Finding Aid for Muriel "Miki" Crespi Papers, 1929-2004 | University of Illinois Archives

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Collection Overview

Title: Muriel "Miki" Crespi Papers, 1929-2004

ID: 26/20/280

Primary Creator: Muriel "Miki" Crespi (1929-2003)

Extent: 14.4 cubic feet

Arrangement:

Series 1: Academic Course Work, 1955-1968 (Volume: 0.4 cubic foot)

Series 2: Ecuador Fieldwork and Research, 1911-1979 (Volume: 5.6 cubic feet). Divided into 6 sub-series.

Series 2 Subseries 1: Correspondence, 1963-1976 (Volume: 0.2 cubic foot)

Series 2 Subseries 2: Dissertation Materials, 1962-1969 (Volume: 0.4 cubic foot)

Series 2 Subseries 3: Field Notes and Fieldwork Materials, 1962-1979 (Volume: 3.3 cubic feet)

Series 2 Subseries 4: Newspapers and News Clippings, 1962-1979 (Volume: 0.4 cubic foot)

Series 2 Subseries 5: Primary Sources, 1911-1978 (Volume: 0.8 cubic foot)

Series 2 Subseries 6: Research Notes and Wrting Drafts, 1962-1977 (Volume: 0.5 cubic foot)

Series 3: Postdoctoral Career, 1969-2004 (Volume: 1.3 cubic feet). Divided into 6 sub-series.

Series 3 Sub-Series 1: Correspondence, 1972-1983 (Volume: 0.1 cubic foot)

Series 3 Sub-Series 2: Postdoctoral Projects and Research: Ecuador, 1969-1989 (Volume: 0.3 cubic foot)

Series 3 Sub-Series 3: Postdoctoral Projects and Research: Portuguese-Speaking Immigrant Communities and Bilingual Education in New England, 1975-1982 (Volume: 0.4 cubic foot)

Series 3 Sub-Series 4: Publications and Presented Papers, 1971-2001 (Volume: 0.2 cubic foot)

Series 3 Sub-Series 5: Teaching, 1969-1977 (0.2 cubic foot)

Series 3 Sub-Series 6: The National Parks Service, 1982-1983; 2003-2004 (Volume: 0.1 cubic foot)

Series 4: Photographs and Slides, 1962-1979 (Volume: 0.7 cubic foot)

Series 5: Anthropology Book Collection, 1932-1990 (Volume: 4 cubic feet)

Series 6: Audiovisual Materials (Volume: 1.4 cubic feet)

Series 7: Maps (Volume: 1 cubic foot)

Date Acquired: 04/25/2025

Subjects: Alumni, American Anthropological Association, Anthropology, Dissertations, Ecuador, Ecuador - Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ecuador - Education, Ecuador - Religion and Sociology, Ethnography, Indigenous Peoples, Latin American Agriculture

Languages: English, Quechua, Spanish;Castilian

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Papers of Muriel 'Miki" Crespi (née Kaminsky; 1929-2003). Contains: correspondence; ethnographic fieldwork materials (including: field notes; audiovisual recordings; photographs, proofs, and transparencies; data tables; and collected primary source materials); grant applications and funding reports; maps; published and unpublished academic papers; notebooks and academic papers from her undergraduate and graduate studies; and reports and evaluations for academic institutes and government agencies.

Crespi received her Ph.D in Anthropology from the University of Illinois -- Urbana-Champaign in 1968. For her dissertation, she researched traditional hacienda systems in Ecuador. She continued to conduct postdoctoral research in Ecuador with funding from the City College of New York (1969), the National Institute of Mental Health (1970), and a Fulbright-Hays Lectureship Award (1977). Her fieldwork materials created for her research in Ecuador document: agrarian data; conversations with Ecuadorian laborers and landowners; cultural and religious festivities; the impact of and reactions to agrarian reforms in Ecuador beginning in 1964, and the role of women in politics and agriculture in this period; genealogical data; and Ecuadorian's conceptions of race and ethnicity. Contents related to her work in Ecuador additionally include: her dissertation (including earlier drafts); audiovisual recordings; photographic materials; Ecuadorian newspapers and publications; and research proposals. The collection additionally contains select books from Crespi's personal library related to anthropology and the history of Latin America and Indigenous Peoples.

Before she started working for the National Parks Service in 1981, Crespi taught and researched for Hunter College (CUNY), the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Brown University. During this time, she conducted ethnographic research about immigrants from the Azores in the New England region, and taught them citizenship courses. She additionally assessed and wrote curricula for bilingual education programs for colleges in Rhode Island and New Jersey. Contents related to these activities include: instruction materials and course syllabi; institutional reports and evaluations; grant applications and funding reports; and published and presented papers, as well as unpublished papers.

