Finding Aid for Demitri B. Shimkin Papers, 1935-2025 | University of Illinois Archives

Title: Demitri B. Shimkin Papers, 1935-2025

ID: 15/2/26

Primary Creator: Shimkin, Demitri Boris (1916-1992)

Extent: 41.0 cubic feet

Arrangement:

By subject and chronological or alphabetical thereunder.

The papers in the additional 2016 accession are arranged in the following three series:

Series 1: Personal Materials, 1937-2001

Series 1: Personal Material: includes Professor Shimkin's curriculum vitae, honors and awards, photographs, VHS and cassette tapes, obituaries, retirement and memorial materials, and Demitri B. Shimkin Award student papers. The materials are arranged chronologically with one undated item listed at the beginning of the series.

Series 2: Research Materials, 1956-1992

Series 2: Research Material: contains (1) research materials including conference talks, slides and photographs, correspondence, rare publications, related audiovisual materials, arranged alphabetically; (2) restricted files related to the Holmes County Health Research Program (HCHRP). Among HCHRP materials are (a) hematology report cards, (b) individual interview survey files of Holmes Country residents listing age, sex, information about hypertension, medical care, and essential household information (including types of house, sanitation, water, rooms, heating, appliances, phones, or cars e.g.). Interview files are arranged by case number with unnumbered items listed at the end. (c) HCHRP statistical printouts from 1972-1974 including the codebook, arranged by individual runs. These items are restricted for use.

Series 3: Publications, 1938-1993

Series 3: Publications: includes books, book reviews, and journal articles authored and co-authored by Demetri Shimkin. The series is organized chronologically with undated publications listed at the beginning of the series.

Series 4: Alexander (Alec) Shimkin Papers, 1947-2025

Series 4 contains Alec’s student and personal papers, photographs (Mississippi, Vietnam, and personal), correspondence (including family correspondence before and after death), and secondary materials relating to Alec’s engagement in the civil rights movement and his volunteer service, journalism, and death in the Vietnam War.

Subjects: African-Americans, African Health Care, Alaska, Alcohol Abuse, Anthropology, Archeology, Army, United States, Canada - Religion and Sociology, Civil Rights, Faculty Papers, Human Ecology, Indians of North America -- Music, International Biological Program, Mental Health, Mississippi, National Endowment for the Humanities, National War College, Naval War College, Public Health, Shoshoni Indians, Siberia, Society for Applied Anthropology, Tanzania - Science and Technology, Vietnam War

Formats/Genres: Papers

Languages: English, Spanish;Castilian, Russian

Demitri Boris Shimkin was a professor of Anthropology and Geography at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1960-1985). He completed his Bachelor's degree in Anthropology in 1936 and in 1939 received a Ph.D. in Anthropology, both from the University of California at Berkeley. Shimkin served in the U.S. Army on the War Department General Staff, the Military Intelligence Division (1941-1947) and he taught at the National War College, the Army War College and the Navy War College (1946-1947). Shimkin worked as a Research Associate at Harvard University's Russian Research Center (1948-1953). He also served as a Social Science Analyst to the U.S. Bureau of the Census (1953-1960). Professor Shimkin primarily researched diverse groups in Russia, Siberia, the Americas, and Africa. He served as an American Anthropological Association Representative for the National Research Council (1964-1967). Additionally, he was a Senior Fulbright Lecturer at Kemerovo State University (Soviet Union, 1984), and a Fellow for the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University (1970-1971). After his retirement in 1985, he was a Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at UIUC.

Demitri Shimkin's papers includes personal materials, correspondence, meeting minutes, publications, speeches, course materials, student recommendations, manuscripts, research notes and proposals, reports, reprints, maps, photos, computer data tape, and audiotapes; his research and scholarly ties with the Soviet Union and Siberia; African-Americans, Native Americans (Shoshone); military service activities, including teaching and consulting for the U. S. Army War College, the National War College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. The collection includes notes, papers and publications of Edith Shimkin, and Helen Tauby Shimkin. Also included is a guide to Demitri B. Shimkin papers at the University of Wyoming. The additional Holmes County Health Research Program materials from the March 2016 accession are restricted for use until.

In a third accession (March 2026), family materials regarding son Alexander (Alec, 1944-1972) were added, documenting his engagement in the civil rights movement as well as his Vietnam volunteer service, journalism, and death in the Vietnam War. Based on these files, the documentary film, Soldier’s Bones, by Kasper Verkaik and the book, Finding Fathers and Sons, by Gary Sorock (also covering Sorock’s family) are supposed to be forthcoming in 2026.

The first accession materials (1993, 1997) are organized by subject and chronological or alphabetically thereunder. The second accession (March 2016) is arranged into three series: Series 1, Personal Materials, 1937-2001, arranged chronologically with one undated item listed at the beginning of the series; Series 2, Research Materials, 1956-1992, organized into two groups: research materials, arranged alphabetically, and Holmes County Health Research Program, arranged by report cards, interview surveys, and statistical analysis printouts; and Series 3: Publications, 1938-1993, arranged chronologically with undated publications listed at the beginning of the series. The third accession (March 2026) consists of Series 4: Alexander (Alec) Shimkin Papers, 1947-2025.

DEMITRI SHIMKIN (1916-1992)

African-Americans
African Health Care
Alaska
Alcohol Abuse
Anthropology
Archeology
Army, United States
Canada - Religion and Sociology
Civil Rights
Faculty Papers
Human Ecology
Indians of North America -- Music
International Biological Program
Mental Health
Mississippi
National Endowment for the Humanities
National War College
Naval War College
Public Health
Shoshoni Indians
Siberia
Society for Applied Anthropology
Tanzania - Science and Technology
Vietnam War

Repository: University of Illinois Archives

Accruals: 5/10/1993; 10/24/97; 4/20/2006; 3/5/2016; 5/8/2024; 3/2/2026

Access Restrictions: The Holmes County Health Research Program materials and student papers for the Demitri B. Shimkin Award are restricted.

Acquisition Source: Elanor Shimkin

Other Note: 29 Pages

URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/uasfa/1502026.pdf

PDF finding aid for Demitri B. Shimkin Papers (15/2/26)