Organizations

American Indian League. Organized for the purpose of involving the general public in taking an interest in the North American Indian by understanding his history, customs, and needs. Correspondence includes letters, leaflets, and articles.

1920 (American Missionary Association)
Correspondence between J.E. McAfee, corresponding secretary, Miss Emily K. Herron, Hampton Institute secretary, and Dr. James Gregg, principal of Hampton Institute.

1907-1922 (Christian Endeavor Society)
The Christian Endeavor Society for Indian students at Hampton Institute was founded by Helen Louise Townsend and organized on April 9, 1872 by Mr. Frederic D. Gleason and Miss Helen W. Ludlow. The society helped Indian students overcome tribal differences and gave them a sense of unity and Christian fellowship. Correspondence includes letters, newsletters, notes, etc.

1883-1929 (Lake Mohonk Conference)
The Lake Mohonk Conference of Friend of the Indian met annually from 1883-1916 and again in 1929. Albert K. Smiley, conference founder, was a native of Maine and a former principal of the Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island. Mr. Smiley had several brothers and all of them were instrumental in planning and arranging details of the conference. The conference site was a beautiful resort located on land with a small lake in the Shawangunk Mountains of New York. The twelve men who attended the first Lake Mohonk Conference on October 10, 1883 discussed ways of getting the United States government to discontinue its policy of isolating Indians on reservations, thereby giving them little or no contact with American society. The meaningful efforts of the Smiley's and the conference members produced many significant changes and favorable policies regarding the Indian. Annual reports include the 1911 report on the history and function of the Indian office.

1920 (Nation Indian Conference)
Minutes of the National Indian Conference and facets of Indian life and progress throughout the nation are recorded.

1909-1912 (Sybil Carter Indian Mission and Lace Industry Association)
Miss Sybil Carter of New York began a lace-making industry to enable Indian women to learn a profitable trade. Hampton Institute Indian students became involved with the association in 1900. Correspondence includes letters to Miss Folsom, Dr. Frissell, and Miss Emily Herron.

1914-1922 (Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations)
Many Indian students participated in the associations and several Indian students held officer positions. Young Men's Christian Association: Included are letters from Mrs. Elaine Goodale Eastman, Reverend Robert, Earl H. Kelsey, G. E. E. Lindquist, and Frederic B. Shipp, International Committee of Young Men's Christian Associations, New York City, New York; L. L. Dogett, International Young Men's Christian Association Training School, Springfield, Massachusetts; Frank W. Ober, North American Young men's Christian Association, New York City, New York; R. D. Hall, Young Men's Christian Association, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Leslie M. Penott, Harlem Branch of the Young Men's Christian Association, New York City, New York; S. D. Mitchell and Stephen S. Jones, Young Men's Christian Association; Young Men's Christian Association, Hampton, Virginia; R. D. Hall, Young Men's Christian Association of Washington, Seattle, Washington; R. D. Hall, Young Men's Christian Association Movement in North America, Estes Park, Colorado; Lewis T. Green, Young Men's Christian Association, National War Work Council (Army and Navy), Chillicothe, Ohio; H. K. Caskey, Young Men's Christian Associations of the United States (National War Work Council), tidewater District, Newport News, Virginia; Young Women's Christian Association: Included are letters from Edith M. Dabb, National Board of Young Women's Christian Associations, New York City, New York; Edith M. Dabb, Deborah Hall, and Elsie E. Newton, National Board of Young Women's Christian Association (North Central Field Committee), Minneapolis, Minnesota; Edith M. Dabb, National board of Young Women's Christian Associations of the United States of America, New York City, New York; and Ella Jane Hardcastle and Elsie E. Newton, National Board of Young Women's Christian Associations (the War Work Council), New York City, New York.