Sue Gilfillan collection

Mss.SMs.Coll.123

Date: 1963-1976 1969-1973 | Size: 0.75 Linear feet

Background note

Susan (Sue) Gilfillan was born in 1942 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the oldest of five. Her father taught at the University of Minnesota, and her mother was very active in the neighborhood and also involved in the League of Women Voters. She attended the University of Minnesota for her B.A. and her Masters Degree in Anthropology from 1960 to 1972. Her studies focused on the Chippewa, particularly the Chippewa of Minnesota, motivated especially by the prominence of Native people in Minnesota generally and Minneapolis in particular. In 1967-1968, she and her husband were in Chile on a Ford Foundation grant focused on the study of land reform and migration, studying the Mapuche people. She taught anthropology at Kennedy High School in Minneapolis from 1968 to 1972. In 1972, she and her husband, David Gilfillan, moved to Chicago, where she entered the doctoral program in Anthropology at Northwestern University, though later left the program before completing her doctorate. They moved to Philadelphia in 1976, where her husband had a teaching job at Temple University. From 1983 to 2020, she worked as a real estate agent and remained active in social justice causes. Their home in Philadelphia was next door to the home of Eve Troutt Powell and Tim Powell, the founding director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research (CNAIR) at the APS Library.

Scope and content

The Sue Gilfillan collection consist of two distinct set of materials. One is an extensive collection of newspapers clippings, primarily from Minneapolis and Chicago newspapers, concerning news stories relating to American Indians, especially those relating to the American Indian Movement, Red Power, the Wounded Knee Occupation of 1973, and legal cases concerning Native communities or individuals throughout the United States. The second set of material consists of publications produced by the Minneapolis and Minnesota branches of the League of Women Voters concerning Native people. These publications, produced from the early 1960s to the early 1970s, show significant evidence of revision of content to reflect concerns of urban Native communities, including very local information regarding Minneapolis neighborhoods with a large Native population. The collection also includes a one reel-to-reel tape and some ephemera relating to these topics.

Collection Information

Provenance

Donated by Sue Gilfillan in December 2021.

Indexing Terms


Subject(s)

  • Anishinaabe
  • Dakota
  • League of Women Voters
  • Minnesota--History
  • Ojibwe
  • Red Power movement
  • Urban Indians

Collection overview

1962-1971 

Booklets, stapled pamphlets, and typed handouts relating to Native people in Minneapolis in particular and Minnesota more generally, published primarily by the League of Women Voters of Minneapolis and the League of Women Voters of Minnesota, with one by the national League of Women Voters organizaton. Includes handouts for Minneapolis meetings. Some publications include detailed information about neighborhood organizations and services, including local maps and population surveys.

1963-1976; 1969-1973 0.5 Linear feet

Newspaper clippings and a small amount of ephemeral items, assembled by Sue Gilfillan in the late 1960s to mid-1970s. The newspaper clippings consists of several hundred news clippings from Midwestern newspapers relating to Native people and communities in the United States during those years. Especially prominent topics in these clippings include the Wounded Knee Occupation of 1973, the American Indian Movement and key figures in it such as Clyde Bellecourt, court cases involving Native communities or individuals (especially ones in Minnesota including Leech Lake and Cass Lake), Sunday news magazine pieces on contemporary Native people or life, Native arts, and other many other topics. The majority of the stories relate to tribes and communities in Minnesota or the Midwest, though not exclusively so. Other tribes mentioned in some stories include Apache, Seminole, Pueblo, Menominee, and Quinault.

The clippings come predominantly from the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Daily News, Chicago Express, Minneapolis Star, and Minneapolis Tribune, with some additional clippings from the Lawrence Journal-World, the Southside Patriot, and various unidentified newspapers.

  1 item(s)


Detailed Inventory

 Series 1: League of Women Voters publications on Native people
1962-1971 

Booklets, stapled pamphlets, and typed handouts relating to Native people in Minneapolis in particular and Minnesota more generally, published primarily by the League of Women Voters of Minneapolis and the League of Women Voters of Minnesota, with one by the national League of Women Voters organizaton. Includes handouts for Minneapolis meetings. Some publications include detailed information about neighborhood organizations and services, including local maps and population surveys.

 "American Indians and Minneapolis Public Services"
1971 38 page(s)

Abstract: "Prepared and Published as a Follow-up Supplement to 'Indians of Minneapolis,' League of Women Voters of Minneapolis, 1968."

 League of Women Voters of Minnesota.
"Capitol Letter on Indian Affairs: A Report to the 1963 Minnesota Legislature"
November 1963 11 page(s)
 Discussion Guide for September meeting on new publications about American Indians
September 1971 2 page(s)
 "Indians in Minneapolis"
April 1968 112 page(s)

Abstract: Stapled booklet published by the League of Women Voters of Minneapolis with the assistance of The Training Center for Community Programs at the University of Minnesota, created, as stated in the Introdoctionn "to take a closer look at what has been called 'Minnesota's largest reservation,' Minneapolis." Chapters are "Indian Survey," "Employment," "Education" (with "School Sight Count Map"), "Health," "Justice," "Housing" (with "Facilities and Urban Renewal Map"), "Public Welfare," "Parks and Libraries" (with "Park Map"), "Social Services" (with "Community Services Map"), "Churches," "The Indian Center," and an Appendix with "Indian Employment Center Data," "League Interviews with Agency Staff Members," "Minneapolis Public School Sight Count," and "Consensus, League of Women Voters of Minnesota." Includes Sue Gilfillan's handwritten notes.

