Introduction | Biographical Sketch | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The papers of L. T. Eugene Ness, an attorney from Paulding, Ohio, span from 1870-1940. The collection focuses on the years Ness represented Indians of California. Letters, printed material, and Indian publications illustrate the political situation under which the Indians lived and reflects their struggle to improve living, political, and social conditions. Government publications of hearings and proposed Federal legislation add insight into efforts to resolve their plight.

The Ness papers were donated to the Center for Archival Collections in November 1975 as part of the O. B. Workman collection. O. B. Workman was director of the Black Swamp Museum in Paulding, Ohio. The collection was donated by Paul Workman of Paulding, in his father's name. Property and literary rights have been dedicated to the public and duplication is permitted for the purpose of preservation and research. The register was prepared by David Friend, a graduate student, in partial fulfillment of course requirements for History 556 in May 1986, and revised by Marilyn Levinson, Curator of Manuscripts in March 1992.

Biographical Sketch

L. T. Eugene Ness was born in Morganville, Kentucky in 1897. He attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio and received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor. In 1929, he married Helen Straw of Paulding, Ohio in New York City. After their marriage, they settled in Springfield, where he was an attorney with the law firm of Malone and Ness.

In February 1934 Ness was selected by the Mission Indians of Southern California as their attorney at their regular meeting held in San Diego, California. He had been actively involved in Indian matters since the summer of 1933. From 1934 until 1937, Ness represented the Indians of Southern California in their Court of Claims case against the United States government and in other legal matters.

In 1937 Ness and his family moved to Paulding, Ohio, where he practiced law until moving to Florida in the 1950's. He and his wife had three children, Thomas, Charles, and Carol.

Scope and Content

The L. T. Eugene Ness papers primarily document relations between the Mission Indians of California and the United States government during the years 1934-1937. There is also information in the collection on the history of this relationship from the 1850's on, particularly centering on land issues and claims unresolved from the "Eighteen Lost Treaties". The major part of the collection consists of over 130 letters, which reveal the political conditions under which the Indians lived, and the efforts that were made to improve that situation. The Ness correspondence includes incoming and outgoing letters to and from Federal and California government officials, including the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Collier, and members of Congress, and letters to and by other lawyers representing the Indians, as well as Indian individuals and groups. The correspondence pertains to the El Capitan Grande Indian Reservation near San Diego, and the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation near Palm Springs, California.

The printed material was created by Indian groups as well as the Federal government. There are circulars from the American Indian Federation and Indians of California, Incorporated to their members dealing with issues related to the Wheeler-Howard Act, the campaign to remove John Collier as Commissioner for Indian Affairs, and statements of Indian rights under Citizenship. The Indian magazines also provide general information, but there are only eleven scattered issues of seven different titles, including California Indian News, The American Indian, Indian Truth, Bureaucracy a LaMode, American Indian Life, and The Indian Demands Defense. The United States government printed material includes hearings before Congressional Committees, such as the California Indians Jurisdictional Act, 1935 (S.1793); the California Indians Jurisdictional Act, 1937 (S.1651, S.1779); and the Palm Springs Band of Mission Indians, 1937 (S.1424, S.2589); bills and reports for S.1793, S.1424, as well as related House bills and reports. The clippings deal mostly with Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier, whom the Mission Indians opposed in regards to his perceived actions maintaining the Indians as "political wards."

Also included in the collection are maps of Palm Springs, San Diego County and City, and the Agua Caliente and Los Coyotes Indian Reservations of Southern California, as well as research notes. Included in these notes is a handwritten copy of an 1893 agreement between the United States government and the Yuma Indians of California which gave the Secretary of the Interior control over Yuma land and the abandoned Fort Yuma Military Reservation in order to set up the Yuma Indian Reservation.

Series Description

CORRESPONDENCE

NESS CORRESPONDENCE
1934-1938
Arranged by incoming and outgoing, then chronologically. Includes correspondence between Ness and government officials, other lawyers representing the Indians, and Indian individuals and groups.

INDIAN CORRESPONDENCE
1932-1937
Arranged by incoming and outgoing, then chronologically. Includes correspondence between the Indians and their lawyers and government officials.

GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE
1918, 1934-1936
Arranged chronologically
Includes correspondence relating to the El Capitan Grande Reservation, San Diego, the issue of the relocation of the Alimo Cemetery, and the purchase of the Baron Long Ranch (Rancho de las Viejas).

LITERARY PRODUCTIONS

RESEARCH NOTES
1893, 1906, n.d.
Handwritten notes on past Indian lands in southern California and a handwritten copy of an agreement between the Yuma Indians and the United States government.

DEPOSITIONS
1933
Condensed statements of claims, statements of status of all original selections, and affidavits and statements in regards to claims concerning allotments at the LaJolla and Rincon Reservations.

