John Collier and Mexico in the Shaping of U.S. Indian Policy: 1934-1945 Wilbert Terry Ahlstedt University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

John Collier and Mexico in the Shaping of U.S. Indian Policy: 1934-1945 Wilbert Terry Ahlstedt University of Nebraska-Lincoln University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, History, Department of Department of History Spring 4-6-2015 John Collier and Mexico in the Shaping of U.S. Indian Policy: 1934-1945 Wilbert Terry Ahlstedt University of Nebraska-Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historydiss Part of the American Studies Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Latin American History Commons, and the United States History Commons Ahlstedt, Wilbert Terry, "John Collier and Mexico in the Shaping of U.S. Indian Policy: 1934-1945" (2015). Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History. 82. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historydiss/82 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the History, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. John Collier and Mexico in the Shaping of U.S. Indian Policy: 1934-1945 by Wilbert Terry Ahlstedt A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College of the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: History Under the Supervision of Professor Victoria A. Smith Lincoln, Nebraska May 2015 JOHN COLLIER AND MEXICO IN THE SHAPING OF U.S. INDIAN POLICY: 1934-1945 Wilbert Terry Ahlstedt, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2015 Advisor: Victoria A. Smith Relations between Mexico and the United States have often been tense and yet they have always been interrelated. In the nineteenth century Mexicans were viewed by their northern neighbors as degenerate racial hybrids. In terms of Native Americans and their relationship to land, Mexico was seen as an example of how not to conduct Indian policy. But during the 1930s, significant numbers of officials within the Roosevelt administration expressed interest in and admiration for Mexican domestic policy, especially in relation to Indian policy. One of the most enthusiastic proponents of Mexico’s federal Indian policy was U.S. Indian Commissioner John Collier. Collier was especially interested in Mexican Indigenismo, the pursuit of greater social and political inclusion for indigenous peoples in an effort to protect their interests and ensure that they received the same rights as all other citizens. Reacting against previous U.S. policies that attempted to destroy Indian culture while stressing private property holdings, Collier, inspired by Mexico’s program of Indigenismo, sought to overhaul United States Indian education, restore Indian self-government, and move Indian land tenure back towards its traditional communal structure. In this he was promoting a Native American form of self-reliance through modernist principals that was closely related to Mexican integrationist models. This work explores the history of Indian land tenure and contrasts it with European expectations. It will examine Collier’s efforts to change prevailing Indian policies. It scrutinizes the influence that he derived from Mexico. To better understand this process of change, it will view the transition in United States and Mexican Indian policy that helped to produce this change. This study will approach the matter primarily from the perspective of land-its use and ownership-that most important asset of both the Native Americans and their European colonial “guests”. i TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: John Collier and Mexico in the Shaping of Indian Policy: 1934-1945 Chapter 1. The Indians and Their Land .............................................................................21 Chapter 2. A Return to Primitivism ...................................................................................54 Chapter 3. Indigenismo ......................................................................................................89 Chapter 4. Transnational Meetings, The Land Mystic, and Mexico ...............................121 Chapter 5. Moisés Sáenz and John Collier ......................................................................148 Chapter 6. The Spanish Moment in American Indian Policy ..........................................188 Chapter 7. Collier, The Indian Office, and Mexico .........................................................208 Conclusion. Betrayal and an Assessment ........................................................................283 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................341 Appendix Acknowledgments 1 INTRODUCTION JOHN COLLIER AND MEXICO IN THE SHAPING OF INDIAN POLICY The people of the United States attributed their victory in the U.S. - Mexican War (1846-1848) to a notion that Mexican people were a “mongrel and motley” product of the union of Spaniards and Indians producing an “offspring of sin”1 Some Americans believed that “The greatest misfortunes of Spanish America” could