Records Document Western Shoshone's Struggle Over Native Lands

From UNR's Nevada Today:

Native American ranchers, activists and sisters, Carrie and Mary Dann, spent most of their lives in a legal battle against the federal government's control of Western Shoshone ancestral lands in northeastern Nevada, an issue eventually decided against them by the U.S. Supreme Court. For nearly 50 years, the materials they collected and those from the nonprofit Western Shoshone Defense Project were only available to members of the Western Shoshone Nation. Carrie, now in her 80s and the only surviving sister - Mary died in 2005 - recently donated this 120-carton collection of documents, ranging from the mid-1960s to 2010, to Special Collections & University Archives in the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center at the University of Nevada, Reno.

"Because of the extraordinary scope and historical significance of the records for not only Western Shoshone history but also Native American issues concerning the role the U.S. government assumed over their ancestral lands, the collection will appeal to a wide array of researchers who wish to understand the legal, cultural and environmental issues which face indigenous peoples in the West," Jacquelyn Sundstrand, Knowledge Center manuscripts and archives librarian, said. "This is the first manuscript collection of the Western Shoshone we have in Special Collections."  

A grant of more than $77,000 from The National Historical Publications and Records Commission is making it possible to organize, preserve and create an online exhibit and make the documents available to the public. Special Collections was one of only 15 organizations nationwide to receive an NHPRC grant for a project that has national significance.   

To see the full article click here: http://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2015/dann-sisters