Collection Historical Note

Muriel “Miki” Crespi (née Kaminsky, 1929-2003) was an anthropologist (B.A., CUNY, 1959; M.A. Columbia University, 1962; Ph.D University of Illinois, 1968) who was born in New York, and renowned for her contributions to the National Parks Service as the first Chief Ethnographer of the NPS Ethnography Program from 1981-2003 (now known as the NPS Cultural Anthropology Program). From the National Parks Service web page about Crespi: “The NPS Cultural Anthropology program, originally known as the Ethnography program, was established in 1981 by Muriel "Miki" Crespi (1929-2003). Dr. Crespi completed her undergraduate studies at Columbia and received a Ph.D. in anthropology from Illinois University. In 1981, after spending time in academia at Hunter College, Wisconsin, and Brown, she was hired by the NPS to complete a Native American relationships policy and to design and initiate an applied anthropology program. Dr. Crespi's consistent focus was on contemporary peoples and traditional communities associated with NPS' cultural and natural resources…Dr. Crespi was instrumental in finalizing the first NPS Native American relations policy in 1987. With assistance from NPS leaders and professional academic associations, Dr. Crespi was fundamental to the process of acquiring funding in 1991 to hire cultural anthropologists in regional offices.” (The National Parks Service. “Muriel ‘Miki' Crespi & the NPS Ethnography Program,” March 30, 2016.

Biographical Note

Muriel “Miki” Crespi (née Kaminsky, 1929-2003) was an anthropologist (B.A., CUNY, 1959; M.A. Columbia University, 1962; Ph.D University of Illinois, 1968) who was born in New York, and renowned for her contributions to the National Parks Service as the first Chief Ethnographer of the NPS Ethnography Program from 1981-2003 (now known as the NPS Cultural Anthropology Program). From the National Parks Service web page about Crespi: “The NPS Cultural Anthropology program, originally known as the Ethnography program, was established in 1981 by Muriel "Miki" Crespi (1929-2003). Dr. Crespi completed her undergraduate studies at Columbia and received a Ph.D. in anthropology from Illinois University. In 1981, after spending time in academia at Hunter College, Wisconsin, and Brown, she was hired by the NPS to complete a Native American relationships policy and to design and initiate an applied anthropology program. Dr. Crespi's consistent focus was on contemporary peoples and traditional communities associated with NPS' cultural and natural resources…Dr. Crespi was instrumental in finalizing the first NPS Native American relations policy in 1987. With assistance from NPS leaders and professional academic associations, Dr. Crespi was fundamental to the process of acquiring funding in 1991 to hire cultural anthropologists in regional offices.” (The National Parks Service. “Muriel ‘Miki Crespi & the NPS Ethnography Program,” March 30, 2016. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1209/crespi.htm)

Subject/Index Terms

Alumni
American Anthropological Association
Anthropology
Dissertations
Ecuador
Ecuador - Agriculture and Natural Resources
Ecuador - Education
Ecuador - Religion and Sociology
Ethnography
Indigenous Peoples
Latin American Agriculture

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Academic Course Work, 1955-1968],
[Series 2: Ecuador Fieldwork and Research, 1911-1979],
[Series 3: Postdoctoral Career, 1969-2004],
[Series 4: Photographs and Slides, 1962-1979],
[Series 5],
[Series 6: Audiovisual Materials],
[Series 7: Oversize: Maps and Poster],
[All]

Series 6: Audiovisual Materials

This series contains twelve audio tape reels, eight film reels, and one VHS cassette recording of a lecture Crespi gave about her work for the National Parks Service. The reels did not include consistent or specific labelling, though most audio and film reels appear to be relevant to Crespi’s fieldwork in Ecuador. The reels have been rehoused into stable containers, but they are in poor condition and cannot be played unless they are in the process of being digitized (which has not yet occurred as of December, 2025). Given these circumstances, University Archives staff has not yet been able to view or listen to the recordings to verify their contents, thus available descriptive information is currently limited. Any inquiries about the contents of these reels will be in consultation with the University Library’s Media Preservation and Digitization Services units. Contact illiarch@illinois.edu for any inquiries about these items.

Box 13

Folder 1: Tape 1: Untitled, Undated
Folder 2: Tape 2: Untitled, Undated
Folder 3: Tape 3: 1/8 E. Catucuamba, Leonidas Umberto, ca. 1964-1979
Folder 4: Tape 4: Pesillo 1 (1), ca. 1964-1979
Folder 5: Tape 5: Leonidas Catucuamba Rafico Lechon, ca. 1964-1979
Folder 6: Tape 6: Manuel, Undated
Folder 7: Tape 7: Pesillo 1 (2), ca. 1964-1979
Folder 8: Tape 8: Case de Jorge Ramos - Bautizo - H. Catacuamba - Neare - Rafico, ca. 1964-1979
Folder 9: Tape 9: Untitled, Undated
Folder 10: Tape 10: Untitled, Undated
Folder 11: Tape 11: San Juanitos, Undated
Folder 12: Tape 12: Untitled, Undated

Box 14

Folder 1: Film 1: Untitled, Undated: Vinegar syndrome
Folder 2: Film 2: Untitled, 8-Jul-68: Vinegar syndrome
Folder 3: Film 3: Untitled, Undated: Vinegar syndrome
Folder 4: Film 4: Untitled, Undated: Vinegar syndrome
Folder 5: Film 5: Untitled, Sep-66: Vinegar syndrome
Folder 6: Film 6: Untitled, July, 1964: Vinegar syndrome
Folder 7: Film 7: Untitled, Undated: Vinegar syndrome
Folder 8: Film 8: Untitled, Undated: Vinegar syndrome
Folder 9: VHS 1: Muriel Crespi Lecture at Miami University, Oxford "Incorporating Native Voices into Federal Decisions: Emerging Challenges for the National Park Service", 30-Apr-92: See Box 16 for accompanying poster.