Finding Aid for Norma J. Linton Papers, ca. 1903-2022 | University of Illinois Archives

Title: Norma J. Linton Papers, ca. 1903-2022

ID: 26/20/279

Primary Creator: Linton, Norma

Extent: 18.8 cubic feet

Arrangement:

Series One: University of Illinois Athletics and Student Culture, ca. 1910-2021, Boxes 1-12, 6.4 cubic ft (contains 8 subseries)

Series One Subseries One: Chief Illiniwek Research Coordination, notes, and Writing, 1982-2001, Box 1, 0.2 cubic ft

Series One Subseries Two: Chief Illiniwek Research - Correspondence and Interviews, 1933-2001, Box 2, 0.5 cubic ft

Series One Subseries Three: Chief Illiniwek Research - Protest and Debate, 1974-2001, Box 2, 0.5 cubic ft

Series One Subseries Four: Chief Illiniwek Research - Publicity, ca. 1925-2015, Boxes 3-4, 1.8 cubic ft (0.2 of Box 4 is empty)

Series One Subseries Five: Homecomings Research - University of Illinois (Home Games), ca. 1910-2021, Boxes 5-6 & 9, 2.1 cubic ft

Series One Subseries Six: Homecomings Research - Big Ten Universities (University of Illinois Away Games), 1976-2010, Boxes 7-9, 1.4 cubic ft

Series One Subseries Seven: University Athletics and Student Life & Culture - Publicity and Reference, ca. 1910s-2014, Boxes 10-11, 0.6 cubic ft

Series One Subseries Eight: University of Illinois Posters (Oversize), 1975-1978, Box 12, 0.5 cubic ft

Series Two: Mascots Subject File, ca. 1923-2015, Boxes 13-15, 3 cubic ft (contains 2 subseries)

Series Two Subseries One: Mascot Subject File, 1933-2015, Boxes 12-15, 2.7 cubic ft

Series Two Subseries Two: Mascots, General, ca. 1912-2014, Box 15, 0.3 cubic ft

Series Three: Crow Tribe, ca. 1903-2020, Boxes 16-20, 3.6 cubic ft (contains 5 subseries)

Series Three Subseries One: Academics and Correspondence, 1968-2000, Box 16, 0.3 cubic ft

Series Three Subseries Two: Crow Bilingual Education, 1972-2016, Box 17, 0.6 cubic ft

Series Three Subseries Three: Crow Tribe and Reservation, 1961-2015, Box 17, 0.4 cubic ft

Series Three Subseries Four: Newspaper Clippings and Secondary Literature, ca. 1903-2020, Box 18, 1 cubic ft

Series Three Subseries Five: Scrapbooks and Photographs, ca. 1918-2018, Box 19-20, 1.3 cubic ft

Series Four: Native American Communities Activities and Research, 1967-2013,  Boxes 21-25, 2.5 cubic ft (contains 3 subseries)

Series Four Subseries One: Correspondence, Research, and Travel, 1967-1996, Box 21, 0.3 cubic ft

Series Four Subseries Two: Events, Museums, and News, 1967-2013, Boxes 22-24, 2 cubic ft

Series Four Subseries Three: University of Illinois - Events, Speakers, and Students, 1970-1997, Box 25, 0.2 cubic ft

Series Five: Personal and Social Life, ca. 1960-2022, Boxes 26-27, 1.5 cubic ft

Subjects: Anthropology, Chief Illiniwek, Football Fans, Homecoming, Interviews, Michigan State University, Native American, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Purdue University, Student Life, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Papers of Norma Linton, 1939-2024 (B.A. Psychology, Rutgers University, 1962; M.A. Anthropology, University of Illinois, 1979; M.S. Library and Information Science, University of Illinois, 1997; PhD Library and Information Science, 2009). This collection documents Linton’s academic career and research projects (including Chief Illiniwek, university homecomings, mascots, and with Native American communities), experiences while travelling in the United States and Europe, research and social life with the Crow Tribe, and personal life. Contents include: academic papers and notes, correspondence, film, interviews (recordings and transcripts), news clippings and publicity, photographs and slides, posters, scrapbooks, and objects likely purchased at museum gift shops.

Series One contains fieldwork and research material, which includes: interviews, correspondence, newspaper clippings and publicity material, photographs and slides, and research notes. Contents document Linton’s decades-spanning independent project, as she described: “research on college rituals and festivals, particularly those related to athletic contests. Examine: the symbolic meaning of sports’ mascots; dramaturgical displays of Homecoming and TailGreat festivals; the history and meaning of traditional symbols of the University of Illinois; the development of Homecoming in the Big Ten Universities” (source: normalinton.wordpress.com/cv/).

Series Two contains Linton’s subject files about school and sport mascots, the use of Native American caricatures as mascots, and general/reference information about mascots. Contents document types of mascots used at various schools and universities, the use and discontinuation of Native American caricatures as mascots, sports fandom, and mascot themes.

