History

Scope and Contents The American Indian Oral History and Omaha Folklore Project Oral History Collection contains oral history interviews of Native Americans in Omaha, Nebraska as well as interviews collected as part of a program called the Oral History Collection of the Omaha Folklore Project. The interviews cover the cultures and personal histories of interviewees in the U.S. as well as leaving Europe in the first half of the 20th Century. Topics of discussion include life in Omaha, World War I, the Great...

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The oral history interview with Andrea Olivo concerning her life growing up as an Omaha Indian living in the city of Omaha, Nebraska was conducted by UNO student Garnie O. Peterson on November 22, 1975. Olivo spoke largely about the education of herself, her parents, and American Indians in general. She also compared her experiences to that of American Indians that lived on reservations and other minority groups including Chicanos/ Latinos and African Americans.

Scope and Contents The oral history interview with Don LaPointe was conducted by UNO student Pauline Pesek on October 30, 1975. The interview covered his position as the Tribal Chairman of the Santee Sioux Reservation in Niobrara, Nebraska and as the manager of the newly created Becton-Dickinson Plant on the Santee Sioux Reservation. LaPointe spoke mostly on the creation of the Becton-Dickinson Plant on the Santee Sioux Reservation and his opinions on current Indian Affairs, including the American Indian...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview with Edward Witczak about his position as a Catholic priest on the Menominee Indian Reservation in northeastern Wisconsin was conducted by UNO student Elizabeth M. Cerra on November 4, 1975. Witczak spoke about some of the recent history of the reservation, including the change between a reservation to a county and back again due to the federal government termination policy. He also talked about clashes of the Menominee traditional religion and Christianity that he...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview with Gilbert C. Walking Bull and Montana H.R. Walking Bull was conducted by S. I. (Sam) Myers on November 14, 1975. Through research and context clues in this interviewed, it has been inferred that the interviewees were artists and authors Montana Hopkins Richards Walking Bull and Gilbert Charles Richards Walking Bull. Montana was a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and Gilbert was a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe. They were co-authors of several books...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview with James Wilson concerning the trials after the occupation of Wounded Knee was conducted on October 25, 1975 by UNO student Richard W. Peterson. Wilson was a United States Magistrate in charge of all of the Wounded Knee trials. He began the interview with background information about the local tribes and reservations and their judicial processes. Then, he talked largely on the specifics of the trials, bail hearings, and difficulties he encountered. Wislon ended...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview of Peter J. Peters about the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska during the Blackbird Bend Litigation was conducted by UNO student Richard W. Peterson on January 23, 1976. The court case was between the Omaha Indian Reservation and private landowners om Blackbird Bend, Iowa. The sides disagreed on who owned what portion of land because of the many changes in the Missouri River since the Treaty of 1854. Peters discussed the history of the case, the current status of the...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview of Phillip White Hawk was conducted by John M. McNamara on April 13, 1977. Mr. White Hawk shared his experiences as a Native American man living on various Indian reservations and in different regions of the U.S. in the 1940s through 1970s. White Hawk shared in-depth information concerning his joint art project, Symbolic Americana, that connected Native American values with universal spirituality. He also discussed the social issues facing Americans in the...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview of Regina Brave (Sioux) conducted by UNO student Emmett Hoctor on November 7, 1975 covers the state of American Indians in the United States. Brave covered many topics including her experiences with the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, involvement with the American Indian Movement, and several specific political protests. Brave shared her opinion on the United States government involvement in governing Indian people stating that they should be sovereign...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview with Robert Bennett, Oneida, was conducted by S. I. (Sam) Myers on October 14, 1975. Bennett was the first person to work his way up from junior clerk to commissioner in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He was only the second individual of Native American heritage to become commissioner. Bennett shared his experiences from his career working on, and with, a great number of reservations. He also discussed the American Indian Movement (AIM) and its impact on Native...

Scope and Contents The recording of the Sioux Indian Board of Directors at the Omaha Sioux Indian Center in Omaha, Nebraska was conducted by UNO student Emmett Hoctor on November 10, 1975. The first speaker was identified as Alex Lunderman, Sioux. Other identified speakers include Charles Scutter, Louie Mooncamp, Steven Greenberg. The male and female board members spoke about the Wounded Knee Trials and their plans to support their fellow American Indians in the trials for the first part of the recording...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview with Tom LaBlanc concerning his involvement with the American Indian Movement (AIM) and his activism for American Indians was conducted by UNO student Emmett Hoctor on January 12, 1976. LaBlanc shared his opinions on the then-current situation of Indian affairs and the position of the federal government in relation to Native American communities. LaBlanc shared stories from his childhood, about his family, and about his involvement with activism, AIM, the Trail of...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview of Wallace McClellan was conducted by UNO student Sandra Baxter on March 19, 1976. McClellan was a full-blooded member of the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma. His great-great-great grandfather was Black Hawk, war chief of the Sauk tribe who lead a band of warriors during the Black Hawk War of 1832. In his interview, McClellan shared his stories about being a baseball player and playing the trumpet. He also discussed his brother's exploits as an entertainer for a...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview with William J. Riedman was conducted by UNO student Mary Lyons on April 29, 1977. Riedman was the lawyer for Victor Robinson and he discussed the lawsuit against the Omaha Tribal Council. The lawsuit centered around the election of 1974. Reidman discussed the issues of the case, tribal election rules, the federal government and the Bureau of Indian Affairs involvement in the case, and how the case ended. He also mentioned the link between the Indian Civil Rights...

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The collection includes correspondence, notes, a bibliography of G. E. Howard's writings, a portfolio, scrapbooks, and papers relating to various seminars.  Most of the materials relate to history of the United States circa the colonial and Revolutionary War period and to legal history.  Some materials relate to ancient Roman and English history and to Howard's personal interests and activities.

Scope and Contents The oral history interview of Betty Robertson conducted by UNO student Janet Hopkins on August 17, 1977 covers her experiences during the Great Depression. Robertson described what it was like for her to grow up in Central City, a small town in Nebraska, during the Great Depression. She discussed the time period from the stock market crash in 1929 to World War II. She explained several different aspects of the Great Depression such as the scarcity of jobs and how programs through the New...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview of Daniel R. Gruenig was conducted by UNO student Barbara Gruenig on December 5, 1976. Gruenig was an Omaha, Nebraska resident all of his life. He talked about the city of Omaha during the Great Depression. He shared the story of how his parents came to meet in Omaha when the city was young and rapidly expanding. He also talked about his memories of the layout of the city of Omaha including the growth and changing technology for transportation in the city. He also...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview of Dr. Mitchel Cegielski was conducted by Andrew S. Fidler on April 4, 1977. Dr. Cegielski was a Polish physician who emigrated to the United States from Poland with his family in the 1950s and eventually settled in Omaha, Nebraska. In the interview Dr. Cegielski talked about his life and experiences while living in Poland during World War II. In particular, Cegielski compared German and Russian-occupied Poland. Dr. Cegielski also discussed his experiences after...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview of Edward Sweeney was conducted by UNO student Ronald Bartlett on May 6, 1977. Sweeney was born in Beebeetown, Iowa and spent the majority of his youth in hard labor after his father and some of his younger siblings died. Sweeney joined the U.S. Marine Corps during World War I and spent the war fighting in France. Once he returned to the U.S. after WWI, he worked in a variety of different jobs including for the Miami police force on eliminating gangs. Sweeney held...

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The oral history interview with Francis A. Merrell concerning his life growing up in Western Nebraska during the Great Depression was conducted by UNO student Kathy Moore on April 16, 1977. Merrell spoke about his jobs, his daily life in Gibbon, Nebraska, what he did for entertainment, farming, and his opinions on the politics of the time.

Scope and Contents The oral history interview of Harold Becker regarding his experiences and knowledge of the history of Omaha, Nebraska from the 1890s to the 1970s was conducted by UNO student Mary Lyons on October 6, 1978. Becker highlighted prominent figures in Omaha's history, important events, local politics, and community division and diversity. Becker wrote an Omaha history column for the Omaha Sun newspaper, so his interview includes a mix of his personal recollections along with recounting episodes...

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The oral history interview with Harold Buscher was conducted by Carla Neilson on May 3, 1977. In the interview Buscher talked about his experience working in a packing company during the Great Depression, daily life, and his thoughts on U.S. presidents.

Scope and Contents The oral history interview of Hazel Livingston was conducted by UNO student Dennis Stone on November 15, 1976. Livingston was born and raised in a low income family in Omaha, Nebraska. In her interview, Livingston talked about her life during the Great Depression. Because her family was already in poverty, Livingston related that she did not feel a significant change during those hard times. However, Livingston did recall the worry she felt from her parents and friends during this time. Even...

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The oral history interview of James Welsh was conducted by UNO student Dennis Stone on November 20, 1976. Welsh lived in Ottumwa, Iowa, and was a teenager when the Great Depression began. He talked about surviving the Great Depression and how every family member worked to contribute to the family's survival during this difficult era. He remembered the joys of spending time with his family and, especially, listening to the radio at his brother's house.

Scope and Contents The oral history interview of Julia (Inga) Eberhart by UNO student William H. Turner, Jr. on February 2, 1979 is about Bellevue, Nebraska. Eberhart discussed what the city of Bellevue, Nebraska, was like from the 1900s through the 1950s. Eberhard talked about the people, businesses, and buildings in Bellevue and what it was like to grow up in what was then a farming community. Eberhart also talked about her first and second husbands and other families and friends that she knew in...

Scope and Contents The oral history interview with Leonard L. Lancaster concerning his youth during the Great Depression was conducted by his granddaughter and UNO student Barbara Gruenig on April 15, 1977. Lancaster mostly spoke about how the Depression affected his employment and way of life and his eventual move from rural Kansas to Omaha, Nebraska. He also talked about entertainment and his opinions on the then current (1977) economic state of the United States, and what it would be like if the country had...

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The oral history interview of Lottie Kubicki about her experiences in Czechoslovakia and Germany in the 1930s-1950s was conducted by UNO student Connie Miller on April 30, 1977. Kubicki was taken from her home in Czechoslovakia and sent to Germany in 1945 at the end of World War II because her family was German. From there, she discussed finding her family again in East Germany, moving to West Germany, and eventually immigrating to the United States.

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The oral history interview with Madeline Haury was conducted by Robert K. Haury on April 20, 1977. Haury lived on a farm during the Great Depression. In the interview, Madeline Haury shared details of the Great Depression and some of her opinions on U.S. Presidents and federal aid programs created during the Great Depression. Haury felt that there were positives and negative side effects of federal programs, especially concerning welfare or social safety net programs.

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The oral history interview with Margery Rosenthal was conducted by her son and UNO student Thomas Rosenthal on May 5, 1977. Rosenthal predominantly discussed conditions while living in rural Iowa during the Great Depression. Rosenthal spoke about life during the Great Depression in particular living and working on a farm, her thoughts on the politics of the time, life during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the end of the war and Great Depression.

Scope and Contents The oral history interview of Mildred M. Grey was conducted by UNO student Janet Pistille on May 2, 1977. Grey grew up on a farm near Maryville, Missouri. Grey was a young woman during the Great Depression era. Grey talked about how her family produced almost all of their own household goods as there was no money to be had at the time. As an example of this, she described the steps for making a variety of soaps. Grey also talked about how the changing technology, such as washing machines and...