 League of Women Voters of Minnesota.
"Indians in Minnesota"
1962 66 page(s)

Abstract: Booklet published by League of Women Voters of Minnesota. Sections on "The Federal Government and Minnesota Indians," covering treaties and claims, federal laws, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs; "Minnesota Indians," covering state laws, population and lands, and tribal governments; and "Special Problems of Indians in Minnesota," covering the justice system, economic problems, welfare, education, and health. This copy includes a typed insert titled "Reading Quesions for 'Indians in Minnesota'" dated January 1963.

 League of Women Voters of Minnesota.
"Indians in Minnesota"
1971 165 page(s)

Abstract: Book printed by League of Women Voters of Minnesota. A revised edition compared to the earlier 1962 publication. The chapters in this edition are titled "Historical Background," "The Meaning of Being Indian," "A People," "Government Relationships," and "The Indians' Minnesota."

 League of Women Voters (U.S.).
"Indian--And Proud of it!"
1971 13 page(s)
 "Listing of Record Albums, Eight-Track & Cassette Tapes"
circa 1968 2 page(s)

Abstract: Listing of recordings available from Indian Records, Inc., in Fay, Oklahoma.

 "Statement of Position: Minnesota Indian Study"
September 1968 2 page(s)
 Statistical Questionnaire for Indian Update
September 1971 2 page(s)
 Series 2: Newspaper clippings and ephemera
1963-1976; 1969-1973 0.5 Linear feet

Newspaper clippings and a small amount of ephemeral items, assembled by Sue Gilfillan in the late 1960s to mid-1970s. The newspaper clippings consists of several hundred news clippings from Midwestern newspapers relating to Native people and communities in the United States during those years. Especially prominent topics in these clippings include the Wounded Knee Occupation of 1973, the American Indian Movement and key figures in it such as Clyde Bellecourt, court cases involving Native communities or individuals (especially ones in Minnesota including Leech Lake and Cass Lake), Sunday news magazine pieces on contemporary Native people or life, Native arts, and other many other topics. The majority of the stories relate to tribes and communities in Minnesota or the Midwest, though not exclusively so. Other tribes mentioned in some stories include Apache, Seminole, Pueblo, Menominee, and Quinault.

The clippings come predominantly from the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Daily News, Chicago Express, Minneapolis Star, and Minneapolis Tribune, with some additional clippings from the Lawrence Journal-World, the Southside Patriot, and various unidentified newspapers.

 Children's coloring pages about Indians
circa 1963 14 page(s)

Mimeographed pages of a children's textbook about Indians, with pages for coloring in with crayon. A small number are partially colored in with crayon. Some pages have children's handwritten name "Karen A." One also labelled grade 3, and dated January 11, 1963.

 "House Moves to Settle Sioux Claims"
August 1, 1972 

Press release from the office of Congressman Donald M. Fraser.

 Location of Indian Organizations in Minneapolis
circa 1970-1976 1 page(s)
 Northern Plains Indian Crafts Association, Price List
circa 1970-1976 4 page(s)
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 1
1973-1976 

Clippings in this folder mainly relate to the Wounded Knee Occupation of 1973. Also includes 2nd issue of "Southside Patriot" local newspaper from south Minneapolis, August 6, 1976, featuring a cover story on a recently held pow-wow

 Newspaper clippings, Folder 2
1973 

Clippings in this folder mainly relate to the Wounded Knee Occupation of 1973.

 Newspaper clippings, Folder 3
1973 

Clippings in this folder mainly relate to the Wounded Knee Occupation of 1973.

 Newspaper clippings, Folder 4
1973 

Clippings in this folder mainly relate to the Wounded Knee Occupation of 1973.

 Newspaper clippings, Folder 5
1970-1975 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 6
1973 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 7
1974-1975 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 8
October 22, 1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 9
1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 10
1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 11
1971-1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 12
1969-1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 13
1971-1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 14
1970-1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 15
1969-1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 16
1969-1973 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 17
1971-1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 18
1969-1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 19
1970-1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 20
1969-1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 21
1971-1972 
 Newspaper clippings, Folder 22
1971-1972 
 Series 3: Audio
  1 item(s)
 Momaday, N. Scott, 1934-.
Lecture on Kiowa history and the cultural assimilation of the American Indian
November 20, 1969 1 track 42:38

Address given at the 1st National Indian Education Conference held at the Leamington Hotel in Minneapolois. This recording was made from the radio broadcast of the talk by WUOM on January 27, 1970.

 Public talk on racial dynamics and discrimination in America
Circa 1970, labelled only "April 3" 1 track 49:40

Public talk given by an unidentified (self-identified) white woman, apparently talking at a school. Sue Gilfillan was present and speaks during the question-and-answer period. Topics also include housing discrimination in Minneapolis.