Center for Basque Studies Newsletter ISSN: 1537-2464 The William A. Douglass Center for Basque Studies N E W S L E T T E R 50th Anniversary: A History of the WINTER Center for Basque Studies 2016 It was in the early 1960s that the Desert NUMBER 84 Research Institute, a division of the University of Nevada, began to discuss the possibility of establishing a Basque Studies Program. Robert Laxalt had just founded the University of Nevada Press CBS Mission and History in 1961 and would become an advocate The Center for Basque Studies’ mis- for the Basque program at UNR. This sion is to conduct, facilitate, and same year, Wendell Mordy, President of disseminate original Basque-related DRI, brought three anthropologists to The Center in 2017 research in the humanities and so- discuss some ideas as to how the Insti- son to do fieldwork in the fall of 1963, Bill cial sciences, in cooperation with appropriate academic departments tute should expand in the area of social returned to Reno to work in construction. at UNR, as well as at other American sciences: Fred Eggan, chairman of the A cousin introduced him to Robert Laxalt, and foreign universities. The Center Department of Anthropology at the Uni- who was about to go to the Basque Country for Basque Studies is the leading versity of Chicago, Omer Stewart from himself for a sabbatical year. The DRI had research and educational institute of the University of Colorado, and Robert hired him as a consultant to look into, from its kind outside the European Basque Heizer from Berkeley. They proposed the perspective of the Basque Country, the homeland with a unique tutorial to study the archeology and culture of whole idea of Basque studies. Ph.D. program and an active publish- ing house that produces books on a the Great Basin Indians, such as the In July 1967, Bill Douglass became “co- wide variety of Basque-related topics. Washoe and Paiute, among others. At one ordinator” of the Basque Studies Program point Omer Stewart observed, in Pedro (BSP) at DRI. He had had other academic Oiarzabal’s great history of the Center, offers and had been somewhat ambivalent keep up with us on A Candle in the Night, “You’ve got all of about returning to his hometown, but one these sheepherders in the Great Basin; guesses that his friendships with Basque our blog: plus, the Basques in Europe are kind of a priests and farmers were decisive in his mystery people. So why don’t you have a decision to return to Reno. Soon thereafter, basquebooks. little Basque studies program within your Bill recruited bibliographer Jon Bilbao to blogs.unr.edu center?” (p. 5). DRI was intrigued by the join him in 1968. “I have always considered idea and accepted it in principle. Bob Laxalt, Jon Bilbao, and myself as the Luckily there was a graduate student in founders of the Basque Studies Program,” Chicago’s anthropology department who had an interest in the Basques. Eggan approached him about the meeting at DRI, adding that he had dropped his name and hoped he didn’t mind. That student was William A. Douglass. Bill replied “okay,” even if he was still years away from his own doctorate and nobody An annual publication of the Center for Basque Studies knew whether DRI’s idea would materi- University of Nevada, Reno alize into anything concrete. Before going Jon Bilbao (left) and Bill Douglass Reno, NV 89557-2322 to the Basque Country with his wife and during the Center’s early days 1 Center for Basque Studies Newsletter Bill once told Pedro Oiarzabal as shared The series then brought out Amerikanuak in A Candle in the Night (pp. 6–7). But it in 1975. Under Douglass’s direction the se- was Bill who really began the whole ad- ries became a remarkable success, publish- venture and steered the initiative—even ing around fifty volumes on a wide range of if he was fond of comparing the BSP to Basque academic and general issues. a bumpy car driven by two drivers at By the time Bill Douglass retired in 1999, once, one of them (Jon) with one foot the Basque Studies Program had changed on the gas, the other (Bill) with one foot its name to the Center for Basque Studies. on the brake. Joseba Zulaika became the new director. One of their initial trips landed The Center experienced a new period of them in Elko, where Jon worked in growth in which faculty positions doubled the archives and interviewed people, from 2.5 to 5. The Center formed an Ad- while Bill headed for the sheep camps. visory Board, composed of prominent Basque-Americans, and the Center for Basque Studies Press began to publish about ten books annually. The Center ex- panded its research agenda considerably, offered new courses, doubled the size of its tutorial Ph.D. program, and became Linda White and Gorka Aulestia That trip grew into Amerikanuak, the