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Jacqueline Moreau photographs

 Collection
Identifier: Coll 459

Scope and Contents

The Jacqueline Moreau photographs comprise an equal mixture of manuscript materials and photographs, as well as sound recordings. The biographical material, correspondence, subject files, publications, and clippings primarily serve to complement the photographic materials, providing historical context, descriptive information about the photographs themselves or Ms. Moreau's grant work, and printing specifications.

Ms. Moreau processed the photographs in the collection in her home darkroom, and continues to process all her photographs herself; one of the highlights of the collection is the documentation of her process as a photographer. Nearly every print in Box 13 and Box 14 includes numerous print specification notes that will be of interest to researchers interested in Moreau's printing methods, and there are several which were used as templates to burn and/or dodge in order to produce final prints. Additionally, Series I, Subseries D contains Ms. Moreau's Darkroom Manual, and caption information for her River People prints.

Of significance too is Ms. Moreau's documentation, including interview sound recordings, of the lives of Native American peoples along the Columbia River, and their struggle to secure the rights afforded to them by a provision in the 1855 treaty: their right to take fish at "all usual and accustomed places in common with citizens of the territory."

The photographs are comprised primarily of black and white, gelatin silver prints, and many are signed by the photographer.

Dates

  • 1924-2008
  • Majority of material found within 1984-1999

Creator

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time. Three images in the collection are restricted, and closed to all access until such time as permissions from surviving family members of those persons featured can be attained.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creator. Ms. Moreau has placed the following conditions on the use of her photographs: 1. A copyright symbol with Ms. Moreau's name shall appear on reproduced or displayed photographs (e.g., Jacqueline Moreau). 2. The photographs must not be cropped, or the photographic subject matter digitally excised or altered in any way. 3. Copies of the photographs are to be made from the photographs, not from negatives. 4. Reproduced or displayed photographs will have names of the subjects identified, and will include the date and location photographed (this information is included in the collection, Box 1, Folders 1 and 4).

Biographical / Historical

Jacqueline Moreau was born in San Francisco, California in 1948. Moreau majored in chemistry at City College of San Francisco, but pursued other academic interests as well, namely Native American history and the environment. The writings of University of California, Davis professor Jack D. Forbes, and scientist and author Rachel Carson, motivated her to support civil rights issues and awareness of the environment. She joined the peace and equality movement and, in 1969, volunteered gathering and delivering clothing and canned goods for the Indians of All Tribes (IOAT), a Native American civil rights group who had occupied Alcatraz in November of that year.

In 1970, Moreau moved to Ashland, Oregon where she attended Southern Oregon University, focusing her studies on social change and social stratification, and graduating in 1977 with a Bachelor's of Science in Sociology. During the summer breaks, she worked at a nearby forest fire lookout, and learned to use a 35mm camera. After graduation, Moreau pursued an interest in photography that had begun during her time at SOU. She was especially interested in the intersection of photography as an art form and a tool of social justice, and was influenced by Robert Frank, W. Eugene Smith, photographers of the Farm Security Administration, and the "concerned" photographers, such as Henri-Cartier-Bresson.

In 1979 she began work as a freelance photographer, landing jobs with the Ashland Daily Tidings and the Medford Mail Tribune; she also worked as a correspondent for The Oregonian. Two years later she moved to Portland, where she worked as a stringer for United Press International, and as the chief photographer and photo editor for the The Daily Journal of Commerce, and Portland Today. She also worked as a photography lab technician, processing film and making prints at Pro Lab Northwest and other labs. In her free time, Moreau installed a darkroom in her home and studied the making of archival prints, adopting chemical formulas that maximized the small size limitations of "fast" 35mm film.

In 1987, Moreau received a visual arts grant from the Portland Metropolitan Arts Commission – now the Regional Arts and Culture Council – to exhibit images she had captured that documented the lives of Native American fishing families embroiled in treaty rights struggles along the mid-Columbia River. The intent was to expand public awareness of Native American groups whose lives depend on salmon, and the cultural, economic, and religious significance of the Columbia River. The result was a video and exhibit entitled The River People. In 1991, several of Moreau’s River People photographs, sponsored by the Oregon Arts Commission, were exhibited in the Oregon state capitol.

In 1992, Moreau, sponsored by the Yakama Nation, received a grant from the Washington Commission for the Humanities. Moreau used the photographs that resulted from this grant to create an exhibit with photographs and text. The exhibit, Respecting this Earth: Native Americans of the mid-Columbia River, was displayed publicly and later housed in the Yakama Nation Museum and Cultural Center. In 1994, Moreau’s photographs were installed in The Discovery Center, and the Wasco County Museum, in The Dalles, Oregon.

Moreau's other work has included employment as a Paraeducator II (2001-2008), assisting high school teachers to provide learning assistance and support to students with learning disabilities. Between 1972 and 2007, she worked as a fire lookout, manning 12 fire lookouts over the course of 22 fire seasons for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U. S. Forest Service, and the Oregon Department of Forestry. Moreau, who lives is White Salmon, Washington, has two children, Jessica and Colt, both of whom spent their childhood summers in fire lookouts. Colt is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

Extent

6.5 linear feet (11 boxes, 5 photo binders)

Abstract

Collection comprises materials created and collected by Jacqueline Moreau, northwest photographer and journalist, and consists of photographs, biographical material, correspondence, subject files, sound recordings, video recordings, published material, printing specification notes, and clippings. Much of the material in Series I: Papers relates to her photographic work.

Arrangement

Collection is intellectually arranged into the following series: Series I: Papers; Series II: Photographs; Series III: Audiovisual material.

Physical Description

11 boxes, 5 photo binders

Processing Information

Initial intellectual processing completed by Normandy Helmer. Physical processing and intellectual arrangement completed by Rachel Lilley.

Caption information for Ms. Moreau's River People photographs was removed from a black, 3-ring binder for preservation purposes, as was Ms. Moreau's Dark Room Manual (Series I, Subseries D). Items determined to be contextual to the surrounding photographs were physically left in place, and arranged intellectually.

This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

Title
Guide to the Jacqueline Moreau Photographs
Status
Complete Description
Author
Rachel Lilley
Date
2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English

Repository Details

Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403-1299 USA