be “traced to the fatal error of placing these colored races on equality with the white race.” They held the belief that this “… error destroyed the social arrangement which formed the basis of society.”2 Many Americans believed that Mexico was weakened by an overly accommodating relationship with its indigenous population that left the nation morally bankrupt and economically crippled. They viewed this as the product of an “Indian Problem” a conviction, held by many people in the United States and Mexico, that Native American people impeded national economic progress. To many, a prime example of this perception was evident in the relationship of the native peoples to their lands. This dissertation compares and contrasts U.S. and Mexican Indian land policies concerning both nation’s colonial and early national development. Its primary focus is on the early twentieth century and the years, 1933-1945 when John Collier was the U.S. Indian Commissioner in charge of the U.S. Indian Office. 1 Alvin R. Sunseri, Seeds of Discord: New Mexico in the Aftermath of the American Conquest, 1846-1861 (Chicago: Nelson Hall, 1979), 98; From Bartlett, Personal Narrative, 300; Missouri Republican, April 29, 1847; “ Wilson’s Explanation of Mixed Population,: Ritch Collection, microfilm, roll 4; Missouri Republican, December 24, 1855. In this work it is common for the author to refer to those in the United States as “Americans.” 2 John C. Calhoun, Congressional Globe, 30 Cong., 1 Sess., Vol. 17, 51 (January 4, 1848). In the nineteenth century U.S. officials saw nothing of value in relation to Mexico and sought to avoid incorporating into the United States areas with large Mexican populations. This view was shared by much of the public. 2 Land figures prominently in the Native American narrative. Imre Sutton states that “So much pivots around land as a locus of tribalism that in many ways land constitutes the fundamental access, the one through which, as if it were a window, observers must look in order to discover the Indian. No matter how hard one tries to look elsewhere, land comes into view.” Sutton continues: “Factors such as religion, diffusion of cultural traits and material culture, the impact of commercialization, and industrialization, urban relocation, and education all contribute to the ways land may be used, acquired, or disposed of, and to the ways Indian peoples aggregate social, political, or other terms.”3 As Indians identified themselves with the land so did white observers identify Indian land use with the Indian. U.S. visitors, settlers, and U.S government officials who arrived in the lands newly acquired from Mexico as a result of the Mexican War saw Mexican policy in this region as too accommodating to Indian practices and thus wrongheaded and contrary to American ideas of progress. As a result, newly arrived Americans considered Mexican culture to be deficient. Nineteenth century American visitors to Mexico often remarked about the poor habits of the nation’s Indian population and their apparent resistance to “beneficial” change. In their opinion the large Indian population lacked cultural aptitude and its deficient use of the land plagued the countryside and threatened to plunge the nation into perpetual poverty. These Americans believed that if they adopted Mexican ways, especially as they were displayed in the countryside, they would recede into the sorry state that they observed Mexico to be mired in. 3 Imre Sutton Indian Land Tenure: Bibliographical Essays and Guide to Literature (New York: Clearwater Publishing, 1975), 2. 3 But in the 1930s many American observers developed a different view of Mexico. The President of the United States and many in his administration expressed support for Mexican land policies that included a form of communal land ownership patterned after traditional Indian land practices. The U.S. Indian Commissioner, John Collier, exhibiting his enthusiasm for Mexican policies, stated that: “Mexico has lessons to teach the United States in the matter of schools and Indian administration which are revolutionary and which may be epoch-making.”4 His boss, President Franklin Roosevelt, agreed adding: “What a pity that the Yankees cannot improve the processes of their civilization by emulating Mexican culture.”5 This is a marked change by U.S political leaders from condemnation to admiration. And while many in the United States continued to possess racist viewpoints towards Mexico the
Recommended publications
  • Taming the Corporate Beast
