Fe Lab are included. Subjects are arranged with most entries recorded with the interviewer's and informant's names as well as the date. There is also a partial index and a genealogical chart. Chapters written by La Barre for a proposed general ethnography of the Kiowa Indians to be written by William Bascom, Donald Collier, R. Weston La Barre, Bernard Mishkin and Jane Richardson (Hanks) are included. The document was never published. The Series also includes 3 x 5 noteslips containing bibliographic and research notes which represent much of the material used by La Barre in his early study of the Kiowa Indians. The noteslips consist of broad general subgroups pertaining to the Kiowa. Research notes are arranged alphabetically by subject and bibliographic notes are arranged alphabetically by author. Additionally, the Series contains a bound manuscript entitled, "The Autobiography of a Kiowa Indian". This autobiography of Charles E. Apekaum, an interpreter for the 1935 Santa Fe Lab, was recorded by La Barre in Anadarko, Oklahoma in 1936. It was reproduced by Microcard Publications in 1957. Finally, the Series includes a small booklet on ethnobotany of the Kiowa which contains fourteen leaves of dried specimens. The samples are generally labeled with the common and scientific names, the name in the Kiowa language and the local Kiowa usage. Box 1 Field Notes - Paste-ups of Students' Field Notes Notebook One Notebook Two Notebook Three Kiowa Field Trip, 1935, #1 Kiowa Field Trip, 1935, #2 Kiowa Field Trip, 1935, #3 Box 2 Typescript of Students' Notes on Kiowa Ethnography - all of the daily notes of all of the members of the 1935 field training party of the Santa Fe Laboratory of Anthropology led by A. Lesser of Columbia University. Members of the party were William Bascom, Donald Collier, R. Weston La Barre, Bernard Mishkin and Jane Richardson (Hanks). The document is bound and has 1314 pages. Some of the chapters were written by La Barre. (There are three Box 2's. One contains the original papers and the other two contain copies of typescripts of students' compiled notes which are to be used for Xeroxing.) Box 3 Noteslips Kiowa Bibliography Kiowa Notes Kiowa Vocabulary Box 4 Manuscripts "The Autobiography of a Kiowa Indian," 184 pages. Miscellaneous Manuscripts Plant Specimens Genealogical Chart (in oversized) This Series includes correspondence (1959-1968) which is arranged alphabetically. Most of the material is filed under the name of the correspondent. Other material is filed under the name of the institution with which the correspondent was affiliated. Some of the material is related to La Barre's continued study of and interest in peyotism. Additional materials refer to his interest in the "drug culture" of the 1960's. Much of the material concerns problems, editorial and otherwise, encountered in publishing various manuscripts, especially the third edition of "The Peyote Cult". There is substantial correspondence with and involving the Shoe String Press. Other correspondence (1941-1957) is also arranged alphabetically, filed under the name of the correspondent or under the name of the institution with which the correspondent was affiliated. Material of a professional nature dealing with peyote in general and its relationship to the Native American Church in particular is included. Also included is correspondence from/to acquaintances made on field trips in Oklahoma and material on publishing issues. The Series also contains unbound manuscripts in the form of typewritten texts dealing with peyote and the Native American Church. The manuscripts include academic papers by Richard E. Schultes, descriptions of peyote meetings and position statements on the use of peyote. Bound manuscripts include "The Peyote Cult," La Barre's doctoral dissertation presented at Yale University in 1937 which was the result of two summers of field work. It contains appendices not in any published form of the thesis, a bibliography, photographs and illustrations. Various miscellaneous materials such as reprints, pamphlets, and newspaper and magazine clippings emphasize the use