Series Three contains academic notes and writing, correspondence, Crow language books and instructional material, Crow Tribe and Reservation documents, news clippings, photographs and slides, scrapbooks, and a film. Contents document Linton’s anthropological research with the Crow Tribe under the auspices of the Doris Duke Indian Oral History Program grant from 1967-1972 (see Doris Duke Indian Oral History Program Archives, 1908-1995, Record Series 15/2/32, University of Illinois Archives) and after, Crow adoption ceremonies, Crow Fair, Crow bilingual education, Little Bighorn Battlefield, and Linton’s social life with her Crow friends and adopted family. Contents in part or whole of Subseries One, Three, and Five are restricted as of May 2026, pending review from consultants of the Crow Tribe.

Series Four contains correspondence, museum publications and tourism information, news clippings and newsletters, photographs, posters, and transcripts. Contents document Native American museums and themed exhibits, the occupation of Wounded Knee, Dickson Mounds, Native American newspapers, representations of Native Americans in commercial and pop-culture, and Linton’s research and social activities with Native American communities and individuals. Some contents of Subseries One are restricted as of May 2026, pending review from consultants of Ho-Chunk Nation.

Series Five contains academic records, correspondence, personal writings, photographs, and scrapbooks. Contents document Linton’s travels (including in Turkey, Europe, and Japan), academic achievements, and the death and commemoration of her son, Forest.

Norma Jean Linton (December 3, 1939 – October 6, 2024) was born in Pennsylvania. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology in 1962, then set off to Germany. There, she worked for psychiatric residences and hospitals in Marburg and Konstanz until 1964. While abroad, Linton travelled across Europe and the Mediterranean region, and developed a lifelong love for Istanbul, Turkey, where she made enduring friendships. In 1967, Linton enrolled in the Anthropology Department at the University of Illinois to pursue her PhD. Although she had initially intended to concentrate her research and field work on Turkey, at the time of her enrollment the Anthropology Department had suddenly received significant funding for research on American Indian communities. With respect to this opportunity, Linton redirected her research interests to study the Crow Tribe in Montana, and to a lesser extent Navajo Nation, under the auspices of the Doris Duke grant. From 1968 through the mid-1970s, Linton made multiple visits to the Crow Reservation and lived there for a year from 1971-1972 with her son, Forest, born in 1968. In 1973, Linton and her son were adopted into a Crow family. Linton maintained lifelong friendships within the Crow community and made many more visits to the Crow Reservation over the course of her life. By the mid-to-late 1970s, Linton additionally began her self-directed research project on university homecoming traditions and mascots, which spanned over 35 years.

Linton received her M.A. in Anthropology in 1979 but never completed her PhD in the program. She remained part of the Champaign-Urbana community, continuing her self-directed research and other projects, as well as work researching and teaching adult literacy and education. Beginning in 1984, she began work for the Conservation Unit of the University of Illinois’s Library as a book restorer, and in 1989 became the director of the Book Restoration and Pamphlet Binding Unit until 2005. In 2009, she received her PhD in Library and Information Science.

Anthropology
Chief Illiniwek
Football Fans
Homecoming
Interviews
Michigan State University
Native American
Northwestern University
Ohio State University
Purdue University
Student Life
University of Iowa
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Repository: University of Illinois Archives

Access Restrictions:

Access with permission from the University Archivist:

Box 1 Folder 100: Tryouts - Letters of Intent, ca. 1980-1989

Box 26 Folder 32: Student Records and Employment, 1967-1984, 2009

Restricted - Pending Consultation with the Crow Tribe (as of May 2026)

Box 16 Folder 10: Crow Demographics and Native Americans Research Notes, ca. 1968-1978

Box 17 Folder 32: Crow Tribal Council Meetings and Reports

Box 19-20: ALL CONTENTS

Box 26 Folder 13: Crow Adopted Family, ca. 1970-2016

Restricted - Pending Consultation with Ho-Chunk Nation (as of May 2026)

Box 21 Folders 6-9: Ho-Chunk Nation, 1973-1976 (Memorial Weekend Pow Wow, Negatives, Photographs)

Technical Access Note: AV materials require special equipment for playback that University Archives may not have on-site.

Separated Materials: Doris Duke Indian Oral History Program Archives, 1908-1995, RS 15/2/32 additions processed August, 2025.

Related Materials:

Chief Illiniwek Dialogue Responses & Board of Trustees Files, 1938-2011, Record Series 1/1/18, University of Illinois Archives.

Chief Illiniwek Subject Files, 1966-2004, Record Series 39/1/17, University of Illinois Archives.

Doris Duke Indian Oral History Program Archives, 1908-1995, Record Series 15/2/32, University of Illinois Archives.

Forest Linton Papers, 1968-2003, Record Series 26/20/273, University of Illinois Archives.

Lester Leutwiler Chief Illiniwek Headdresses, Costume, and Accessories, ca. 1924-1928, Record Series 26/20/262, The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music.

Raymond F. Dvorak Papers, 1922-1934, 1957-1958, Record Series 12/9/23, The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music.

Robert and John Bitzer Chief Illiniwek Papers and Artifacts, 1938-2007, Record Series 26/20/258, The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music.

URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/uasfa/2620279.pdf

PDF finding aid for Norma J. Linton Papers (26/20/279)