The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 95, July 1991 - April, 1992 Page: 269

Book Reviews

Missing are battle sites and column commanders. In general, campaigns on the
northern plains seem to be much better covered than those to the south.
Nevertheless, the Atlas of Amencan Indian Af/ans is a useful research volume.
But even though it is relatively thorough, scholars will seldom find it as detailed
on a specific region or topic as they would wish. But because it has a far greater
variety of maps than any previous atlas, it is sure to become a standard addition
to the reference sections of most libraries.
Arkansas State Unwerszty CHARLES KENNER
American Indian Resource Material in the Western History Collectzons, University of
Oklahoma. Edited by Donald L. DeWitt. (Norman: University of Oklahoma
Press, 199o. Pp. xiii+272. Preface, illustrations, black-and-white photos,
contributors, index. $32.95.)
This excellent book is a guide to the Indian-related holdings in the Western
History Collections at the University of Oklahoma. The text is divided into four
main parts that describe manuscript collections, photographic archives, oral
histories, and materials located in the Library Division of the Western History
Collections. Each section of the book has a brief introduction followed by anno-
tated collection entries or publication titles for quick reference.
Part I contains 269 entries that describe both processed and unprocessed
manuscript collections. These holdings provide primary documentation for
nineteenth-century historical events in Oklahoma Indian Territory. A few
manuscript collections focus on twentieth-century topics such as the American
Indian Institute, Cherokee Bilingual Education Project, and Oklahoma Indian
Rights Association.
Part 2 provides information about ninety-five photographic collections.
The Photographic Archives have more than 250,ooo glass-plate negatives,
prints, motion-picture films, and videotapes. These photographs represent
major tribes of Oklahoma and the western United States from 1870 to 1940.
Researchers will encounter studio portraits, family collections, and collector-
originated photographs. Items of special interest include images of individual
Indians, prints of early Texas history, and wild west shows.
Part 3 surveys the sound recordings and oral history collection. Over 1,800
sound recordings on discs, reels, wire, and tapes contain material of interest to
linguists, musicians, historians, and other scholars. Two sources that clearly re-
flect an Indian perspective are the Indians For Indians Hour Collection and
the Duke Oral History Project. The former includes radio recordings of music
and news from the Indian community between 1943 and 1964. The later
project consists of interviews begun in 1967 with 450 Indians.
Part 4 concludes with a description of the book collections, published oral
histories, microform holdings, and Indian newspapers and periodicals located
in the Library Division of the Western History Collections. The Frank Phillips
and Alan W. Farley book collections are especially useful for American Indian
studies. The published Indian-Pioneer oral histories compiled by the Works
Progress Administration and the reports of the Indian Claims Commission
provide other significant sources for historical research.

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