of drugs in contemporary society (the 1960's), hallucinogenic drugs in general and mescal and peyote in particular are included in this Series. There is also a "Ku Kluck Klan" broadside warning against the use of "peyota". Other materials include listings of expenses for the summers of 1935 and 1936, sample questionnaires for gathering information about peyote meetings, diagrams of peyote altars, and a resolution of the Native American Church denouncing treatment by the press dated October 2, 1932. The Series also includes 3 x 5 noteslips containing bibliographic and research notes which represent much of the material used by La Barre in his early study of peyotism. The noteslips consist of broad general subgroups pertaining to peyote. Research notes are arranged alphabetically by subject and bibliographic notes are arranged alphabetically by author. There is some material relating directly to the 3rd edition of "The Peyote Cult". Box 5 Correspondence A - H Aberle, David Anderson, Edward "American Anthropologist" (Ralph Linton) American Nature Association (Richard Westwood) Armstrong, Robert Arons, Myron George Banta Publishing Company Barber, Carroll Bascom, William Chief Big Elk Blum, Ralph Bruman, Henry J. Collier, Donald Curtis, Luke Desmonde, W. H. Devereux, George Doubleday, Doran & Co. Eggan, Fred Ericson, Keith Finkelstein, Nat Fischer, Roland Fugle, Eugene Gebhard, Paul Ginsberg, Allen Goggin, John M. Health, Education and Welfare, U.S. Department of (George Cosmides, Gordon Macgregor, W.B. Rankin) Heifetz, Harold Hijaf, Luis Hoebel, E. Adamson Howard, James Human Relations Area Files Hume, C. Ross Hunt, Henry Correspondence I - R Interior, U.S. Department of the (John Collier, Alice L. Marriott, H. Scudder Mekeel) Ishikawa, Motosuke John, Peter Jones, Volney H. Kahan, F. H. (Mrs.) Kamen-Kaye, Dorothy Kiev, Ari Kiraly, Josef Kirk, Ruth Kluver, Heinrich La Farge, Oliver Leary, Timothy Legman, G. Levy, Jerrold Little Crow, Murray McAllister, J. Gilbert MacGregor, Gordon Machel, Albert Malouf, Carling Mead, John A. Meyers, Edward Miller. Peter S. Mirel, Elizabeth Monro, John U. Moore, Barrington, Jr. Opler, Morris E. Osmond, Humphrey Parker, Kenneth Parsons, Elsie Clues Pettit, James Prince, Raymond Rascle, Maurice Ravicz, Robert Rebell, Jane M. Reko, B. P. Redfield, Robert Rhodes, Willard Correspondence S - Z Schultes, R. E. Shaeffer, James B. Shoe String Press (A. S. Bittker, Frances T. Ottemiller, Clyde Rykken) Soustelle, Jacques Smith, Elna Speck, F. G. Spier, Leslie Spindler, George D. Stewart, Omer Tax, Sol "Time," the weekly newsmagazine Texas Cactus Growers Vestal, Paul A. Wallis, Mrs. Wilson (Ruth) Wasson, R. G. White, Leslie A. Wilson, Alfred Zenner, Walter Manuscripts "The Last Five Years of Peyote Study" anthology with students' criticisms (ca. 1964. Includes an updated section written especially for the 3rd edition, the index and bibliography, and an anthology on drugs and drug use for parents and physicians with historical notes and a descriptive and annotated bibliography). Unbound: "Statement," R. Weston La Barre, 1937 "Working Paper - Navajo Use of Native Psychoactive Drugs," Jerrold E. Levy, 1963 "The Chapter La Barre Didn't Write," Camille Orso "Plantae Mexicanae VIII," Robert E. Schultes Untitled paper on peyote by Robert E. Schultes "The Peyote Cult," R. Weston La Barre, 1964 "Statement on Peyote As Presented to the Ecclesiastical Superiors," The Father of the Saint LaBre Indian Mission, Northern Cheyenne Indians, Tongue River Reservation, June, 1939 (includes sermons given on the subject). "Statement on Peyote," J. S. Slotkin and Sol Tax "Psychological Aspects of Menomini Peyotism," J. S. Slotkin, 1951 "Peyote Ritual of the Northern Cheyenne" Manuscripts "Preservation of Aboriginal Values as Evidenced by Crow Peyote Leaders," Robert Kiste "Drug Use: A Manual for Parents and Physicians," R. Weston La Barre Box 6 Bound Manuscript, "The Peyote Cult," clxxix pages. (Numbers following photograph captions in the box list in Series 4 refer to corresponding photographs in this thesis, "The Peyote Cult".) Box 7 Noteslips Peyote - 