BERNARD P. BECKER:
An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical
Society
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| Creator: |
Becker, Bernard P.,
ca.1939-1991. |
| Title: | Bernard P. Becker
papers. |
| Date: | 1900-1991. |
| Abstract: | Court case documents, correspondence,
minutes, monographs, newspaper clippings, and related papers largely
documenting Becker's involvement in court actions brought by various Minnesota
bands of Ojibwe Indians against the State of Minnesota relating to the
violation of hunting, fishing, and wild rice harvesting rights guaranteed by
treaties. They include papers regarding white citizens' committees opposed to
Indian rights, and the reservations' housing authorities and legal
services. |
| Quantity: | 7.25 cu. ft. (8
boxes). |
| Location: | See Detailed Description section for shelf
locations. |
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Bernard Becker was born in New York City and earned his law degree at
the University of Minnesota in 1965, after which he served with legal aid
societies in New York City and Minneapolis. In Minneapolis he became chief
counsel handling cases involving Indian treaty rights and government benefit
claims and cases involving juveniles. In 1986 he was appointed part-time
magistrate serving U.S. district courts in Minnesota. Becker also taught
classes at the William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul (1973-1991), and at
the University of Minnesota Law School (1986-1991), specializing in Indian law
and child welfare and abuse. In 1975 and 1976 he was chief counsel and staff
director of the Minnesota Legislature's Joint House-Senate Committee
investigating problems at the Minnesota State Correctional Facility at
Stillwater. He died in 1991.
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Court case documents, correspondence, minutes, monographs, newspaper
clippings, and related papers largely documenting Becker's involvement in court
actions brought by various Minnesota bands of Ojibwe Indians against the State
of Minnesota relating to the violation of hunting, fishing, and wild rice
harvesting rights guaranteed by treaties. They include papers regarding white
citizens' committees opposed to Indian rights, and the reservations' housing
authorities and legal services.
The collection also documents other aspects of this U.S. Magistrate
and law professor's career, including activities in Central Minnesota Legal
Services, the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis, and the National Legal Aid and
Defenders Association, and in several organizations dealing with child
protection (Indian and white) and juvenile crime. There is also information on
his investigation of the Minnesota state correctional facility at
Stillwater.
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| A print version of this finding aid is available in the repository;
filed in ALPHA notebooks under the heading: Becker, Bernard P. |
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| This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog
of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about
related topics should search the catalog using these headings. |
| Topics: |
| | Dakota Indians -- Government
relations. |
| | Indians of North America -- Minnesota --
Child welfare. |
| | Indians of North America -- Minnesota --
Government relations, 1934-. |
| | Indians of North America -- Minnesota --
Hunting -- Law and legislation. |
| | Indians of North America -- Minnesota --
Reservations. |
| | Juvenile justice, Administration of --
Minnesota. |
| | Prisons -- Minnesota. |
| | Wild rice industry --
Minnesota. |
| | Indians of North America -- Minnesota --
Fishing -- Law and legislation. |
| | Ojibwa Indians -- Reservations. |
| | Ojibwa Indians -- Government
relations. |
| | Indians of North America -- Minnesota --
Treaties. |
| Persons: |
| | Herbst, Robert L.
|
| | Leirfallom, Jarle B.,
1913-. |
| Organizations: |
| | Central Minnesota Legal
Services. |
| | Legal Aid Society of
Minneapolis. |
| | Minnesota Correctional
Facility--Stillwater. |
| | Native American Rights
Fund (Boulder, Colo.). |
| Places: |
| | Fond du Lac Indian Reservation
(Minn.). |
| | Mille Lacs Indian Reservation
(Minn.). |
| | White Earth Indian Reservation
(Minn.). |
| | Grand Portage Reservation
(Minn.). |
| | Leech Lake Indian Reservation
(Minn.). |
| | Red Lake Indian Reservation
(Minn.). |
| Occupations: |
| | Lawyers. |
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| Preferred Citation: |
| | [Indicate the cited item and/or series
here]. Bernard P. Becker Papers. Minnesota Historical Society. |
| | See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional
examples |
| Accession Information: |
| | Accession number: 14,704 |
| Processing Information: |
| | Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, August 1993 |
| | Catalog ID number: 09-00038037 |
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Note to Researchers: To request materials, please note both the
location and box numbers shown below.
