Lawrence Rakestraw papers, 1937-1987.
Title:
Lawrence Rakestraw papers, 1937-1987.
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
0.25 cu. ft.
Abstract:
The Lawrence Rakestraw collection consists of records documenting the involvement of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in a totem pole restoration project. The program existed in Southeastern Alaska in the 1940s and involved the hiring of knowledgeable elders to teach traditional woodworking skills to young men. Rakestraw, a historian, wrote a number of articles on the C. C. C., and some of these are included in the collection. The papers also contain color slides, a collection of Raven tales compiled by Linn Forrest and Alva Blackerby, and an index of sources in reference to U. S. Forest Service work on totem poles.
Corporate Subject:
Biographical/Historical Data:
Linn Forrest had been in charge of the totem pole restoration from 1937-1941. This story is told in detail on a 1970 tape in the Oral History Department of APR. He worked closely with Viola Garfield, an anthropologist from the University of Washington, to collect Indian legends. These were published as The Wolf and the Raven. Forrest became interested in parallels between Biblical tales of creation and Native tales at this time. When the CCC project was complete, Forrest and Alva Blackerby, a career Forest Service man working on their own time, put together a group of these Indian tales. The tales are in the Collection, as the manuscript entitled "Alaska Raven Tales of Creation." Forrest died in 1989; Blackerby died in 1959. Rakestraw, a historian, wrote a number of articles on the CCC, and some of these are included in the collection.
Restrictions on Access:
Access limited to Alaska and Polar Regions Collections research room hours.