    This essay was submitted as part of TNI's call for papers for its State of Power 2015 report. The essay was not shortlisted for the final report and therefore TNI does not take responsibility for its contents. However the Editorial Board appreciated the essay and it is posted here as recommended reading. Taming the Corporate Beast An earlier version of this article was published by Dollars and Sense in its July and November 2014 issues. Marianne Hill, Ph.D. The litany of economic disasters in national headlines changes regularly, but a recurring theme is the role of transnational corporations (TNCs) in creating or exacerbating each new calamity. After the 2008 financial crisis, the near nuclear meltdown at Fukushima, the massive BP oil spill, and more, there is global awareness of the dire consequences of tolerating corporate misbehavior and greed. Despite their rhetoric, the priorities of TNCs are fundamentally at odds with the basic social goal of enhancing human freedoms and well-being. It can no longer be denied that the institutional framework regulating global giants requires a thorough transformation. Such a restructuring of our major institutions depends on the liberating knowledge that is being developed through the collective work of agents of change. In this article, I focus on efforts to bring structural changes to corporations that would bring new standpoints to corporate decision- making bodies and, in this way, change the values and control of corporates. I begin with a look at current soul-searching in the business community and efforts that have, at best, beautified the corporate beast.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Enterprises: Examining Accountability for Social and Financial Performance
    SOCIAL ENTERPRISES: EXAMINING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Gloria Astrid Guraieb Izaguirre B.A. Financial Management Principal supervisor: Associate Professor Belinda Luke Associate supervisor: Dr Craig Furneaux Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business (Research) School of Accountancy QUT Business School Queensland University of Technology December 2015 Keywords Accountability, social enterprise, financial, social, performance, non-profit, third sector, Australia Social enterprises: Examining accountability for social and financial performance i Abstract This study explores the accountability of social enterprises with respect to their dual objectives of social and financial performance. During the last two decades, social enterprises have been subject to increasing public attention and research. This interest derives from the potential role of social enterprises to pursue a social mission through a self-funding commercial business model, rather than relying on philanthropy to survive. However, there is little research exploring how social enterprises exercise their accountability for both social and financial performance. Given that social enterprises seek to balance dual objectives, maintaining financial sustainability for long-term survival while also fulfilling their social mission, it is important to examine how these organisations balance accountability for these potentially conflicting goals. There is limited literature on social enterprise accountability, however, as third sector organisations, literature on accountability of non-profit organisations is a useful point of reference. In the context of non-profit organisations, concerns of mission drift and prioritising accountability to donors (as a main funding source) have been raised, where financial objectives may inadvertently override social objectives. Given the social and financial objectives of social enterprises, these issues are also relevant to their accountability.
    [Show full text]
  • Ill PROFMEX·ANUIES International Conference Scheduled for Tijuana in October
    Number 6, Summer 1983 U NIVERSITY O F C ALIFORNI A C ONSORTIUM O N M EXICO & T HE U NITED S TATES BERKEL EY • D AVIS • IR VIN E • L os A NGELES • R IVERSIDE • SAN D IEGO • SAN FR ANCISCO • S AN TA B ARBARA • SAN TA CRUZ Ill PROFMEX·ANUIES International Conference Scheduled for Tijuana in October Hosted by CEFNOMEX representing the Carlos Monsivais (UNAM) ANUIES representatives to the Con­ Asociaci6n Nacional de Universidades e Jacinto Quirarte (UT San ference include Rafael Velasco lnstitutos de Ensenanza Superior and by Anton io) Fernandez (Secretario General UCLA and UC MEX US representing IV . Games Without Rules Ejecutivo), Antonio Gago Huguet PROFMEX , the Ill Conference of Mexican Moderator Manuel Garcia y Griego (Secretario Academico), and Ermilo J. and U.S. Universities on Border Studies (COLMEX) Marroquin (D irector de Relaciones will meet October 24 and 25 in Tijuana Panelists Lorenzo Meyer (COLMEX) lnternacionales y Becas) The theme of the conference is " Rules of Clark Reynolds (Stanford) Invited to close the conference are the Game in Border Life ," and attendance Ross Shipman (UTA) the Ambassadors of both countries , John is without restriction . Jesus Tamayo (CIDE) A. Gavin (Mexico City) and Jorge Invited to open the Conference are Jorge Vargas (Univ. of San Espinosa de los Reyes (Washington, D.C.) the Attorneys General of Mexico and the Diego) The conference is funded by US ICA United States, Sergio Garcia Ramirez Scott Whiteford (Michigan and ANUIES. and William French Smith. Smith wil l also State University) For more information, contact the con­ serve in his capacity as Regent of the Uni ­ Other invited speakers include ference organizers: Jorge Bustamante, versity of California.
