C.J. Rogers papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 113.2962

Collection Scope and Content Note

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The C.J. Rogers papers contain paper documents, moving images, audio recordings, and digital files relating to the work of C.J. Rogers at Raised by Wolves, Inc. Documents include pamphlets, newsletters, published articles, a dissertation, a data notebook on wolf aggression, and newspaper articles. Three audio files (on both audio cassettes and CDs) comprise radio interviews and a recording of wolves’ howling. Video files (originally on VHS and Video 8 cassettes, then transferred to DVDs) show footage from two documentaries recorded by C.J. Rogers for her dissertation and over two dozen raw footage tapes from the Raised by Wolves facility. Shot listings for most of the videos accompany these materials. Digital content for this collection includes 47 scanned field research notebooks, a grouping of scanned index cards, 14 posters, and digitized access audio and video files. The bulk of the materials are from between 1994 and 2000.

The Strong has supplied C.J. Rogers with a digital video camera and digital audio recorder so that additional footage may be provided to The Strong for inclusion in its collections.

The materials of this collection have been arranged into four series, with three further divided into subseries. The physical items are housed in seven archival document boxes. Digital files are arranged and maintained on the internal network of The Strong.

Dates

Creation: 1987 - 2011
Creation: Majority of material found within 1994 - 2000

Creator

Rogers, C.J. (Research team head, Person)

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is open for research use by staff of The Strong and by users of its library and archives. Though the donor has not transferred intellectual property rights (including, but not limited to any copyright, trademark, and associated rights therein) to The Strong, she has given permission for The Strong to make copies in all media for museum, educational, and research purposes.

Biographical Note

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C.J. Rogers, Ph. D., is a psychologist and behavioral ethologist. She founded Raised by Wolves, Inc., a USDA-licensed, non-profit research facility in New Mexico, dedicated to the study of wolf and wolf-hybrid behavior and cognition.

Rogers initially earned her M.A. in Psychology from Goddard College in 1978, and she went on to practice psychotherapy in the Chicago area for over a decade. For health reasons, she relocated to New Mexico in 1991. Her beloved Samoyed dog, Sage, passed away that same year, and Rogers attempted to lessen the void by adopting a wolf-hybrid named Mantra. Rogers’ fascination with wolves and wolf-hybrids emerged as she learned more about their inherent nature. She soon acquired two more wolves as companions for Mantra, and these animals became a pack. As Rogers realized that wolves had a great deal to teach humans, she enrolled in a doctoral program and developed her own long-term research study in wolf ethology while steadily adding more wolves to her pack. Rogers received her Ph.D. in Behavioral Ecology and Psychology in 1996. At Raised by Wolves, each wolf was considered a unique individual with a carefully chosen name. Rogers wanted to learn whatever the wolves would teach her; to that end, Rogers observed and researched wolf pack dynamics, social organization, leadership, aggression, altruism, and play. Since 1992, more than 25 wolves and wolf-hybrids have lived with Rogers at Raised by Wolves.

Though one early function of the research facility featured outreach, Raised by Wolves no longer accommodates visitors or photographers due to the necessity of maintaining a natural environment for the wolves. (Rogers’ analyses have shown that visits from human strangers have been detrimental to the wolves’ behavior and impact ongoing studies.) Rogers has authored papers and presented at conferences about her research. She lives with her pack at the Raised by Wolves sanctuary, continuing her participant-observer studies of these animals and advocating for better treatment and understanding of wolves.

Extent

6 Linear Feet (7 boxes)

50 Gigabytes (Digital files) : Accessible on-site at The Strong.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

System of Arrangement

Series I: Documents, 1987-2011

Subseries A: Raised by Wolves, Inc. information

Subseries B: Published works by C.J. Rogers

Subseries C: Research data

Subseries D: Newspaper articles

Subseries E: Correspondence

Series II: Audio, 1997-1998

Series III: Video, 1994-2004

Subseries A: Original media

Subseries B: DVD copies

Series IV: Digital files, 1999-2011

Subseries A: Field research notebooks

Subseries B: Presentation posters

Subseries C: Access copies of audio/video files

Custodial History

The C. J. Rogers papers were acquired by The Strong in November 2010 from C. J. Rogers and accessioned by The Strong under Object ID 113.2962. Materials were received from Rogers in a shipment of papers in January 2011, followed by subsequent video and audio donations later that year. In September 2011, two staff members from The Strong visited Rogers in New Mexico and made digital scans of Rogers’ field research notebooks and index cards. Also in September 2011, Rogers loaned 14 posters to The Strong, which were then returned to Rogers after being photographed.