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Willow Powers collection, 1998-2001

NAU.MS.278
NAU.OH.1998.96

Biographical Note

Willow Powers (nee Willow Anne Roberts) was born in London, England in 1943. She spent her childhood years in England, Malta, and Canada. Powers studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, going on to work for the Conservative Party in London. In 1964, Powers moved to New York City, where she worked a variety of jobs, including working for Oxford University Press, the Circle in the Square Theater School, and for Tandler Textiles. In 1979, Powers moved to Albuquerque to pursue her PhD in anthropology at the University of New Mexico, which she completed in 1997. That same year she met Jo and Sam Drolet and became interested in Indian traders. This interest led to her first book, Stokes Carson: Twentieth Century Trading on the Navajo Reservation (1987).

Powers then moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she eventually settled. She met archaeologist Robert "Bob" P. Powers, whom she later married, during a field project in Chaco Canyon. In Santa Fe, Powers worked as an archivist for the Wheelwright Museum Indian, a role she held for 22 years. In addition to her career as an archivist, Powers taught Anthropology at the University of New Mexico and the University of Iowa. In 2001, she published Navajo Trading: The End of an Era. Power's final book, Transcription Techniques for the Spoken Word (2005).

In addition to her own research, Powers was involved in several projects including helping to foster interest and training in archives in Native American communities. Powers is cited by Karen Underhill as a contributor to the project which would eventually result in the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials(2006). In 2016, Powers donated money to the Wheelwright to establish the Robert and Willow Powers Archival Outreach Program.

Willow Roberts Powers died in Santa Fe on December 21, 2018.

Information in this biographical note is derived from Powers' obituary in the Santa Fe New Mexican, January 2-6, 2019.

Scope and Content

The Willow Powers collection consists of research files (NAU.MS.278) used to write the book Navajo Trading: The End of an Era (2001). The book, a history of the United Indian Traders Association (UITA), chronicles trade on the Navajo Nation (then Navajo Indian Reservation), primarily during the last half of the 20th century. Collection materials provide insights into the efforts of of the Navajo legal aid organization Dinebeiina Nahilna Be Agaditahe (DNA Legal Services) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in creating new regulations over the practice of pawn. Powers collected FTC records, reports, newspaper accounts, and UITA records in crafting her book.

The oral history interview portion of Powers' project (NAU.OH.1998.96) was funded by a grant from the United Indian Traders Association through the Northern Arizona University Foundation. Oral history interviews were conducted by Powers in collaboration with staff from Cline Library's Specail Collections (now Special Collections and Archives), in collaboration with the Navajo National Historic Preservation Division.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

Due to a lack of necessary playback equipment and fragility of the materials, audio cassettes in the Oral history interviews group (NAU.OH.1998.96) are not accessible for access and use in the Miriam Lemont Reading Room. Please contact Special Collections and Archives at least three weeks in advance to request access.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for Northern Arizona University, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Related Material

Controlled Access Terms

Administrative Information

Digital Material Available

SCA staff digitized selected oral history interviews from the Willow Powers collection in 2018. Digitized oral history interviews are available online via the Colorado Plateau Digital Collections. Select "Colorado Plateau Archives." Use the advanced search menu to search for "Willow Powers" in the "Creator" field or in the "Collection name" field, or search "NAU.OH.1998.96" in the "Call number" field.

Click here to view all digitized material from the Willow Powers collection.

Preferred Citation

[Title or brief description of file or item.] Willow Powers collection [manuscripts], NAU.MS.278, Box [ ], Folder [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. Northern Arizona University. Cline Library. Flagstaff, Arizona.

[Title or brief description of file or item.] Willow Powers collection [oral histories], NAU.OH.1998.96.[ ]. Special Collections and Archives. Northern Arizona University. Cline Library. Flagstaff, Arizona.

Acquisition Information

Willow Roberts Powers donated collection materials to Cline Library in 2001.

Processing Information

Processed in 2001 by Shannon Langeley. Finding aid updated by Samantha Meier in 2021.

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