    [Show full text]
  • Literary Miscellany
    Literary Miscellany Including Recent Acquisitions. Catalogue 286 WILLIAM REESE COMPANY 409 TEMPLE STREET NEW HAVEN, CT. 06511 USA 203.789.8081 FAX: 203.865.7653 [email protected] www.reeseco.com TERMS Material herein is offered subject to prior sale. All items are as described, but are consid- ered to be sent subject to approval unless otherwise noted. Notice of return must be given within ten days unless specific arrangements are made prior to shipment. All returns must be made conscientiously and expediently. Connecticut residents must be billed state sales tax. Postage and insurance are billed to all non-prepaid domestic orders. Orders shipped outside of the United States are sent by air or courier, unless otherwise requested, with full charges billed at our discretion. The usual courtesy discount is extended only to recognized booksellers who offer reciprocal opportunities from their catalogues or stock. We have 24 hour telephone answering and a Fax machine for receipt of orders or messages. Catalogue orders should be e-mailed to: [email protected] We do not maintain an open bookshop, and a considerable portion of our literature inven- tory is situated in our adjunct office and warehouse in Hamden, CT. Hence, a minimum of 24 hours notice is necessary prior to some items in this catalogue being made available for shipping or inspection (by appointment) in our main offices on Temple Street. We accept payment via Mastercard or Visa, and require the account number, expiration date, CVC code, full billing name, address and telephone number in order to process payment. Institutional billing requirements may, as always, be accommodated upon request.
    [Show full text]
  • Mexico's Indigenous and Folk Art Comes to Chapala
    Mexico’s indigenous and folk art comes to Chapala Each year Experience Mex‐ECO Tours promotes a trip which we call the ‘Chapala Artisan Fair’, but this is much more than just a shopping trip; so what’s it really all about? The Feria Maestros del Arte (Masters of Art Fair) is the name given to this annual event in Chapala, and also the name of the non‐profit organization which puts in an incredible amount of work to make it happen. In 2002 an amazing lady called Marianne Carlson came up with the idea of bringing some of the artists and artisans she came across in rural Mexico to Ajijic to sell their high quality traditional work. After a successful first fair, with 13 artists being very well received by the public, Marianne decided to make this an annual event. Providing an outlet for traditional Mexican artists and artisans to sell their work, the Feria Maestros del Arte has provided many families with the opportunity to continue creating Experience Mex‐ECO Tours S.A. de C.V. | www.mex‐ecotours.com | info@mex‐ecotours.com their important cultural representations by allowing them to pursue this as a career, rather than seeking alternative employment. Here is their mission as a non‐profit organization: “To preserve and promote Mexican indigenous and folk art. We help preserve these art forms and the culture that produces them by providing the artists a venue to sell their work to galleries, collectors, museums and corporations. We promote regional and international awareness to the value of these endangered arts.” The efforts made by the Feria committee and its many volunteers mean that the artists and artisans not only have a chance to generate more income in a few days than they may otherwise generate in a year, but also the chance to be recognized by buyers and collectors from around the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Victorian Paintings Anne-Florence Gillard-Estrada
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Archive Ouverte en Sciences de l'Information et de la Communication Fantasied images of women: representations of myths of the golden apples in “classic” Victorian paintings Anne-Florence Gillard-Estrada To cite this version: Anne-Florence Gillard-Estrada. Fantasied images of women: representations of myths of the golden apples in “classic” Victorian paintings. Polysèmes, Société des amis d’inter-textes (SAIT), 2016, L’or et l’art, 10.4000/polysemes.860. hal-02092857 HAL Id: hal-02092857 https://hal-normandie-univ.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02092857 Submitted on 8 Apr 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Fantasied images of women: representations of myths of the golden apples in “classic” Victorian Paintings This article proposes to examine the treatment of Greek myths of the golden apples in paintings by late-Victorian artists then categorized in contemporary reception as “classical” or “classic.” These terms recur in many reviews published in periodicals.1 The artists concerned were trained in the academic and neoclassical Continental tradition, and they turned to Antiquity for their forms and subjects.
