[NATIVE AMERICAN ART & LITERATURE]

Native News; B.I.A. Bulletin [18 Issues, 1973-1976]

Juneau, Alaska: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1973-1976. Folio. Approx 40cm. Newsletter format on good quality multi-colored paper stock. 14-16pp. per issue. Some very light soiling and wear to edges and extremities some issues with horizontal folds from postage. All issues very good or better.
Issues present: Vol. 10 No. 3 May-June 1973; Vol 10 No 4 July-August 1973; Vol 10 No 6 November-December 1973; Vol 11 No 1 Jan-Feb 1974; Vol 11 No 2 Mar-Apr 1974; Stated Second (additional) printing April 1974; Vol 11 No 3 May-Jun 1974; Vol 11 No 4 Jul-Aug 1974; Vol 11 No 5 Sept-Oct 1974; Vol 11 No 6 Nov-Dec 1974; Vol 12 No 1 Jan-Feb 1975; Vol 12 No 2 Mar-Apr 1975; Vol 12 No 3 May-Jun 1975; Vol 12 No 4/5 Double Issue Aug-Oct 1975; Vol 12 No 6; Nov-Dec 1975; Vol 13 No 1/2/3 Triple Issue Jan-Jun 1976; Vol 13 No 4 Jul-Oct 1976; Vol 13 No 5/6 Double Issue Nov-Dec 1976.

A short broken run of the official organ of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in Juneau Alaska during the implementation of the Native Claims Settlement Act under the Nixon administration, and including the issue devoted entirely to it. The act was officially passed in December 1971, with the intention of completing Native Enrollment by December 1973, vastly changing the nature of land ownership in Alaska and proclaiming the endowment of an award of $962,500,000 to be disbursed to Native regional and village corporations if they were in accordance with the terms of settlement.
The role of the B.I.A. during this period was to push for mass enrollment of Native communities in order to be eligible for the settlement, and a good deal of the Native News was devoted toward that end. In an unprecedented agreement (one that has also not been repeated since) the ownership of 148.5 million acres of land was affected, with over 44 million acres coming under native ownership. One of the issues in Vol 12 contains a photospread of politicians and high profile celebrities, including Robert Redford, attempting to ensure that the maximum number of natives benefitted. Volume 10 No. 6 was printed in landscape format and was devoted entirely to full page, brightly colored infographics, charts, and diagrams translating the complexities of the Act into a digestible format.
This collection spans a brief but intense period in the activities of the B.I.A. with contributions and representation from Native communities that are not necessarily repeated elsewhere. Native news has some sparse and disparate holdings in institutional collections, and only scant visibility in commerce.

Price: $200.00

Go Back