J. B. (Jesse Bartley) Milam papers, 1925-1950

Correspondence and personal papers consisting of correspondence between Milam and various individuals, and national and local organizations and institutions, as well as the U.S. Interior Department Bureau of Indian Affairs and various members of Congress. Although some of the material dates from as early as 1906, the preponderance of the correspondence relates to Milam’s activities and responsibilities as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1941-1949. Included in this series are Milam’s notes and transcribed excerpts from various sources relating to Cherokee historical and contemporary figures and events; newspaper cuttings, maps, brochures and notes relating to various subjects including the State of Oklahoma, Lake O’ the Cherokees (Grand Lake), and Native Americans other than Cherokee; sympathy cards and letters of condolence to Elizabeth Peach McSpadden Milam (wife) and children, H. Stuart Milam, Mildred Elizabeth Milam (Mrs. Philip H. Viles), Mary Ellen Milam (Mrs. George Stevenson), following Milam’s death in 1949; and certificates, awards and membership and credit cards.

Photographs include photographs of Milam, scenes of the Cherokees removal from the Camp Gruber area, and scenes from a ceremony for the preservation of the original house built by Sequoyah.

Milam library-related material consisting of book lists, book dealer catalogues, accession records, and library card catalogues of the Milam Library holdings. The Milam library is centered on the history of the Cherokee Nation and consists of some 2,000 titles and includes tribal and US government documents, virtually all books written about the Cherokees before 1950, books printed in Cherokee, and a number of important manuscripts. Records for books and bound documents from the Milam library can be found on the online catalogue.

Miscellaneous materials include extraneous Milam notes, used envelopes, Tulsa Reception Committee ribbon, photo-reproduction of an ink sketch of Hillside House by John B. Jeffries, credit card holder with Milam business cards, pocket-sized ring binder (containing various typewritten lists of stockholders of local banks, list of relations and their birthdates, names and addresses of the Osage Tribal Council and other notes), and a reproduction of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.