    [Show full text]
  • Wilde's World
    Wilde’s World Anne Anderson Aesthetic London Wilde appeared on London’s cultural scene at a propitious moment; with the opening of the Grosvenor Gallery in May 1877 the Aesthetes gained the public platform they had been denied. Sir Coutts Lindsay and his wife Blanche, who were behind this audacious enterprise, invited Edward Burne-Jones, George Frederick Watts, and James McNeill Whistler to participate in the first exhibition; all had suffered rejections from the Royal Academy.1 The public were suddenly confronted with the avant-garde, Pre-Raphaelitism, Symbolism, and even French Naturalism. Wilde immediately recognized his opportunity, as few would understand “Art for Art’s sake,” that paintings no longer had to be didactic or moralizing. Rather, the function of art was to appeal to the senses, to focus on color, form, and composition. Moreover, the aesthetes blurred the distinction between the fine and decorative arts, transforming wallpapers and textiles into objets d’art. The goal was to surround oneself with beauty, to create a House Beautiful. Wilde hitched his star to Aestheticism while an undergraduate at Oxford; his rooms were noted for their beauty, the panelled walls thickly hung with old engravings and contemporary prints by Burne-Jones and filled with exquisite objects: Blue and White Oriental porcelain, Tanagra statuettes brought back from Greece, and Persian rugs. He was also aware of the controversy surrounding Aestheticism; debated in the Oxford and Cambridge Undergraduate in April and May 1877, the magazine at first praised the movement as a civilizing influence. It quickly recanted, as it sought “‘implicit sanction’” for “‘Pagan worship of bodily form and beauty’” and renounced morals in the name of liberty (Ellmann 85, emphasis in original).
    [Show full text]
  • Elizabeth and Harold Hinds
    Elizabeth and Harold Hinds Imholte Hall, University of Minnesota-Morris Imholte Hall, Main Floor Walk-in Display Huichol yarn art. This piece depicts a ceiba tree with a bird. Beside it a man shoots a bow and arrow. Other insect- like forms fly about. These hallucinatory images are traditional for the Huicholes, who used peyote to bring on visions. Originally a traditional art form, yarn paintings became popular as tourist art. This piece was purchased at Tlaquepaque, a town just outside of Guadalajara, in the 1970’s. The story on the back reads: Los Huicholes no conocían el maíz en tiempos antiguos. Una vez un niño se enteró de que había gente allende las montañas “que tienen algo que llaman maíz,” y fue en su busaca. En camino se encontró con un grupo de hombres que le dijeron que (h)iba a comprar maíz y el, confiando, les acompañó. Lo que no sabía es que esa gente eran en realidad hormigas (los insectos en esta ilustración). La Gente Hormiga que ro(b)e todo lo que encuentra. Al llegar la madrugada se despertó. Bajo un gran pino y descubrió que le habían roido (robado) toda la ropa, el cabello e inclusive las cejas, y que solamente le quedaban el arco y las flechas. Oyó que un pájaro se pasaba en un árbol, y le apuntó con una flecha, pues tenía hambre. El pájaro le reveló que era Tatey Kukurú Uimári, Nuestra Madre Paloma Muchacha, la Madre del Maíz. Le dijo que siguiera a su casa, donde le daría maíz. Translation: The Huichol people didn’t know about maize in ancient times.
    [Show full text]
  • Turmoil and Change in Mexico
    4 Turmoil and Change in Mexico MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES REVOLUTION Political, Mexico has moved toward • Antonio López •Francisco economic, and social political democracy and is a de Santa Anna Madero inequalities in Mexico triggered strong economic force in the • Benito Juárez •“Pancho” Villa a period of revolution and Americas. •La Reforma •Emiliano reform. •Porfirio Díaz Zapata SETTING THE STAGE The legacy of Spanish colonialism and long-term polit- ical instability that plagued the newly emerging South American nations caused problems for Mexico as well. Mexico, however, had a further issue to contend with—a shared border with the United States. The “Colossus of the North,” as the United States was known in Latin America, wanted to extend its territory all the way west to the Pacific Ocean. But most of the lands in the American Southwest belonged to Mexico. TAKING NOTES Santa Anna and the Mexican War Comparing Use a chart to compare the major During the early 19th century, no one dominated Mexican political life more than accomplishments of the Antonio López de Santa Anna. Santa Anna played a leading role in Mexico’s Mexican leaders fight for independence from Spain in 1821. In 1829, he fought against Spain discussed in this section. again as the European power tried to regain control of Mexico. Then, in 1833, Santa Anna became Mexico’s president. Major Leader One of Latin America’s most powerful caudillos, Santa Anna was a clever Accomplishment politician. He would support a measure one year and oppose it the next if he thought that would keep him in power.
