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Guide to the Rupert and Jeannette Costo Papers
170
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Title: Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers
Date (inclusive): circa 1920-1990, undated
Date (bulk): 1970-1980
Collection Number: 170
Creator:
Costo, Rupert
Creator:
Costo, Jeannette
Extent:
117.0 linear feet
(160 document boxes, multiple containers)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, California 92517-5900
Abstract: The Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers, housed in Special Collections & Archives of the Tomás
Rivera Library at the University of California, Riverside is a collection consisting of
printed material (correspondence, typescripts, original manuscripts and ephemera), film
and photographs collected by Jeannette and Rupert Costo. This collection is largely
dedicated to information on American Indians with an emphasis on California Indians and
contemporary issues. Water, land, hunting and fishing rights, sovereignty, gaming,
language and education are among the major subject areas.
Languages: The collection is predominantly in English.
The Guide to the Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers is dedicated to Jeannette Costo, whose heartfelt interest
in California Indians helped to build this Archive. It is her passion to "preserve the
record" that initiated the development of this Guide.
The staff of Special Collections & Archives of the Tomás Rivera Library was
especially cooperative throughout this project. A special thanks is extended to Sidney
Berger, Ph.D., Head, Special Collections & Archives and Gladys Murphy, Library Assistant, Special Collections & Archives for
providing access to the collection. Their patience is much appreciated.
Jane Liara (Mountain Cahuilla) and Michelle Mazzanti were University of California,
Riverside students who also contributed to the organization of the collection. We are
grateful for their initial efforts.
In addition, funding for this project was made possible by the collaborative efforts of
the Costo Endowment and the Tomás Rivera Library. James Erickson, Vice Chancellor and
John Tanno, Associate University Librarian, generously gave of their time to formulate a
viable funding strategy.
This collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & Archives. All
requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections
& Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the
physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by
the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers, Collection 170. University of California, Riverside Libraries,
Special Collections & Archives, University of California, Riverside.
The Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers were acquired as a gift in 1986.
The initial finding aid for the Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers was designed and implemented by Sidney E. Berger (Head of
Special Collections & Archives at UC Riverside) with the assistance of interns from UCLA and California State University,
Fullerton. Cheryl Metoyer-Duran supervised Dawn Marsh in inputting the raw data into an electronic database. Additional revisions
by Eric Milenkiewicz, 2009.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The Rupert Costo Library of the American Indian consists of about 7,000 volumes and over
9,000 documents, pamphlets, tape recordings, slides, and art work. The Library was formed
by Rupert and Jeannette Costo when they merged their private collections after their
marriage in 1954. The material was collected over a period of fifty years. In 1964 the
Costo's founded the American Indian Historical Society in San Francisco. The library is
one of the most important collections of research materials relating to the Native
Americans in the United States and the world. The Costo's generously gave their collection
to the University of California, Riverside in 1986.
The Costo Library is of great significance to scholars and researchers in American Indian
history and supports the chair in American Indian History endowed by the American Indian
Historical Society and the Costo's. The books and archival materials in the collection
cover the span of Indian history from the arrival of the first settlers, over 55,000
years ago, up to the present day. The materials chiefly deal with Indian history and
culture of the past four centuries after the settlement of America by Europeans. Most of
the materials are scholarly books published in the last fifty years. There are reprints
of older classic works which are very scarce today. These items are shelved in the
Reading Room. The rarer items-old books, art albums, scarce booklets, issued by
individual tribes and researchers-are shelved in Special Collections & Archives.
Documents and private correspondence have been collected directly from individuals and
Indian tribal leaders and are shelved in Special Collections & Archives. Among these are nine boxes
containing documentation about Indian water rights. Framed pictures of original artwork,
historic prints and photos are part of the treasure (along with baskets and pottery on
display in the Library). These materials make the library extremely useful to the
researcher.
The Rupert and Jeannette Costo papers, housed in Special Collections & Archives of the Tomás
Rivera Library at the University of California, Riverside, is a collection consisting of
printed material (correspondence, typescripts, original manuscripts and ephemera), film
and photographs collected by Jeannette and Rupert Costo. This collection is largely
dedicated to information on American Indians with an emphasis on California Indians and
contemporary issues. Water, land, hunting and fishing rights, sovereignty, gaming,
language and education are among the major subject areas.
A portion of this collection remains unprocessed. Please contact Special Collections & Archives for additional information
regarding this material.
Items are arranged numerically into 110 sections according to their assigned nine digit identification number (items in boxes
5-7, 110 have been assigned six digit identification numbers; see explanation below). The first three digits represent the
section number, the second three digits represent the file number, and the last three digits represent the item number. Example,
identification number 009.002.001 is equivalent to Section 009, File 002, Item 001.
Items in boxes 5-7, 110 are arranged numerically according to their assigned six digit identification number. The first three
digits represent the section number and the second three digits represent the file number. Example, identification number
005.003 is equivalent to Section 005, File 003.
The underlined headings in Sections 001-003 (identifcation numbers 001.001.001 thru 003.041.011) represent subdivisions created
by Jeannette Costo.
(Corel WordPerfect 7 was the software used to create the original guide)
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
American Indian Historical Society
Costo, Jeannette Henry.
Costo, Rupert.
Indians of North America.
Administrative records.
Clippings (information artifacts).
Correspondence.
Documents.
Photographs.
Publications.