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Clyde Dollar Wounded Knee Oral History Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MC 294

Scope and Content Note

The tapes consist of Dollar's interviews with William Shelton and Paul Manhart, both in 1973; two individually titled tapes of personal observations made by Dollar in 1973; and five tapes of telephone conversations entitled "Foxfire."

To the users of the Foxfire Tapes:

The news of the occupation of the village of Wounded Knee by Indian militants cause great excitement on the Pine Ridge Sioux Reservation, both among Indians and Whites alike. As the situation reached intense levels, a number of the White ranchers who lived in the more isolated areas of the reservation moved elsewhere, fearing imminent violence. One such rancher and his wife remained in their home on the reservation for almost two weeks after the start of the occupation, as they were prepared to protect, by force if necessary (and it was necessary once) their livestock and holdings. Another reason why they stayed during this period was that they accidentally discovered that their telephone party line was the one being used by certain Indians, either involved in or sympathizing with the occupation, to make off-reservation telephone contacts and reports.

Beginning on March 2, 1973, and at various times thru March 10, when, fearing detection, the couple fled their reservation ranch home, they managed to record on a portable cassette player a number of these pro-occupation telephone conversations with off-reservation parties. These recordings are contained on the FOXFIRE TAPES Nos. One, Two, and Three. The identity of the persons responsible for these recordings cannot be divulged, and indeed, I have deliberately destroyed all records of their identity in my possession. The code name, "Foxfire," does not in any way allude to their identity.

These telephone conversations originally were recorded on a portable tape cassette machine, with the microphone held at the earpiece of an extension phone. FOXFIRE TAPES Nos. One, Two, and Three (six sides total) were made directly from these tape cassettes, with the single signal of the cassette machine being piped, via means of direct wire linkage, thru the preamp and recording circuits of a Sony 630 stereo tape recorder. During this process, the single signal was split into two channels in the Sony, with each signal being recorded separately but simultaneously on each of the two stereo channels of the larger, (i.e., Sony) machine. During this process, the tape speed was increased to 7 1/2 rps on the Sony, considerably improving the understandability over the original cassette recordings. The original cassettes remained in the possession of the individuals who made them. I did recommend, however, that for their own protection these originals be destroyed. My information is that this recommendation was carried out.

After the original cassettes had been transferred to onto reel tape as described above, these tapes (i.e., FOXFIRE TAPES Nos. One, Two, and Three) were then used as the masters for another series of recordings, resulting in FOXFIRE TAPES Nos. Four and Five (three sides). In producing the latter tapes, the bass was severely filtered out and the treble boosted, still further improving the understandability, but not necessarily the audio beauty, of the telephone conversations. As a result, FOXFIRE TAPES Nos. Four and Five probably will give better listening results, especially if listened to with a pair of high-quality stereo headphones.

Even with these audio modifications, the tapes will be difficult to listen to and understand. However, the information in these phone conversations gives a very revealing view into certain confidential aspects of the incident at Wounded Knee. There are conversations between Indians and leaders of non-Indian off-reservation groups sympathetic (and not so sympathetic) with the American Indian Movement. There are conversations with news media people, with church leaders, and with other Indians involved in the occupation. A few of the speakers can be identified, and if one is familiar with the participants in the event, the identity of several others can be deduced (for example, "Black Cat" was one of the names by which the Tribal Vice President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe was known). Overall, these clandestinely obtained phone conversations give insights into the motives, responses, and actions of a number of people involved in the advising, directing, and/or participating in the occupation of Wounded Knee.

In depositing these recordings in the Special Collections of the Mullins Library of the University of Arkansas, I have acted only in the historian's capacity as preserver of historical data, and I accept no liability for, or involvement in, their use by other researchers. Anyone quoting from these tapes, or even alluding to their existence in such a manner as to involve specific individuals, incurs a legal responsibility, and may even become the subject of legal action by the person or persons quoted.

Originally, these tapes were obtained for deposit in the Library of the University of South Dakota at Vermillion. The reasons why they did not get placed there are contained in my letter to Mr. Sam Sizer, Curator of Special Collections at the University of Arkansas Library, dated October 18, 1977, a copy of which is on file in the accessions in Special Collections.

Clyde D. Dollar

November 3, 1977

Dates

  • 1973

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Access to "Foxfire" tapes 1, 2, and 3 is limited for preservation purposes, since they are the masters from which the use copies (tapes 4 and 5) were prepared.

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

Clyde David Dollar (1932-1983) was an anthropologist and historian keenly interested in American Indians. When the American Indian Movement began their occupation of the Wounded Knee facility on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota during February and March, 1973, Dollar became an avid collector of materials on the incident. In addition to printed materials, photographs, and ephemera, Dollar also collected interviews with witnesses and some clandestinely recorded cassettes of telephone conversations between participants of the Wounded Knee occupation and their outside contacts.

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

0.225 Megabytes (1 digital file)

Arrangement of the Papers

Materials are arranged in one box. A born-digital item is stored separately on Special Collections' preservation server.

Acquisition Information

Tape recorded interviews and telephone conversations pertaining to the Wounded Knee, South Dakota, Indian uprising of 1973 were donated to Special Collections by Clyde David Dollar on November 1, 1977.

Digital folder 1, which contains a transcription of Box 1, Reel 8, was donated to Special Collections in April 2021 by Nick Manhart of Omaha Nebraska. Manhart commissioned the transcription as part of his research in Special Collections.

Processing Information

Processed by Kim Allen Scott; completed in November, 1991.

Updated by Katrina Windon in April 2021 to incorporate a transcription (Digital Folder 1).

Title
Clyde Dollar Wounded Knee Oral History Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Kim Allen Scott
Date
1991
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Department Repository

Contact:
University of Arkansas Libraries
365 N. McIlroy Avenue
Fayetteville AR 72701 United States
(479) 575-8444