The records primarily document the operation of the Johnson-O'Malley program and the College Scholarship program. A few items concerning the function of the Supervisor of Indian Education during the period 1937-1943 were identified in the records and segregated for convenience into a file of BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
Together the records contain relatively good evidential information on the operation and administration of the two programs. Beyond that, they contain useful information both on the increasing desire for self-determination within the American Indian community in Wisconsin as well as providing useful data on some Indian students. Best documented in the JOM records (primarily in the administrative section) is the role of the Department of Public Instruction to aid in the integration of Indian students in off-reservation society. A second well-documented topic which permeates the JOM operations both at the state and local levels during the 1960's and 1970's is the attempt by the Indian community toward greater self-determination and the eventual assumption of JOM administration in 1977-1978 by the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council.
Because the development of such programs called for increased participation of the Indian community the documentation provides good representation of the relationship between the Indian community, participating school districts, and the DPI.
Within the JOM files the information on the program's effect on individual Indian students is documented only in scattered material, and, while useful, it is disappointingly incomplete. However, when combined with information in the annual reports there is some useful aggregate data on K-12 Indian students.
The files on the Indian college students within the COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FILES contain detailed information on the academic, social and economic background of many applicants and on their post-high school educational experiences.
Published annual reports of the Indian Education Section have been separated to the SHSW Library. These reports vary in the amount of information and analysis, but they are unquestionably the single most important source for examining this office. Many reports contain a surprising amount of detailed data concerning educational programs and conditions at individual schools as well as about individual recipients of college scholarships.
The JOHNSON-O'MALLEY FILES are subdivided into four parts: Administrative Records, Financial Records, Program and Activity Files, and Student Records. The administrative records consist of minutes, correspondence, and reports. The minutes are complete for the JOM Subcommittee and its successor, the JOM State Advisory Committee, the two committees which approved state and local programs and which served as general advisory bodies to DPI for the JOM program. These minutes provide important documentation on the interaction between members of the Indian community and DPI. Also included are by-laws for many state and local committees and fragmentary minutes for the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Education Committee.
The correspondence has been subdivided into general correspondence, which is arranged chronologically, and into separate sections for special correspondents and for specific subjects. Among the special correspondents are the BIA offices in Washington, D.C., and the regional office in Minneapolis, various national legislators, and the Great Lakes Indian Agency. The correspondence files cover the entire period that DPI operated the JOM program, although it is generally routine and less important than the committee minutes or the published annual reports. Report material here consists of miscellaneous information collected in the process of preparing the annual reports.
The financial records for the JOM program consist of audits of school districts carried out for the period 1971-1977. When combined with the final budgets recorded in the annual reports the series provides accurate documentation of district expenditures. In addition, there are special audits of the JOM Planning Committee, the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council Education Committee and the Neopit school district.
The Program and Activities files have been subdivided into school district program proposals and budget requests, state programs and activities, and reports. The school district proposals and budget requests are quite complete for the years 1970-1977, generally providing the best source concerning local programs, both those accepted and those that were rejected. The program proposals developed by the local school officials and the local Indian education committees include statements of need, program objectives, plans, activities, personnel, methods of evaluation, intended involvement of the Indian community, cooperating agencies, and budgets. Because approval of the local Indian education committee was required, these records provide a helpful indication of the interests and concerns of the Indian community. The program reports are informative, narrative evaluations written by local school officials.
There was no formal mechanism for the funding and evaluation of state level activities and programs. As a result, this documentation (primarily proposals, evaluations, correspondence and minutes) is far less complete that which exists for the local programs, but it does clarify topics of concern to the DPI, educational leaders, and the Indian community across the state. These records consist primarily of proposals, evaluations, correspondence, and minutes.
The student records were collected in part to establish the extent and legality of district needs for Indian education programs. Included are school censuses, attendance record cards, miscellaneous records of absenteeism, and withdrawals. Although not complete, these files contain some interesting information such as the reasons why students left school.
While the COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FILES contain good information on the operation of this program its value lies in the detailed information it contains about individual students who applied for grants: their educational, social, and economic background and their experiences in higher education. There is also some information on the lives of individual students after they completed their post high school education. Included are correspondence, data and statistics, and indexes. The correspondence consists primarily of inquiries from applicants which are filed with other application data and forms. For the period 1956-1966 the committee worksheets contain similarly useful information and evaluations about individual students. Further supplementing this data are the application summary sheets for the period 1956-1970 of which only those containing evaluations have been retained.
