Mari Sandoz Research Collection

This research collection is composed almost exclusively of documents photocopied from other sources. The copies were made and grouped by Dr. Helen Stauffer, a former professor of English at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (formerly Kearney State College). While the originals for these documents likely exist in other locations, it is suspected that some are of material that has since been destroyed, making these the only surviving version. This selection of correspondence is primarily related to Mari’s publishing and research efforts.

The Mari Sandoz Research collection consists of five archival boxes of records. Four of these boxes were arranged in chronological order. An item-level list has been prepared with the author, recipient and dates of correspondence ranging from 1925 to 1966. In many instances annotations are present - explaining who a writer or recipient was (or may have been if their full name was not discernible). In situations where information is uncertain or unknown, that text is presented inside square brackets.

The final folder in the fourth box consists exclusively of correspondence between Mari Sandoz and Eleanor Hinman - these are copies found elsewhere in the collection, concentrated here in no particular chronological order. The file also contains some of Stauffer’s research notes and annotations.

The final box in the collection is comprised of correspondence grouped into files, most of which are unlabeled with no discernable chronological or thematic order. A large percentage are duplicates from the first four boxes, interfiled with other letters not found elsewhere in the collection. The final file contains documentation relevant to a number of oral interview cassette tapes that Helen Stauffer made; and details that copies were distributed to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, UNK and the Mari Sandoz Society. (Note: the Society’s collection is currently loaned out to the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center located on the Chadron State College campus).