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Robert Black collection, [195?] - 1996

MS-154

Biographical Note

Robert Black (1927-2003) grew up in New York City; it was here he received his undergraduate degree. Shortly afterwards he graduated from a masters program from the University of Illinois. In the mid-1950s, while pursuing a PhD in Anthropology from Indiana University, Black was persuaded by Carl Voegelin – Chair of the Department of Anthropology at Indiana University – to come to the Southwest and work with the Hopi as a way of narrowing a topic for his dissertation. He and fellow student Roy Albert – a Hopi – began their work in 1957 doing ethnographies throughout the reservation. This would continue for many summers. Black became quite close with the Albert family, and found acceptance amongst many Hopi. He was given a Hopi name – Letayhoya – meaning Little Grey Fox.

By 1966, Black had developed a close relationship with Tewa potter Edith Nash and her husband. Nash spoke fondly of her father, Irving Pabanale, and suggested that Black record his story for posterity. The following four summers, Black returned and interviewed Pabanale, but did not pursue any particular publication based on the recordings for over thirty years. During this time, Black published other works based on his research and time spent with the Hopi, whom he continued to visit most summers for the remainder of his life. In 1985, while teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, Black was approached by a friend who encouraged him to publish a book based on Pabanale’s life, so he spent many of the following summers drafting and editing a text. He retired from U.C. Berkeley in 1995. The manuscript complete by 1996, the publication was not released until 2001. Robert Black, then-Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at U.C. Berkeley, died two years later in November 2003.

Scope and Content

Records consist of a large amount of audio recordings of interviews and songs of individual Hopi community members from the late 1950s through the 1980s, as well as a brief series of textual transcriptions of a selection of the recordings. A group of recordings that precipitate and anticipate the writing of Black’s book about Irving Pabanale form a unique series; included in this series is a photocopy of the original unpublished manuscript. Many original reels have been transferred to new media, which are also part of the collection.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

Most of this material contains culturally sensitive information that is restricted for those without permission for access. The only item not subject to restriction is the transcript of an oral interview between Robert Black and Susan Olberding in 1996 (Series 3). The restriction was placed by staff at the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (HCPO). Please contact the MNA Archivist for more information and to obtain permission for viewing these materials.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Controlled Access Terms

Technological Requirements

The DAT cartridges require the use of a technology that is unavailable at MNA.

Administrative Information

Custodial History

Materials were in the custody of the creator – Robert Black – until their donation to the MNA Archives.

Preferred Citation

Robert Black collection, MS-154 [Box Number]. Museum of Northern Arizona. Flagstaff, Arizona.

Acquisition Information

The first accession of material was received from Robert Black in 1970. It was assigned accession # MS-154 by the MNA Library. An accrual (MS-291) was made in 1987 by Black. A further accrual was made by MNA staff member Susan Olberding in 1996. The last accrual to this collection was received from Robert Black in 2002.

Processing Information

Processed in November of 2008.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Other Finding Aid

Earlier inventory listings of this material provided additional information about the content of some recordings, but were the result of later analysis and transcription of the recordings by individuals unassociated with the original creator (Black). As such, the present finding aid only provides descriptions using those titles and annotations ascribed by Robert Black at the time of their creation. Additional descriptions by other individuals are found in this collection’s textual material, which requires permission for viewing. Former inventory listings are found in this collection’s accession file.

Bibliography

Materials in this collection were used for the following publications, which are found in the MNA library:

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