Selene Gifford (May 30, 1901 – July 21, 1979) was an American social worker, and an international and federal government official. She won the

Federal Woman's Award The Federal Woman's Award, also known as the Federal Women's Award, was given by the United States Civil Service Commission from 1961 until 1976. The Federal Woman's Award was established by Barbara Bates Gunderson in 1960, while she was serving on ...

in 1964, for her work and leadership at the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

Early life

Selene Gifford was born in

Rochester, Massachusetts Rochester is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,717 at the 2020 census. History Rochester was settled in 1679 on the lands called "Sippican" by the local Wampanoags, along the coast of Buzzards Bay. ...

, the daughter of George G. Gifford and Elizabeth Anna Sherman Gifford.

Career

During the Great Depression, Gifford was a social worker in various states. In 1936, she was assistant regional social worker with the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

(WPA) in West Virginia. In 1938 she was a speaker at a Florida state conference on social work. By 1940 she was chief regional supervisor of the WPA in the deep South, and spoke to the Mississippi Conference of Social Workers. In 1943 Gifford was a public welfare consultant at the

War Relocation Authority The War Relocation Authority (WRA) was a United States government agency established to handle the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It also operated the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego, New York, which was t ...

, tasked with visiting Japanese internment camps. She argued for the employment of White

conscientious objectors A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

at the camps, and spoke about the camps on a panel with

Mike Masaoka Mike Masaru Masaoka ( ja, 正岡優, October 15, 1915 – June 26, 1991) was a Japanese-American lobbyist, author, and spokesman. He worked with the Japanese American Citizens League for over 30 years. He was a key player in encouraging cooperati ...

and Annie Clo Watson at a social work convention. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she was based overseas: she served as deputy chief of mission at the United States Embassy in Cairo, was Director of Displaced Persons at the

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...

(UNRRA) in London, and worked in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

with the

International Refugee Organization The International Refugee Organization (IRO) was an intergovernmental organization founded on 20 April 1946 to deal with the massive refugee problem created by World War II. A Preparatory Commission began operations fourteen months previously. ...

on relief, resettlement and rehabilitation programs. FederalWomansAward1964

Gifford, who was white, spent most of her career at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She became head of the bureau's Division of Community Services in 1949, and assistant commissioner of the bureau in 1952. In 1958, she testified before a House committee on funding for the education of American Indian children. In 1961, she testified before a Senate committee on the constitutional rights of the American Indian. She also established job placement programs, studied issues of law enforcement funding, and supported the repeal of discriminatory laws regarding the sale of alcohol to Native Americans, saying "I do not deny that drinking is a problem among the Indians. But isn't it with any group of people?" In 1962, Gifford received the bureau's Citation for Distinguished Service. In 1964, she received the Federal Woman's Award. She retired from the bureau in 1965.

Personal life

Selene Gifford died from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

Leesburg, Virginia Leesburg is a town in the state of Virginia, and the county seat of Loudoun County. Settlement in the area began around 1740, which is named for the Lee family, early leaders of the town and ancestors of Robert E. Lee. Located in the far northea ...

in 1979, aged 78 years. Her grave is with her siblings' graves, in Rochester, Massachusetts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gifford, Selene 1901 births 1979 deaths American social workers People from Rochester, Massachusetts United States government officials Works Progress Administration administrators