SC20652
19 boxes (6 cu. ft.)
Open to research
Information available upon request
Helene Gold, Intern, University of Albany, SUNYA, September 1996
Historical Note
Lulu Stillman served as stenographer for Assemblyman Edward Everett from January, 1920 until sometime into the latter part of the decade. Everett served as chairman of the New York State Indian Commission (1919-1922) whose purpose was to investigate the status of Indian welfare and land rights in New York State.
Republican Assemblyman Edward Everett of St. Lawrence County was appointed to the commission by Speaker of the Assembly Thaddeus C. Sweet, who himself was a member of the commission. Shortly after the commission was formed, Everett was nominated chairman after several other candidates declined the offer. Over the next four years, the commission visited Indian reservations and met with tribal leaders from around the state in an effort to gain information concerning land disputes. Treaties between the Six Nations and the state and federal governments were reviewed as their legality and legitimacy came into question. The ultimate goal of the commission was to discover (through verbal histories and examination of the treaties) the land claim status of the New York Indians. Although many maltreatments and injustices were discovered as a result of these investigations, no action was taken since the commission's goal was strictly to report its findings from which future decisions could be made.
The findings of the commission were described in the Everett Report which documented the signing of a treaty with the United States government in 1784. This treaty was noted by the commission not only as a legally binding document but one which lead to the inescapable conclusion that the original six million acres of land ceded to the Indians by the United States government in 1784 reflected their current land status. The finished report was given to Mrs. Stillman for circulation among members of the commission for their signatures; the members were either unable or refused to sign the findings, leaving Everett's solitary signature. The report was presented to the legislature on March 17, 1922 only to be rejected for filing. It wasn't until 1971 that the report was finally released in relation to an attempted land transfer between New York State and the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation. Lulu Stillman was credited for preserving the only remaining record of the report from which the 1971 transcript was made.
Following her work on the Everett report, Mrs. Stillman remained active in New York State Indian affairs, serving as a liaison between several Indian nations and state and federal governments. Mrs. Stillman was also employed at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as a stenographer. She later donated her papers to Helen Upton (1914-1993), professor emeritus, Russell Sage College, Troy, N.Y. Ms. Upton used the papers in her research, eventually publishing The Everett Report in Historical Perspective: The Indians of New York.
Scope and Contents Note
This collection is comprised chiefly of correspondence and documents related to legislation and litigation resulting from or as a continuation of the New York State Indian Commission (1919-1920). As Everett's stenographer, Stillman retained copies of most of the material produced by or related to the commission. (Many of the original documents are either missing or unavailable.) This collection is most noted for containing an annotated draft and related documents of the final Everett Report submitted to the legislature on March 17, 1922 and much of Everett's correspondence from this period.
The collection is split between two series of papers: the first seven boxes originated with Lulu Stillman; the remaining boxes reflect the work and research of Helen Upton. Series 1 contains the Stillman correspondence (1922-1968) and related Everett commission materials, while Series 2 contains a great deal of Upton's research material.
Helen Upton added her own research material to this collection after receiving it from Mrs. Stillman. Her materials include Indian Committee reports from the 1970's, Reports on the educational and health care status of New York Indians, many court cases (mainly pertaining to New York State land claims), hundreds of newspaper clippings, her own gallery proof copy of The Everett Report in Historical Perspective, and a related doctoral dissertation.
Box and Folder List:
Box | Folder | Description |
|---|---|---|
Series 1: Stillman | ||
Stillman correspondence, reports, transcripts 1922-1949 | ||
1 | 1 | 1922 |
2 | 1923-1927 | |
3 | 1930-1932 | |
4 | 1933-1939 | |
5 | 1940-1947 | |
6 | 1948 | |
7-9 | 1949 | |
Stillman correspondence, reports, transcripts 1950-1959 | ||
2 | 1-2 | 1950 |
3 | 1951 | |
4 | 1952-1953 | |
5 | 1954 | |
6-7 | 1955 | |
8 | 1957-1958 | |