1935 Datura - Bibliography Peyote - Miscellaneous References Peyote - Bibliographical Items Not Used Peyote by Tribes Notes on the 3rd edition of "The Peyote Cult" Box 8 Smithsonian Drug Conference, June 7-8, 1970. (includes correspondence, processed and other materials collected as a member of the Smithsonian's Advisory Panel for Drug Exhibit - Anthropological Aspects, 1970. The principal correspondent is William G. Wing; others are S. Dillon Ripley, Ander Richter, Walter Modell, A. R. Lindesmith and P. C. Ritterbush). Legal File, 1960's (includes government documents on the subject of peyote and its religious use as well as correspondence with Barron Bruchlos, a New York City coffee house owner who publicly sold peyote). Printed and Processed Material - "Peyote Cult," 3rd ed. Printed and Processed Material - "Twenty Years of Peyote Studies" (ca. 1959, various materials used in the update "Twenty Years...") Printed and Processed Material (2 files) Printed and Processed Material - Used in "The Peyote Cult" - empty file Box 9 Miscellany - Expenses, etc. Printed and Processed (2 folders) This Series contains correspondence (1937-1952, 1959) which is arranged alphabetically. Most of the material is filed under the name of the correspondent, with the rest filed under the name of the institution with which the correspondent was affiliated. Most of the material pertains to the funding and sponsorship for publication of La Barre's various manuscripts and of editorial matters arising from the publication of these texts. There are also materials to and from South American governments concerning the 1937-1938 field trips; inventory lists concerning material lent to the Newark, New Jersey Museum for an exhibition in 1941; and four spiral-bound notebooks (1937-1938; 4x6) which contain notes on vocabulary and linguistics, with some material in prose form and in the vernacular. Additionally, the Series includes 3x5 noteslips of bibliographic and research notes which represent much of the material La Barre used in his early studies of the Aymara. In addition to the main body of notes, there is also a bibliography and a number of special subgroups. Research notes are arranged alphabetically by subject and bibliographic notes by author. There is also some material on the Uru and Chipaya Indians of Bolivia. This Series also includes typewritten manuscripts (ca. 1948-1949) which show the results of La Barre's field work in South America and his study of the Aymara Indians. The manuscripts deal broadly with the ethnological and cultural aspects of the Aymara and, more specifically, with their vocabulary and ethnobotany. Included are musical scores and a bound volume of "The Aymara Indians of the Lake Titicaca Plateau, Bolivia" which was the original manuscript for the American Anthropological Association's "Memoirs", #68, 1948. It is edited throughout. Also included are three published maps of Bolivia and southern Peru (ca. 1910-1919) showing political and ethnological aspects of the area and two photostat copied maps detailing the physical characteristics of the area. Lastly, the Series includes miscellaneous notes in various forms pertaining to the Aymara and South America. They are recorded in several languages, some of which is in the vernacular. There are also pamphlets, magazine and newspaper clippings, journal articles and processed materials which cover a wide range of Bolivian and South American topics such as potatoes, llamas, and Incas. The material is in several languages. Box 10 South American Correspondence A "American Anthropologist" (Ralph Linton, J. Alden Mason) American Museum of Natural History (H. L. Shapiro, G. G. Simpson) American Philosophical Society (E. G. Conklin) Angel, Laurence Argentina, Museo de La Plata B-D Beck, Frank Bolivia, Republic of Brooks, Ernest Jr. Botanical Museum, Harvard (H. C. Cutler, F. T. Hubbard) Bureau of American Ethnology (G. P. Murdock, F. H. H. Roberts, J. H. Steward, Alfred Metraux) "Chronica Botanica" (Frans Verdoorn) Duke University Research Council (J. T. Lanning, P. Gross, N. I. White, W. H. Wannamaker) F-R Fortuny's