CSU, Chico News

California State University, Chico has received an extensive collection of materials about Native Americans from the estate of local teacher, author and anthropologist Dorothy Morehead Hill, who died in 1998.

The donation includes 3,000Ð4,000 photos, more than 350 audio tapes and other materials from roughly 40 years of Hill’s ethnographic study of the Maidu, Pomo, Wintun and other Native American cultures of Northern California.

“It’s wonderful that the Hill family decided to donate the Dorothy Morehead Hill Collection to Chico State,” said Professor Lisa Emmerich, coordinator of CSU, Chico’s American Indian Studies Program. “This collection represents years of collaborative work between Dorothy Hill and members of Native communities throughout Northern California.

“The collection will stay close to the places that Dorothy Hill knew and near to the American Indian people who worked so closely with her,” Emmerich said. “The latter is especially important, I think. The Hill Collection is a potential resource for Native communities throughout the North State, many of whom are working hard to restore and protect traditional languages and cultural activities. As much as I am thrilled that Chico State will curate this collection, I am also delighted that it will be accessible to those individuals and communities who worked with Dorothy Hill to create it.”

To commemorate the collection, the university’s Office of the Provost is scheduling a series of events in September to highlight Native American culture. Called “Sharing Traditions: Honoring California Native Americans,” the series will include lectures, films, traditional dance demonstrations and a poetry reading.

The collection will be housed in Meriam Library’s Special Collections on campus. It is currently being appraised to determine its value.

Hill’s wish was that scholars and other members of the public use materials she gathered for study. Because of the culturally sensitive nature of some of the taped interviews, photos and other materials, a committee of university professors and tribal consultants is being formed to determine what parts of the collection will be restricted from general use.

Hill was a third-generation Chicoan, graduating from Chico High School in 1939. She received her B.A. in physical education and natural science in 1943 from UC Berkeley. She married Mack Hill in 1944 and they raised three daughters. She returned to school for a teaching credential in 1960 and taught junior high and high school in Chico for nine years. Hill earned an M.A. in anthropology from CSU, Chico in 1970 and subsequently lectured in anthropology at Butte College and CSU, Chico.

In her quest to study and document Northern California Native American culture, Hill was motivated by a desire to preserve the past. She interviewed and photographed many Native elders as a way to keep a record of detail and information that would otherwise be lost.

Hill is the author of a number of articles and books, including “Indians of the Chico Rancheria,” and “Maidu Use of Native Flora and Fauna.” She was honored in 1990 with the “Woman of Distinction” award by Soroptimist International and was inducted into the Educator’s Hall of Fame in 1996.

Along with her study of Native Americans, Hill was interested in the general history of Northern California and was co-author of “Small Corner of the West: Butte Meadows, Chico Meadows and Jonesville.” She also traveled extensively around the world and created presentations for schoolchildren.

Following is a list of events for “Sharing Traditions: Honoring California Native Americans”:

North American, Canadian & Australian Prints Aug. 27-Sept. 23 – Janet Turner Print Gallery 20th century examples of native imagery.

Film Showing: “Grand Avenue” Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. – Harlen Adams Theatre Author Greg Sarris directed and wrote the screenplay for “Grand Avenue,” an HBO feature film that was named Best Feature Film at the American Indian Film Festival.

“Pomo Basketweavers: A Tribute to Three Elders” Sept. 18 at 4 p.m. – Ayers Hall 120 Award-winning video features history, culture and basket weaving traditions of Pomo women.

Lecture: Author Greg Sarris, “Writing Memory” Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. – Harlen Adams Theatre Greg Sarris, tribal chair of the Coast Miwok, is the keynote speaker for “Sharing Traditions: Honoring California Native Americans.” He is the author of “Grand Avenue” and “Watermelon Nights.”

Four Winds of Indian Education Charter School Sept. 20 at Noon – Free Speech Area Students demonstrate traditional California American Indian dance.

Anthropology Forum Sept. 20 at 4 p.m. – Ayres 120 California American Indian Basket Makers Association members demonstrate and discuss their art.

Writer’s Voice Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. – Rowland-Taylor Recital Hall Poet Janice Gould (Maidu), author of “Beneath My Heart” and “Earthquake Weather,” and recipient of a Ford Fellowship and NEA grant, reads from her work.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 4th, 2001 at 8:04 am and is filed under 2001 Fall.