9 | 1958 | |
10-12 | 1959 | |
Stillman correspondence, reports, transcripts 1960-1963 | ||
3 | 1-3 | 1960 |
4-5 | 1961 | |
6 | 1962 | |
7 | 1962 | |
8-11 | 1963 | |
Stillman correspondence, reports, transcripts 1964-1968 | ||
4 | 1-2 | 1964 |
3-4 | 1965 | |
5 | 1966 (includes photo) | |
6-8 | 1966 | |
9-10 | 1967 | |
5 | 1 | 1968 |
Indian Affairs correspondence, reports, transcripts 1919-1949 | ||
2 | 1919-1922 | |
3-4 | 1922 | |
5 | 1923 | |
6 | 1924 | |
7 | 1925-1926 | |
8 | 1927 | |
9 | 1929 | |
10 | 1931-1935, 1939 | |
11 | 1945-1949 | |
Indian Affairs/Everett Report | ||
6 | 1 | Indian Affairs correspondence, reports, transcripts 1950-1954 |
2 | 1955-1960 | |
3 | 1969 | |
4 | Everett Report (original documents), Dept. of Justice | |
5 | Everett Report (original document), draft of final report, notes | |
Everett Report documents and correspondence 1919-1925 | ||
7 | 1 | Everett correspondence, documents 1919-1925 |
2 | Everett Report original document, July 27,1920 | |
3 | Everett Report documents 1920 | |
4 | 1920 | |
5 | 1922-1924 | |
6 | Report of the New York State Indian Commission to Investigate the Status of the American Indian in New York (exact copy of the Everett Report submitted March 17, 1922) | |
7 | "America Europeanized," Attorney Geo. Decker, 1925 (annotated) | |
Series 2: Upton | ||
Congressional Documents/Colonial History | ||
8 | 1 | Annotated Congressional Document 1929-1930 |
2 | Congressional Document 1929-1930 | |
3 | Annotated Congressional Document 1948 | |
4 | Congressional Document 1961 | |
5 | Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, Vol. VIII, edited by E. B. O'Callaghan, 1857, 817 pages | |
Manuscript | ||
9 | 1 | Typed manuscript: The Everett Report in Historical Perspective (notes, table of contents, preface, foreword, introduction) |
2 | Ch. 1,2 | |
3 | Ch. 3 | |
4 | Ch. 4 | |
5 | Ch. 5 | |
6 | Ch. 6 | |
7 | Ch. 7 | |
8 | Index, Appendix | |
Serials | ||
9 | Saturday Review (Sept. 4, 1971 and Nov. 25, 1978) | |
10 | America: History and Life (vol. 1, no. 1, 1964) | |
11 | The New Yorker (Nov. 6, 1978) | |
12 | Conservationist (Jan./Feb. 1976) | |
13 | The American Way (June 1972) | |
News Clippings and Serials | ||
10 | 1 | News clippings, 3 copies "Akwesasne Notes", reports, programs |
2 | Catalogues, news clippings, notes, 1 copy Wassaja | |
3 | "The First Americans" (study guide to the videotape series) 1978 (2 copies) | |
4 | "Iroquois Culture, History, and Prehistory" (proceedings of the 1965 conference on Iroquois research) | |
5 | "Akwesasne Notes" (vol. 6 no. 4, vol. 6 no. 5) | |
6 | Indian culture and affairs - news clippings (1941-1960) | |
7 | Indian culture and affairs - news clippings | |
8 | Citizenship rights - news clippings, letters to the media | |
News clippings, Upton Correspondence, Serials | ||
11 | 1 | Helen Upton correspondence, 1977-1984 |
2 | Helen Upton correspondence, 1985-1986 | |
3 | News clippings, notes, miscellaneous Upton correspondence 1950s-1970s | |
4 | News clippings, articles, reports 1950s-1970s | |
5 | News clippings, publications (re: Iroquois) | |
6 | News clippings, maps, publications (re: bingo, Iroquois) | |
7 | News clippings, articles, photocopied maps and correspondence (land claims), photos | |
8 | The American Historical Review (vol. 80 no. 3, June 1975) | |
Research material | ||
12 | 1 | Iroquois treaties and related news clippings |
2 | Upton research notes and materials | |
3 | Research materials - articles - litigation (highlighted) | |
4 | Galley proof: The Everett Report in Historical Perspective, Helen Upton | |
5 | Galley Proof: The Everett Report in Historical Perspective: preface, introduction, Ch. 1 | |
6 | Ch. 2, Ch. 3 | |
7 | Ch. 4, Ch. 5 | |
8 | Ch. 6, Ch. 7 | |
9 | Conclusion, appendix, bibliography, notes, index | |
Indian Affairs, Land Claims | ||
13 | 1 | Maps of Indian Lands |
2 | Tuscaroras (N.Y.) Land Issue - correspondence, news clippings, 1960 | |
3 | Tuscaroras (N.Y. )Land Issue - correspondence, news clippings, 1961-1963 | |
4 | Land Claims - research notes, legislation, litigation, essays | |
5 | Indian Land Claims Commission/attempts to obtain Everett Report, 1965 | |
6 | Land Claims, treaties, status of New York Indians | |
7 | Land Claims - news clippings, notes, 1975-1985 | |
8 | Land Claims - litigation, news clippings, articles, correspondence, 1975-1985 | |
9 | Indian Land claims cases | |
10-11 | Indian Affairs - jurisdiction bills, news clippings, notes, 1945-1950 | |
12 | Indian Affairs - research notes, articles, U.S. v. Boylan + Moyers case, 1915 - ? | |
Indian education, reports, publications | ||
14 | 1 | Education on reservations - correspondence, 1925-1951 |
2 | National Indian Education Association - publications | |
3 | The Indian Today in New York State (State Interdepartmental Committee on Indian Affairs) | |
4 | Indian Education - notes, essays, etc. | |