Publishers, Inc. Ginn & Co. Hodge, W. H. "International Journal of American Linguistics" (Karl F. and Erminie W. Voegelin) International Missionary Council (J. M. Davis) Keller Kroeber Anthropological Society (Sally Martin) Moreno, H. The Newark Museum Newman, M. Osborne, D. Potato Association of America, (W. H. Martin) Raymond, N. Richardson, Jane Robinson, M. Roovers Bros., inc. S-Y Schmidt, Karl P. Schultes, Richard Evans Social Science Research Council (Pomfret, John E.) Spier, Leslie The Torrey Botanical Club (Rickett, H. W.) Tschopik, Harry The Viking Fund (Fejos, Paul; Osgood, Cornelius) Wagley, Charles Wright, Harry B. Yale University, Office of the Provost Field Notes Four small spiral bound notebooks on the Aymara Box 11 Noteslips Aymara Bibliography Aymara Notes Botanical Identification Aymara Materia Medica Animal Materia Medica Mineral Materia Medica Bibliography for Materia Medica Linguistics Miscellany Notes and Bibliography on the Uru Indians Notes on the Chipaya Indians Box 12 Manuscripts "Aymara Biologicals and Other Medicines" "Aymara Folktales" "Aymara Texts" "Aymara Texts, Pacasa Dialect" Index - The Aymara of the Lake Titicaca Plateau Music (a-h) "The Aymara Indians of Lake Titicaca Plateau, Bolivia," bound. Miscellaneous Maps (See "Oversize") Printed Material Miscellaneous Notes SERIES 4: PHOTOGRAPHS and LA BARRE TERM PAPERS The Kiowa - Peyote photographs, taken between 1935 and 1936, are arranged by subject. The majority of the photographs were taken on La Barre's two field trips to Oklahoma. Many are of Indians whom La Barre had met and with whom he attended peyote meetings. There are no photographs of actual peyote meetings. There are some photographs of the Santa Fe Lab group. Other subjects covered include ceremonial altars, ashes and other paraphernalia as well as ceremonial structures. Included with the ceremonial structures are photographs of the museum-meeting room of the Native American Church in El Reno, Oklahoma. Most photographs are also presented or referred to with captions in the scrapbook, "Kiowa Indian Snapshots, 1935, Santa Fe Laboratory of Anthropology" (in this Series, Box 13) and in "The Peyote Cult," La Barre's doctoral dissertation (Series 2, Box 6). Numbers following photograph captions in the box list refer to corresponding photographs in the thesis copy of "The Peyote Cult". The scrapbook, in addition to the 1935 photographs from the Santa Fe Lab field trip to the Kiowa, also contains pictures from the 1936 Yale Institute of Human Relations and American Museum of Natural History peyote field trip. Most of the photos have captions. Subjects include portraits of Indians in Oklahoma whom La Barre knew, members of the field trips, and various objects of the peyote ritual. The last box in this series contains photographs from 1937-1938, arranged by subject of the Aymara and Uru Indians of Bolivia which were taken by La Barre or a member of his party. Included are a few photographs of Amazon (Bororo) Indians given to La Barre. The Aymara pictures deal with a number of cultural aspects with an emphasis on festivals and dancing. There are a number of portraits of Indians, none identified. Other subjects addressed include agriculture, boats and fishing, habitations and markets. Religious processions are included under ceremonials. There are three sheets of contact prints which have not been sorted by subject as well as twenty-two color negatives depicting objects in the La Barre Aymara Collection at Duke University. The Uru photographs also cover cultural aspects of their life, but are fewer in number and more limited in scope than the Aymara pictures. The two La Barre term papers in the Series (ca. 1934-1935) were written while he was at Yale University. Both are bound. They are "Psychology and Ethnology," 1934 which details "an experiment in the psychological historical method of interpretation of Edward Sapir" and "Sleds and Toboggans, A Distributive Study," 1935. Box 13 Kiowa - Peyote People - Indian, identified (neg) Homer Barnett (Buffalo) Bert and Rebecca Buffalo Alice-Take-It-Out and Lily Buffalo Mary