PURCHASE NEGOTIATIONS
1934
Resolution, legal land description, and response statement to purchase proposals of representatives of the El Capitan Grande Reservation for purchase of the Baron Long Ranch (Rancho de las Viejas) at San Diego, California.

LEASE NEGOTIATIONS
1935
Conditions, memorandum of agreement, and lease proposal involving leasing of Agua Caliente Reservation land at Palm Springs, California.

PRINTED MATERIAL

CIRCULARS
1934-1936, n.d.
Arranged by issuing body, then chronologically.
Circulars from the American Indian Federation and the Indians of California, Incorporated, dealing with issues related to the Wheeler-Howard Act, the campaign to remove John Collier as Commissioner for Indian Affairs, and statements of Indian rights under Citizenship vs. actions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

MISCELLANEOUS PRINTED - INDIAN
1933-1935, n.d.
Arranged chronologically
Includes a census list with names and members of the Barona Indian group, a listing of Indian villages and reservations in southern California with names of the headmen or captains, a listing of Indian court cases, and a ballot.

MISCELLANEOUS PRINTED - GOVERNMENT
1870-1889, 1930, 1937, n.d.
Arranged chronologically
Includes reports from the Secretary of the Interior, President Franklin Roosevelt, and a copy of presidential orders from Presidents Grant through Harrison establishing Indian reservations in California.

INDIAN MAGAZINES
1925-1933-1935, 1937-1938
Includes five issues of California Indian News, published by the Yanga Council, California Indians Rights Association, Inc.; The American Indian, published by the American Indian Federation; and single issues of Bureaucracy a LaMode, from the Indian Bureau series; Indian Truth, from the Indian Rights Association; American Indian Life, issued by the American Indian Defense Association; and The Indian Demands Defense, from the National Republic Magazine.

NEWSCLIPPINGS
1934, 1937
Includes articles from newspapers about Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Collier, and the Indians of southern California.

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
1920, 1928, 1933-1937, 1940
Arranged by government body, then chronologically.
Includes government publications dealing with hearings before the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Indian Affairs; copies of Senate and House bills and reports; a legislative calendar of the Senate's Indian Affairs Committee and government sales booklet listing publications dealing with the Indian subjects. Includes hearings on the California Indians Jurisdictional Act, 1935 (S.1793); the California Indians Jurisdictional Act, 1937 (S.1651, S.1779); and the Palm Springs Band of Mission Indians, 1937 (S.1424, S.2589); bills and reports for S.1793, S.1424, as well as related House bills and reports.

MAPS, CHARTS, DIAGRAMS, GRAPHS, LISTS, ETC.

MAPS
1880, 1885, 1911, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937
Arranged by area, then chronologically.
Includes maps of Palm Springs; San Diego County and City; and the Agua Caliente and Los Coyotes Indian Reservations.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS

POSITIVE PRINTS
n.d.
Photograph of unidentified Indian woman.

Inventory

Box 1

1. Correspondence - Ness Incoming, 1934-1938
2. Correspondence - Ness Outgoing, 1934-1936
3. Correspondence - Indian Incoming, 1932-1935
4. Correspondence - Indian Outgoing, 1934-1937
5. Correspondence - General, 1918, 1934-1936
6. Research notes - Agreement between Yuma Indians and Federal Government, 1893
7. Research notes - Miscellaneous, 1906, n.d.
8. Depositions on LaJolla/Rincon allotments, 1933
9. Negotiations on purchase of Rancho de las Viejas, 1934
10. Negotiations on leasing of Agua Caliente Reservation lands, 1935
11. Circulars - Indians of California, Inc., 1936, n.d.
12. Circulars - American Indian Federation, 1934-1935
13. Printed material - Indian, 1933-1935, n.d.
14. Printed material - Government, 1870-1889, 1930, 1937, n.d.
15. Magazines - California Indian News, 1935, 1937, 1938
16. Magazines - The American Indian, 1934
17. Magazines - Miscellaneous, 1925, 1933-1934, 1937
18. Newsclippings, 1934, 1937

Box 2

1. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearings, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1940
2. House Committee on Indian Affairs hearings, 1920, 1928, 1935
3. Senate Subcommittee on Res. 79 hearings, 1934
4. Senate bills and repots, 1934-1937
5. House bills and reports, 1933-1937
6. California State legislations, 1933
7. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs legislative calendar, 1937 US
8. Superintendent of Documents sales list relating to Indian topics, 1936
9. Map - Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, 1937
10. Map - Palm Springs, c. 1936
11. Map - San Diego County and City Precinct, 1934
12. Map - San Bernardino, 1880, 1885, 1911, 1933
13. Photograph, n.d.

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