Philleo Nash (October 25, 1909October 12, 1987) was an American government official,

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he was Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (1961–1966) during the presidencies of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

. Previously, he was the 33rd Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin (1959–1961) and was chairman of the

Democratic Party of Wisconsin The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public edu ...

(1955–1957). Earlier in his career, he served more than 10 years as a

political appointee Appointment may refer to: Law *The prerogative power of a government official or executive to select persons to fill an honorary position or employment in the government (political appointments, poets laureate) *Power of appointment, the legal a ...

in the

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

administrations, including as Special Assistant directly to President

(1946–1952), influencing his policy on

desegregation Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws ...

of the armed forces and federal government, as well as policy related to Native Americans and other minorities. His wife, Edith Nash, was a poet and activist for

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

Early life and family

Philleo Nash was born in

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Wisconsin Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Wisconsin River. The population was 18,877 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Marshfield, Wisconsin, M ...

. He grew up in the

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

. He graduated from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1932, and went on to graduate studies. In 1935, he received his Ph.D. in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. On November 2, 1935, he married Edith Rosenfels of Oak Park, Illinois, whom he had met in graduate school in Chicago. She also trained in anthropology and did field studies in the American West in the 1930s. They had two daughters. From 1937–1941, Nash was a Lecturer at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and from 1941–1942, at the

. In this latter period, he also began to serve as a manager in his family's Biron Cranberry Company. After they moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where he served in the government, Edith Nash became the second director of the

Georgetown Day School Georgetown Day School (GDS) is an independent coeducational PK-12 school located in Washington, D.C. The school educates 1,075 elementary, middle, and high school students in northwestern Washington, D.C. Russell Shaw is the current Head of Sch ...

, the first racially integrated school in the capital. She was also an accomplished poet. Among other poetry books, she published ''Practice: The Here and Now'' (2001) by Cross+Roads Press. She founded the Riverwood Roundtable, a central Wisconsin literary society.

Career

Philleo Nash gained political appointments to serve in the administrations of

and

(1946–1953). From 1942–1946, he served as Special Assistant to the Director, White House Liaison, Office of War Information. During that wartime period, he worked on the issue of

conscientious objectors A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or freedom of religion, religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for ...

during the war, writing reports entitled ''Suggestions Concerning the Treatment of Conscientious Objectors'' and the ''Report of the President's Amnesty Board.'' During the Truman administration, Nash served directly for the president as his Special Assistant from 1946–1952, and as his Administrative Assistant 1952–1953.''Truman Papers'': "Philleo Nash Files", Biographical Sketch
Truman Library Nash worked on Truman's initiatives related to civil rights, including advising him of how to proceed with integration of the United States Armed Forces during a several-year period. As part of civil rights initiatives begun in 1946, in February 1948 Truman submitted a comprehensive civil rights bill to Congress; later that year, he issued

Executive Order 9981 Executive Order 9981 was an executive order issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry S. Truman. It abolished discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin" in the United States Armed Forces. The Order led to the r ...

to integrate the military. The same day, he issued Executive Order 9980 to end racial discrimination in hiring in the federal government and initiate desegregation in the workplace (which President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

had segregated in 1914). From 1961–1966, Nash returned to Washington, D.C., from Wisconsin, where he was appointed as Commissioner of the

United States Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

during the administrations of

, and

. American Indians were increasingly active in demanding recognition of sovereignty and working for their civil rights.

Return to private life

In 1946 Nash became President of Biron Cranberry company, which he continued until 1977. After 1953 he retired the first time from public service and returned to Wisconsin, devoting his time to the family business. Philleo and Edith Nash had a cottage in Biron, where the company was located. They lived most of the time on Riverwood Lane in Wisconsin Rapids. He returned to Washington, D.C., from 1961–1966, heading the Bureau of Indian Affairs, during a period when Native Americans were pressing for social justice. In 1963, he appeared on

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

, as himself, and spoke about the goals of the Bureau for improving the lives of Native Americans. Philleo Nash died in

Marshfield, Wisconsin Marshfield is a city in Wood County, Wisconsin, Wood and Marathon County, Wisconsin, Marathon counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 18,929 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census; of this, 18,119 were in Wood County a ...

Notes

References

Philleo Nash papers
Truman Library

Truman Library

External links

"Register to the Papers of Philleo Nash"
National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution {{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, Philleo 1909 births 1987 deaths People from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Businesspeople from Wisconsin American Congregationalists Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairs Lieutenant governors of Wisconsin Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel Truman administration personnel Kennedy administration personnel Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel Academic staff of the University of Toronto University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Chicago alumni United States Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel