A Summer of Searching: Conducting a survey of APS materials relating to the Diné and Yale University's relationship with Indigenous people

This summer I came to Philadelphia through the Native American Scholars Initiative (NASI) Internship. When I first arrived, I did not know what I was going to research. All I knew was that I wanted to look at as much of the Diné material as possible. As a Yale undergraduate, I also wanted to learn more about Yale University’s relationship with Indigenous people. 

Ruth Rouvier, the NASI Engagement Coordinator, suggested that I do a survey of the Diné materials and materials pertaining to the relationship between Yale and Indigenous people at the American Philosophical Society. I decided to do this to prepare for upcoming research relating to my senior thesis and other research projects. Additionally, doing a survey of the Diné materials at the APS will aid me in the future as I continue to do historical research on my community and connect with other Diné scholars. 

While at the APS, I encountered many materials that intrigued me, such as correspondence in the John Alden Mason Papers to David M. Brugge. Brugge is a researcher of the Diné, whose name I recognized from previous research. I read the letters hoping to find any mention of the Navajo Nation or any details about Brugge’s research. Within the correspondence, there was a letter sent by Brugge from Aneth, Utah which is near where my mother grew up. Brugge described his participation in a Native American Church ceremony and how he was welcomed. During my survey, there were other materials similar to this that I found personal connections with.

As part of the internship, I also went outside of the APS to discover other materials relating to my interests. In the beginning of the internship, we met and collaborated with a Latin American Studies Program at UPenn. I traveled to New York with them, where I saw an exhibit called Shaped By the Loom: Weaving Worlds in the American Southwest that showcased many Diné weavings and told the history behind them. My grandmother is a Diné weaver. I grew up watching her weave beautiful rugs, pillows, and biil dresses. She inspired my research project at Yale, where I will be researching the persistence of traditional Diné weaving in times of forced cultural assimilation. At the exhibit, I was able to learn more about the history of Diné weaving and encountered secondary sources that could be useful to my research. 

In relation to the materials about Yale's relationship with Indigenous people, I read a paper by William Fenton, a previous Yale professor, about the Indigenous people of Connecticut in the paper “The Connecticut Algonkians.” In this paper there were details about Yale’s relationship with Indigenous people during Yale’s founding and information on Yale’s research on Indigenous people that ranged from linguistic study to archeological excavations. Fenton also included a list of cited sources that I hope to look at once I am at school.

This survey at the APS and the NASI internship have been very helpful to my future endeavors. I hope to compile all of the materials I looked at within a Zotero folder, along with placing any photos with the cited materials. I will continue to look at these resources as I continue with my research this upcoming school year. 

I hope to come back to the APS and Philadelphia to continue my research on Yale University’s relationship with Indigenous people. There remain many linear feet to be explored.