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Minnesota Ojibwe Legal Matters
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| Boxes 1-5 contain legal documents relating to various claims
against state agencies, the federal government, local municipalities, and
individuals by the following bands of Ojibwe Indians: Fond du Lac, Grand
Portage, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, Red Lake, and White Earth. A large portion of
the papers relate to the Leech Lake and White Earth bands and are concerned
with controversies over hunting and fishing rights, housing, legal services,
and natural resource usage on lands in and surrounding these two reservations.
Included are legal summaries, motions, briefs, affidavits, some trial
transcripts, correspondence, and copies of historical documents relevant to
individual cases. |
| Location | Box |
| 143.A.3.6F | 1 |
Fond du Lac Band:
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Dennis Morrison case, 1976.
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Civil File no. 4-85-109: Grand Portage Band v.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 1985: Miscellaneous papers,
1943-1985.
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Leech Lake Band:
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Leech Lake Citizens Committee v. Leech Lake Band:
Case no. 6-72-325, 1972-1973.
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Leech Lake Indian Reservation Housing Authority,
1981. 2 folders.
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Leech Lake Indian Reservation Legal Services,
1973-1978. 3 folders.
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Case no. 3-69-65 (Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources):
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Defendant's Memorandum and Pleadings, 1969-1971.
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Plaintiff's Response to Defendant's First
Interrogation, 1969.
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Leirfallom and Herbst correspondence files,
1968-1973. 5 folders.
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Miscellaneous documents relating to the case,
1969. 3 folders.
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Pleadings file, 1969-1972.
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Certificates and affidavits, 1969.
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| Location | Box |
| 143.A.3.7B | 2 | | |
Plaintiff's memoranda, undated. 2 folders.
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Leirfallom and Herbst: Other Files:
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Memorandum in Opposition to Preliminary Injunction,
undated.
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Motion to Intervene, 1972.
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Settlement negotiations, 1972-1973. 2 folders.
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Case nos. 3-69-64/73-1384: Motion and Consent,
undated.
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Individual Cases:
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Russell Bryan v. Itasca County, undated and 1974-1976. 6 folders.
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Diekmann, Mike, 1983-1984.
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Forge, John C., 1975-1977.
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Mottaz, Florence Blackletter, 1985.
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Tibbetts, Michael C., 1978-1982. 7 folders.
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| Location | Box |
| 143.A.3.8F | 3 | | |
Tibbetts, Michael C., 1983-1986. 5 folders.
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Miscellaneous papers, undated and 1909-1986. 7 folders.
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Newspaper clippings, 1967-1973. 2 folders.
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Mille Lacs Band:
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Miscellaneous cases, 1978-1987.
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Minnesota Ojibwe Tribe:
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Indian Political Action Committee v. Tribal
Executive Committee: Legal documents, 1974.
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Indian Political Action Committee: Temporary
Restraining Order and Order to Show Cause and other papers, 1974-1976.
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United States v. Minnesota Ojibwe Tribal Lands,
undated and 1918-1945. 2 folders.
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Employer compensation, 1967-1975.
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Supplemental points and plaintiff's briefs,
1974. 2 folders.
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Paul A. Nelson, Preliminary memorandum on Ojibwe
Indian lands, 1974.
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Treaties, constitutions, and laws, 1937-1978.
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Drafts of teachers' guide and handbook,
1978. 2 folders.
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| Location | Box |
| 143.A.4.1B | 4 | | |
Correspondence and miscellaneous papers,
1936-1984. 3 folders.
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Red Lake Band:
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Topak, Bernard W., 1976-1979. 4 folders.
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White Earth Band:
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White Earth Band v. Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources:
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Case No. 3-74-63:
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Background materials (including exhibits),
1900-1970. 3 folders.
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Correspondence and legal files, 1979-1981. 6 folders.
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Appellant's brief and index, 1978.
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Response memoranda, March 26, 1981.
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Trial transcripts, January 23 and May 13, 1981. 2 folders.
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Case Nos. 81-1805/81-1862:
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Appellees and cross appellants, [1981?].
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Reply brief, [1981?].
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Brief for the United States of America,
1981.
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Miscellaneous legal files, 1981.
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| Location | Box |
| 143.A.4.2F | 5 | | | |
Individual Cases:
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State of Minnesota v. Bernard Clark:
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Defendant's and State's exhibits.
6 folders.
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Miscellaneous legal files, undated and 1973-1980.