groundbreaking work in Basque diaspo- ra studies that led Bilbao and Douglass Photos from the 2011 Elko Basque Festival to South America and other continents. Parade in downtown Elko, Nevada Jon Bilbao and Jill Berner In the process of writing that book they also gathered materials for the Basque more involved in the activities of Basque- Buy Basque Books library collection at UNR, which had American communities in the United already begun with the purchase of States. From 2009 until 2016, Sandra Ott And help support the work we Philippe Veyrin’s private library (a col- served as the Center’s chair and co-director. do at the lection of about 750 volumes). Xabier Irujo recently succeeded her and is Center for Basque Studies In 1972, the Basque Studies Program now the director. transferred from DRI to the Getchell In November 2015, the Center officially Call or visit Library building and occupied two became the William A. Douglass Center basquebooks.myshopify.com small basement rooms, quickly filled for Basque Studies, with the Basque Library with books. Bill and Jon began teaching renamed in honor of Jon Bilbao. In May of courses on the Basque language and 2016, a new sapling of the Tree of Gernika The Center for Basque Studies culture at UNR. They were also run- was planted in front of the Center. Eman Newsletter is published by: ning study-abroad summer sessions in ta zabal zazu munduan frutua—go forth Center for Basque Studies / 2322 the Basque Country. At the same time, and be fruitful. University of Nevada, Reno Bill and Bob Laxalt started the Basque During 2017, the William A. Douglass Reno, NV 89557-2322 Books Series at the University of Nevada Center for Basque Studies will celebrate Press, beginning with Rodney Gallop’s its fiftieth anniversary. The Center will e-mail us at: [email protected] A Book of the Basques. Laxalt’s master- organize and publicize a range of events to phone: 775.784.4854 piece, In a Hundred Graves, followed. mark that milestone. Stay tuned! fax: 775.784.1355 Please visit our web site at: www.basque.unr.edu Daniel Montero Publications Editor The University of Nevada, Reno is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action, ADA institu- tion. 11/2011, 7,900. The Center faculty, staff, graduate students, Basque Library staff, and visitor in November 2016 2 Center for Basque Studies Newsletter The William A. Douglass Chair in Basque Cultural Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst On September 26, 2016, the Department of migration upon her own theoretical essays Anthropology of the University of Massa- and ethnographic studies of Portuguese chusetts, Amherst, sponsored a ceremony migrants to Paris. Susan Carol Rogers, As- to inaugurate its new chair of Basque sociate Professor of Anthropology at New Cultural Studies, endowed by the Etxepare York University, reminisced about her Author Profile: Foundation. The day’s events began with a collaboration with Douglass in the found- symposium on “William A. Douglass and ing and early years of the Society for the Iban Zaldua the Anthropology of Europe.” Jacqueline Anthropology of Europe, a section of the The CBS was very proud to welcome author Urla, Department Chair, introduced the American Anthropological Association. Iban Zaldua to our list of published Basque symposium and Mari José Olaziregi, Direc- Joseba Zulaika, Professor at the Center for writers this year. Iban is a novelist and critic tor of University Relations for the Etxepare Basque Studies at the University of Nevada, who was born in Donostia-San Sebastián in Foundation, formally announced the cre- Reno, discussed his many projects with 1966. He currently lives in Vitoria-Gasteiz ation of the chair. Four speakers followed. Douglass over the years and their abiding and is a professor of Economic History Sharon Roseman, Professor of Anthropol- friendship. at the University of the Basque Country. ogy at Memorial University in Newfound- Later that day Douglass gave a public His previous fiction titles include: Ipuin land, Canada, situated Douglass’s work lecture entitled “Along for the Ride: Inter- euskaldunak (Basque Stories, co-authored in relation to new trends in the study of preting the Migrant Story.” Migration is with Gerardo Markuleta, 1999); Gezurrak, minority cultures and migration. Caroline this year’s theme for the College of Social gezurrak , gezurrak (Lies , lies, lies, 2000); Brettell, Altshuler Professor and Director and Behavioral Sciences at U Mass, and Traizioak (Betrayals, 2001), and La Isla de of the Dedman College Interdisciplinary there will be a monthly outside speaker Los Antropologos y Otros Relatos (Island of Institute at Southern Methodist University, on the topic. Douglass gave the inaugural Anthropologists, 2002).