5 | Indian Education, jurisdiction documents, 1972-1975 | |
6 | Onondaga Indians - reports, bibliographies, articles (1956-1957) | |
7 | Education and Land Claims - reports, essays | |
8 | Annual Report of New York State Interdepartmental Committee on Indian Affairs 1972-1973. Chapter 4, Raw Deal: The Iroquois of New York View the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 | |
9 | "New York State History Network" (vol. 3 no. 1 and vol. 3 no. 2) Indians - catalogue no. 177 The Mohawk Valley and the American Revolution, New York State Historic Trust | |
10 | Nations Within a Nation, prepared by A.T. Anderson (American Indian Policy Review Commission) United States Indian Policy, Francis Paul Prucha | |
11 | Mohawk Resource, Mary MacDonald and Philip H. Tarbell | |
Committee Reports, Government Documents, Reports | ||
15 | 1 | Report and Notes on Legislative Committee on Indian Affairs (1940s-1950s) |
2 | The Indian Today in New York State (State Inter-departmental Committee on Indian Affairs), 1956 (2), 1964 | |
3 | Annotated pamphlets and newsletters relating to New York Indians (1920-1958) | |
4 | Annotated Congressional documents | |
5 | Indian Act - Canadian Government document (6/6/1946) | |
6 | Indian Affairs - Canadian Government document (6/6/1960) | |
7 | Report of the New York State Assembly Subcommittee on Indian Affairs. March 1971, part 1 | |
8 | Report of the New York State Assembly Subcommittee on Indian Affairs, March 1971, part 2 (with maps and notes) | |
9 | Final Report of the Pilot Planning Program for the Indians in New York State, May 1974 | |
10 | "The Downfall of the Iroquois of New York State", st udent paper, 1972 | |
Court Cases, Documents | ||
16 | 1 | Kinzua Dam - correspondence, documents |
2 | L.C. Kellogg case - correspondence, reports, transcripts, 1924-1932 | |
3 | Franklin County Court - State of New York v. Frank Swamp and Peter Gorrow - brief, exhibits (1921?) | |
4 | Litigation, documents - Deere v. St. Lawrence River Power Company, State of New York v. Danny White | |
5 | Indian Commission - Deere v. the St. Lawrence River Power Company, Correspondence 1925-1929 | |
6 | Deere v. the St. Lawrence River Power Company | |
7 | Edward Everett brief for the Whitney Case 1923 Seneca/Weisto Land Lease 1944 | |
8 | New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Altona Citizens Committee v. the Town of Altona (1978 ?) part 1 | |
9 | Part 2 | |
10 | Part 3 | |
11 | State of New York v. Danny White, brief - Complaint of the chiefs of St. Regis Mohawk Reservation for removal of intruders upon tribal land United States of America v. Consolidated Wounded Knee - Cases | |
12 | United States v. the Oneida Nation of New York, et al. | |
Court Cases | ||
17 | 1 | U.S. District Court (Northern District of New York) - State of New York v. Danny White, et al., 1974 |
2-3 | U.S. District Court (Northern District of New York) State of New York v. Danny White, et al. 1974 | |
4 | U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit - State of New York v. Danny White, et al., 1975 | |
5 | U.S. Court of Appeals - State of New York v. Danny White, etc. (proof copy), 1975 | |
6 | United States Claims Court - Navajo Tribe v. U.S., 1986 (p. 1-60) | |
7 | United States Claims Court - Navajo Tribe v. U.S., 1986 (p. 61-120) | |
8 | State of New York v. H. Boots, D. Deer, D. George, E. Oakes, R. Powless, K. Thompson | |
9 | Digest of Rebuttal Exhibits, Oneida Nation (1784-1857) | |
10 | U.S. Court of Appeals case - Passamaquoddy Tribe, v. R. Morton (Secretary, Dept. of Interior), State of Maine, 1975 Indian Claims Commission Case - Munsee Indians v. U.S. 1971 | |
11 | Hawthorn Files (1960s) | |
18 | 1 | New York State Indian tribes - cases, publications (photocopied) |
2 | Cayuga Nation v. U.S. (1971-1980), litigation and documents | |
3 | United States Claims Court - Navajo Tribe v. U.S., 1986, p. 121-186 | |
4 | Oneida Indian Nation court cases, 1973-1974 | |
5 | Supreme Court case - Oneida County, New York v. Oneida Indians of New York, 1984-1985 | |
6 | Supreme Court Case - Oneida Indian Nation of New York v. Oneida County, New York, 1972 | |
Publications, Indian Health Care Documents, Dissertation | ||
19 | 1 | Saturday Night: Canada's Magazine of Business and Contemporary Affairs (4/11/1959), petition to the prime minister of Canada, Document Canada as Responsible to the Six Nations |
2 | A Vision of Wealth: Speculators and Settlers in the Genesee County of New York, 1788-1800, W.H. Siles, U. Mass., 1978 - dissertation, (title-p.29) | |
3 | p. 30-102 | |
4 | p. 103-164 | |
5 | p. 165-228 | |
6 | p. 229-288 | |
7 | p. 289-341 | |
8 | p. 342-372 | |
9 | An Attempt to Improve Health Care: How Did It Fail?" (Mohawks at St. Regis) - Katherine Pac, 1973 | |
10 | Completed surveys - New York State Indians Healthcare (1974-1975) | |
11 | Documents, reports - New York State Indians Health Care |