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Littlewolf, Edna Emerson v. U.S. Department of
the Interior and State of Minnesota (case no. 87-0822): Miscellaneous legal
files, 1987-1988.
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Miscellaneous papers, 1917-1984. 2 folders.
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Minnesota Dakota Communities
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| Location | Box |
| 143.A.4.2F | 5 |
Smith v. Haliburton (case no. 4-82-549), 1982.
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Prior Lake v. Shakopee Dakota Community: Briefs and
petitions, 1985. 2 folders.
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| | | Supreme Court case. |
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Correspondence and miscellaneous legal files,
1915-1990.
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Indian Affairs Files
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| Location | Box |
| 143.A.4.2F | 5 |
American Indian Civil Rights Handbook, 1982.
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Anishinabe Legal Services, Cass Lake, 1981.
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"The Failure of American Law: Jurisdiction in the Indian
Territory," New York University Law School, undated.
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Federation of Native Americans Controlled Survival
Schools, Minneapolis (grant), 1982.
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Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, 1978-1979.
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March on Washington, April 1970.
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Native American Rights Fund:
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Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1971-1983. 3 folders.
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| Location | Box |
| 143.A.4.3B | 6 | |
Gerald Israel and Thomas L. Smithson, "Indian
Taxation and Economic Development," undated.
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Appeal, statements, and transcript, undated, 1953.
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Omaha Tribe of Indians v. William A. Peters,
1975.
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Carole E. Goldberg, Public Law 280, undated.
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Seminars:
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Wounded Knee, 1974. 2 folders.
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| | | | Includes class papers written by Becker's students. |
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Indian law seminars, 1974-1977.
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Natural Resource Development in Indian Country,
Boulder, Colorado, 1988. 2 folders.
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Minnesota Indian Reservation Legal Code Workshop, St.
Paul, 1990.
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Gerald Robert Vizenor, Thomas James White Hawk,
1968.
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Tribal profiles and tribal constitutions, [1988?].
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Becker's law class: Student papers on Indian affairs,
1980, 1984-1985. 2 folders.
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Correspondence regarding Indian cases handled by
Tupper, Smith, and Seck, Walker, Minnesota (including Indian Political Action
Committee), 1974-1978. 4 folders.
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Indian Affairs correspondence, undated and 1915-1990. 5 folders.
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Personal Subject Files and Related Papers
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| Location | Box |
| 143.A.4.4F | 7 |
Central Minnesota Legal Services: Minutes and related
papers, 1977-1981. 3 folders.
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| | | Central Minnesota Legal Services, incorporated in Minneapolis
with branches in St. Cloud, Little Falls, and Duluth, was organized to provide
legal services and protection to individuals and organizations in the Central
Minnesota area. The files include articles of incorporation and bylaws, minutes
of the board (1977-1981), of which Becker was a member, and financial reports,
budgets, salary information, and other administrative materials. |
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Chicago Juvenile Justice Project evaluation,
1974.
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Child protection/child abuse legislation, 1976-1979.
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Department of Public Welfare v. Union Gospel Mission
Child Care Center, 1972.
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Juvenile crime, 1969-1981.
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Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis: Minutes and related
papers, 1967-1981. 4 folders.
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| | | The Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis (1967-1981) files contain
resolutions, policy statements, board minutes, proposals to expand its services
to central Minnesota (September 3, 1976), a report on legal representation for
migrant workers (1977), and related materials. |
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Legal Training Services program manual, 1972.
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National Legal Aid and Defenders Association,
1973-1974.
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National Juvenile Law Center, 1971-1972.
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Residential Community Corrections Program report,
1976.
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Sex offenders, 1976.
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Stillwater State Prison: "Joint House-Senate Stillwater
State Prison Investigation Report" (draft), [1973?].
|
| | | In 1973 a Joint House-Senate Prison Investigative Report was
prepared following reports of problems at the Minnesota Correctional Facility
at Stillwater. The report covers many aspects of prison life: visitor
regulations, recreation, prison industries, discipline, education, and mental
health. Accompanying the report are news releases, newspaper clippings, media
commentaries, and correspondence in reaction to the report. |
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Miscellaneous papers, undated and 1973-1975. 2 folders.
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Personal correspondence and miscellaneous papers,
1966-1969. 2 folders.
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| Location | Box |
| 143.A.4.5B | 8 |
Personal correspondence and miscellaneous papers,
1970-1985. 6 folders.
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| Location | Box |
| 143.A.3.6F | 1 |
Biographical information.
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