Donald Parman Collection

Accession Number
0713901
Donor Name
Donald Parman
Processor
Jon Ille
Access Restrictions on Use
None
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
All publication rights are held by Little Big Horn College and use for publication must be approved by archivist.
Preferred Citation of Materials
Donald L. Parman Collection, Little Big Horn College Archives, Crow Agency, Montana.

Physical Description

Linear Feet
.75
Comprehensive Dates
1905-1913
Materials Included
Research materials for book chapter in Essays in Honor of W. Eugene Hollon (1980) titled “A White Man’s Fight: The Crow Scandal, 1906-1913.”
Organization of Material
The collection includes correspondence from the Indian Rights Association (1906-1913), The Office of Indian Affairs, and Helen Grey, along with reservation lease records from 1905.

Biographical and Historical Note

Donald Parman is Professor Emeritus at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. His area of expertise is twentieth century Native American affairs and is the author of several books including Navajos and the New Deal (1976) and Indians and the American West in the Twentieth Century (1994).

Provenance

The records included in the Donald L. Parman Collection were created and assembled as a result of research for “A White Man’s Fight: The Crow Scandal 1906-1913” in Essays in Honor of W. Eugene Hollon published in 1980. Dr. Parman collected these records from his research at the National Archives and from the microfilm collection of the Indian Rights Association during the 1970s. Professor Parman brought a class to the Crow Reservation in the 1980s, which led to his contributing his papers related to Crow Scandal to the Little Big Horn College Archives.

Scope and Content

The Donald L. Parman Collection consists of research related to the Crow Scandal from 1906-1913. During the scandal, many Crows accused Agent Samuel Reynolds of favoritism and collusion with sheep and cattle interests in leasing land for below market value and running more stock than the range allowed. Helen Pierce Grey arrived on the Crow Reservation in 1906 and immediately took up the cause of Crows who opposed Agent Reynolds. Pierce’s actions created a great deal of tension among the Crow political factions, The Crow Indian Lodge and The Elks Lodge, which generated interest with the so called “Friends of the Indian” such as the Indian Rights Association (IRA).

The collection primarily includes correspondence from the Indian Rights Association as the organization attempted to ameliorate the wrongs committed against the Crow. Included within the IRA correspondence are documents related to the Crow Scandal from the Office of Indian Affairs that include Reports of Inspection and congressional testimony by major participants in the events on the reservation. The OIA wrote these letters and compiled the testimony from 1908-1912.

Inventory

Series One:

Series one includes IRA correspondence, letters written by Helen Grey and the Office of Indian Affairs, and newspaper articles related to the Crow Scandal of 1906-1913. The series also includes reports inspectors wrote regarding conditions on the Crow reservation and conflict within the Crow community. Finally, the series includes a copy of Donald Parman’s chapter titled “A White Man’s Fight: The Crow Scandal, 1906-1913.” Series one is divided into three one-third linear foot boxes and twenty files.

Box 1A

  1. Crow Scandal (1905-1906), Leases (1905)
  2. Helen Grey Letters (1906)
  3. Miscellaneous Crow Material (1905-1912), Notes
  4. Office of Indian Affairs Correspondence (1907)
  5. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, October, 1907
  6. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, November, 1907
  7. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, December, 1907
  8. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, January, 1908

Box 1B

  1. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, April-December, 1908
  2. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, February-March, 1908
  3. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, January-June, 1909
  4. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, July-December, 1909

Box 1C

  1. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, January-March, 1910
  2. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, April-December, 1910
  3. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, 1911
  4. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, January-June, 1912
  5. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, July-August, 1912
  6. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, September-December, 1912
  7. Correspondence - Indian Rights Association, January 1913, Inspection Reports
  8. Copy of “A White Man’s Fight: The Crow Scandal 1906-1913”

Significant Personal and Organizational Entries

Individuals listed below wrote, received, or were mentioned in the correspondence in the collection. Names are listed on the front of each file signifying their inclusion within a given folder.