Buffalo and Grandchildren Mary Buffalo, seated Mary Buffalo, tipi poles in background Mary and Lily Buffalo on horses Lily Buffalo Charley Apekaum and Jonathan Koshiway (62) Ned Brace (81) Old Lady Kintadl Little Henry in ceremonial dress - backview Little Henry ("Packing Stone") and wife Peyote Boys (Kickapoo) (19) Peyote Boys (63) Peyote Boys Ponca Peyote Leaders (33) Tom Panther (Shawnee) (27) James Sun-Eagle (Pawnee) (Sun-Chief) (32) Bert Crowlance Sam Bassett, Jim Pettit, Ralph Dent (34) Sam Bassett, Jim Pettit, Ralph Dent Henry Murdock (Kickapoo) (18) Jim Aton (57) White Fox Kitty Kyabi, Estelle Moonlight-Maiden Miss Yale Spotted Bird Lynn Ware (part Yaqui) Heap o' Bears Mack Haag (Cheyenne) (76) Senko Jonathan Kashiway (Oto) (77) Albert Stamp (Seminole) and wife (20) Group at Oto meeting (35) Alfred Wilson (Cheyenne) (75) Old Man Horse, Monroe Huntinghorse, Pitma Charley Apekaum Monroe Huntinghorse (?), Pitma (?) Ceremonial, structures (neg) Three unidentified persons in front of tipi Museum-meeting room - El Reno (exterior) (79) Meeting room (interior) (80) 1928 Studebaker Kickapoo Bark House Wichita Grass House (21) Wichita Grass House Nearly finished "shade" (26) "Shade" "Shade" being built (25) "Sweat-bath lodge" (7) Ceremonials (prints) Wood placed in ritual position, Wichita moon (50) Wichita grass house (21) Meeting room (interior) (80) Sash, "Dai Be Ga" Thunderbird (ashes) (54) Ponca - white eagle (ashes) "Scissors-tail" bird (ashes) (47) Quawpaw altar (85) Peyote kerchief (altar cloth) (8) Parade (neg) Indians mounted on horses in parade Indian dancers - parade, Anadarko, OK Dancer with feather mask Young dancer Indian girls riding on car in parade Indians walking in parade Miscellany (prints) Envelope of miscellaneous negatives and contact sheets 1916 Ford Some mescaline visions Young Indian boy dancer, Miami, OK Little Henry and wife (also known as Packing Stone) Kiowa (33) Painting showing "father peyote" Headquarters of Native American Church in 1935 Sam Bassett, Jim Pettit, Ralph Dent Tennyson Berry Peyote boys Lily Buffalo Victor Griffin (Quapaw) Old Lady Kintadl Jonathan Koshiway (Oto) Dancer with feather mask Miscellany - Non-Indian (neg) Two men on horseback Two unidentified persons Donald Collier Donald Collier, Jane Richardson Hanks, William Bascom Farm near Redstone, OK 1916 Ford Five unidentified persons: (?) Charley Tyner far left; (?) Collins Panther second on right Jane Richardson Hanks Hubert Mason Prairie Dwelling Double Exposure Three unidentified persons Mt. Sheridan Parade - People, Indian (prints) (empty file) Ceremonials (neg) Altar, cement - Quapaw (85) Ashes, "Scissors-tail" bird (47) Wood placed in ritual position (50) Altar cloth, Kiowa (8) Ashes, waterbird (48) Ashes, Ponca-White eagle Quapaw Church group (87) Quapaw Peyote church (86) Victor Griffin (Quapaw) (36) "Nigger Jim" (83) The inside of dismantled Seminole altar (65) Dismantling tipi (53) Ashes, thunderbird (54) Ashes, thunderbird (51) Ashes, thunderbird Painting, symbolic peyote (frontispiece) Sash, "Dai Be Ga" Ashes, crescent arrangement (49) Dismantled Seminole altar Scrapbook - "Kiowa Indian Snapshots, 1935, Santa Fe Laboratory of Anthropology" (also contains photos from the peyote field trip of 1936, sponsored by the Yale Institute of Human Relations and the American Museum of Natural History) La Barre Term Papers "Psychology and Ethnology, An Experiment in the Psychologico- Historical Method of Interpretation of Edward Sapir" "Sleds and Toboggans, A Distribution Study" Box 14 Aymara/Prints Agriculture Boats and fishing Burials Ceremonials Dance Dress, festivals and marriage Food Habitations Markets, outdoor People - Indian, unidentified People - Non-Indian Scenic Views Structures Transportation, burden carrying Miscellany Weaving Aymara/Negatives (same subject areas as above; nitrate negatives out to copy in 1988) La Barre Aymara Collection at Duke University (color negatives) Contact Prints Uru/Prints Boats Habitations People - Indians, unidentified Weaving Miscellany Amazon (Bororo) Indians
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