    [Show full text]
  • The Blue House: the Intimate Universe of Frida Kahlo
    The Blue House: The Intimate Universe of Frida Kahlo “Never in life will I forget your presence. You found me torn apart and you took me back full and complete.” Frida Kahlo By delving into the knowledge of Frida Kahlo's legacy, one discovers the intense relationship that exists between Frida, her work and her home. Her creative universe is to be found in the Blue House, the place where she was born and where she died. Following her marriage to Diego Rivera, Frida lived in different places in Mexico City and abroad, but she always returned to her family home in Coyoacan. Located in one of the oldest and most beautiful neighborhoods in Mexico City, the Blue House was made into a museum in 1958, four years after the death of the painter. Today it is one of the most visited museums in the Mexican capital. Popularly known as the Casa Azul (the ‘Blue House’), the Museo Frida Kahlo preserves the personal objects that reveal the private universe of Latin America’s most celebrated woman artist. The Blue House also contains some of the painter’s most important works: Long Live Life (1954), Frida and the Caesarian Operation (1931), and Portrait of My Father Wilhelm Kahlo (1952), among others. In the room she used during the day is the bed with the mirror on the ceiling, set up by her mother after the bus accident in which Frida was involved on her way home from the National Preparatory School. During her long convalescence, while she was bedridden for nine months, Frida began to paint portraits.
    [Show full text]
  • Outline of United States Federal Indian Law and Policy
    Outline of United States federal Indian law and policy The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to United States federal Indian law and policy: Federal Indian policy – establishes the relationship between the United States Government and the Indian Tribes within its borders. The Constitution gives the federal government primary responsibility for dealing with tribes. Law and U.S. public policy related to Native Americans have evolved continuously since the founding of the United States. David R. Wrone argues that the failure of the treaty system was because of the inability of an individualistic, democratic society to recognize group rights or the value of an organic, corporatist culture represented by the tribes.[1] U.S. Supreme Court cases List of United States Supreme Court cases involving Indian tribes Citizenship Adoption Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30 (1989) Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, 530 U.S. _ (2013) Tribal Ex parte Joins, 191 U.S. 93 (1903) Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U.S. 49 (1978) Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30 (1989) South Dakota v. Bourland, 508 U.S. 679 (1993) Civil rights Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 U.S. 191 (1978) United States v. Wheeler, 435 U.S. 313 (1978) Congressional authority Ex parte Joins, 191 U.S. 93 (1903) White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 U.S. 136 (1980) California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, 480 U.S. 202 (1987) South Dakota v. Bourland, 508 U.S. 679 (1993) United States v.
    [Show full text]
  • Finding Aid for the Lola Alvarez Bravo Archive, 1901-1994 AG 154
    Center for Creative Photography The University of Arizona 1030 N. Olive Rd. P.O. Box 210103 Tucson, AZ 85721 Phone: 520-621-6273 Fax: 520-621-9444 Email: [email protected] URL: http://creativephotography.org Finding aid for the Lola Alvarez Bravo Archive, 1901-1994 AG 154 Finding aid updated by Meghan Jordan, June 2016 AG 154: Lola Alvarez Bravo Archive, 1901-1994 - page 2 Lola Alvarez Bravo Archive, 1901-1994 AG 154 Creator Bravo, Lola Alvarez Abstract Photographic materials (1920s-1989) of the Mexican photographer Lola Alvarez Bravo (1903 [sometimes birth date is recorded as 1907] -1993). Includes extensive files of negatives from throughout her career. A small amount of biographical materials, clippings, and publications (1901-1994) are included. The collection has been fully processed. A complete inventory is available. Quantity/ Extent 32 linear feet Language of Materials Spanish English Biographical Note Lola Álvarez Bravo was born Dolores Martínez de Anda in 1903 in Lagos de Moreno, a small city in Jalisco on Mexico's Pacific coast. She moved to Mexico City as a young child, after her mother left the family under mysterious circumstances. Her father died when she was a young teenager, and she was then sent to live with the family of her half brother. It was here that she met the young Manuel Alvarez Bravo, a neighbor. They married in 1925 and moved to Oaxaca where Manuel was an accountant for the federal government. Manuel had taken up photography as an adolescent; he taught Lola and they took pictures together in Oaxaca. Manuel also taught Lola how to develop film and make prints in the darkroom.
    [Show full text]