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National Algonquin Indian Council records

 Collection
Call Number: WA MSS S-3671

Content Description

Correspondence, minutes, membership cards, printed material, and other records by or relating to the National Algonquin Indian Council (NAIC) and photograph albums and loose photographs belonging to the Perry and Farrow families of Rhode Island, 1924-1980s. Founding documents, correspondence, minutes, and treasurer's notes of the NAIC kept by secretary Annie Frances Perry Farrow, daughter of Narragansett chief Alfred C. A. Perry. Also present is a cast-iron hand-press notary seal of the NAIC. Records chronicle the membership and activities of the council as it sought to practice ancestral traditions, engage in community building, and secure equality through political action. There is also a scrapbook assembled by Barbara Farrow, containing newspaper clippings, photographs, correspondence, and documents acquired from her mother, Annie Frances Perry Farrow, with materials dating between the 1920s and 1980s. In addition, there are 3 photograph albums containing 118 photographs, some with manuscript captions; 3 negatives; 10 tintype photographs (2 framed); and 44 loose photographs of the Perry family and family farm as well as the Farrow family, who are of both Native American and African-American descent. There are 2 photographs of NAIC members, 1923 December 13 and circa 1920. There is also a file of research on the Fayerweather family.

Dates

  • 1850-2017
  • Majority of material found within 1924-1980s

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The National Algonquin Indian Council Records is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

From the collection of Barbara Hall Farrow Gross, granddaughter of Narragansett chief Alfred C. A. Perry. Purchased from Robert H. Rubin Books on the Walter McClintock Memorial Fund, 2018.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by format.

Extent

6.92 Linear Feet (8 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.natalgonquin

Abstract

Correspondence, minutes, membership cards, printed material, scrapbook, and other records by or relating to the National Algonquin Indian Council (NAIC), a pan-Indian organization founded in New England in the 1920s. Materials chronicle the membership and activities of the council as it sought to practice ancestral traditions, engage in community building, and secure equality through political action. Also present is a scrapbook assembled by Barbara Farrow, daughter of NAIC secretary Annie Frances Perry Farrow, as well as photograph albums and loose photographs (including tintype photographs) belonging to the Perry family and Farrow family--the latter being of both Native American and African-American descent--of Rhode Island, circa 1905-1960, undated.

Biographical / Historical

The National Algonquin Indian Council was founded in 1926. It was preceded by the Algonquin Indian Council of New England, which was founded in 1923. A Pan-American Indian movement, its purpose was to validate the ancestry of descendants of approximately 30 different Algonquin tribes. Alfred C. A. Perry, Narragansett chief, was among the council's founders. His daughter, Annie Frances Perry Farrow, served as the council’s secretary.

Processing Information

Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.

These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards. For more information, please refer to the Beinecke Manuscript Unit Processing Manual.

Title
Guide to the National Algonquin Indian Council Records
Status
Completed
Author
Sarah Lerner
Date
July 2019
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

Contact:
P. O. Box 208330
New Haven CT 06520-8330 US
(203) 432-2977

Location

121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours

Access Information

The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.