New Deal Art: "Spillway, Ashokan Dam"

Above: "Spillway, Ashokan Dam," an oil painting by Arnold Wiltz (1889-1937), created while he was in the New Deal's Public Works of Art Project, 1934. Wiltz died from pneumonia at the age of 47, and when he died his wife Madeline was critically ill at the same hospital... similar to the stories we hear today of husbands and wives hospitalized together, with covid-19 ("Arnold Wiltz," Associated Press, in the Chattanooga Times, March 15, 1937, p. 7). Fortunately, Madeline (Schiff) Wiltz recovered from her illness. She was also an artist, born ca. 1885-1895, and passed away in 1966. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

An American Indian Woman in the CCC, her U.S. Marine brother, and today's Burdette Hall building

Above: Dorothy Burdette, 19-year-old Apache woman and office worker in the Civilian Conservation Corps - Indian Division, San Carlos Reservation, Arizona, 1942. Photo from Indians at Work, a publication of the Office of Indians Affairs, March 1942.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (1933-1942) was limited to male enrollees. Back then, gender roles for women usually did not include physical forestry work (a new CCC, if we ever had one, would need to include women and more minorities). However, women undoubtedly contributed much to the CCC, through important but unsung administrative jobs. One of those female administrative workers was Dorothy Burdette, a 19-year-old Apache woman at the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona. The work of Burdette and others supported the 80,000+ American Indian men (nation-wide) who enrolled in the CCC and worked on projects that benefited their lands, for example, fighting forest fires, soil conservation, and infrastructure improvements. 

During her time assisting the CCC's Indian Division, Ms. Burdette was known for her "adaptability, interest and general character." Her work included typing, letter writing, purchasing, "and writing Government bills of lading." Burdette's time in the CCC inspired her to attend business school. (Indians at Work, U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, March 1942, p. 34.)

I don't know much about Ms. Burdette's post-CCC life; an Internet and newspaper archive search wasn't very fruitful. But I did discover that she was the brother of Snyder Burdette, a U.S. Marine, and the first Apache from the San Carlos Reservation to be killed in action during World War II. Snyder Burdette participated in many Pacific Theater fights, including Guadalcanal, before dying at the Solomon Islands. ("Apache Marine Dies in Action," Arizona Republic, December 18, 1942, p. 17; and "Building Named for Heroes," Arizona Republic, February 21, 1964, p. 17). 

Snyder Burdette was one of many American Indians who served, fought, and died for the United States during World War II; and today, there is a "Burdette Hall" at the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation that honors Snyder Burdette and hosts community events (see, e.g., the Instagram page for Burdette Hall). 

And what became of Dorothy Burdette? Did she go into business? Did she marry and have children? Did she play a role in her tribe's government? Is it possible she's still alive (she'd be about 97)? Every so often, someone will contact me about my blog, with more information about someone I've written about. Perhaps someone will contact me about Ms. Burdette too.