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Bradford R. Cole | "Voices from the Trading Post": | The Western Historical Quarterly, 33.2 | The History Cooperative
33.2  
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Summer, 2002
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"Voices from the Trading Post":
The United Indian Traders Association Legacy Project

Bradford R. Cole


In 1998, the United Indian Traders Association provided generous funding to the Cline Library at Northern Arizona University to collect, preserve, and disseminate the rich and sometimes controversial history of trade relationships and cultural interactions in the Four Corners region. This article explores the development and significance of "Traders: Voices from the Trading Post," a Web-based oral history project full of powerful reminiscences from multiple perspectives.


   
    Claudia and Elijah Blair at Blair's Dinnebito Trading Post, Page, Arizona, 1999. Anthony Polvere photographer. United Indian Traders Association Collection. Cline Library, NAU.PH.99.53.1.237.


 
     Few occupations conjure up more imagery and emotion about intercultural relations in the American West than that of the Indian trader. Although traders worked throughout the western United States, by far the greatest number were located in the Southwest, primarily on the Navajo Reservation. These entrepreneurs filled a need soon after the 1868 release of the Navajo from captivity at Fort Sumner. This early group of traders has been well-documented; however, the second and third waves of traders—those that carried on the trading business from the 1940s to the present—are less well-known. 1
     In the fall of 1997, the Cline Library's Special Collections and Archives Department (SCA) at Northern Arizona University received a memorable call from Elijah Blair, former president of the United Indian Traders Association (UITA), an organization comprised of Indian trading post owners in the Southwest. Blair inquired about archiving the organization's business papers and creating some type of UITA legacy project. SCA suggested an oral history project that would document traders and their associates affiliated with the UITA. Project personnel later expanded the scope to encompass the larger world of the Indian trader. Thus, the UITA oral history project "Voices from the Trading Post" was born. In addition to capturing oral memoirs, SCA committed to developing a World Wide Web site, a CD-ROM, and a teacher's manual of lesson plans. The association encouraged members to donate trading post records and personal photographs to the Cline Library. 2
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