Indian Personality, Education and Administration Research Project Search this
Saint Mary's University (Halifax, N.S.). Institute of Human Values Search this
United States. Office of Indian Affairs Search this
Extent:
27 Linear feet (50 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
Germany
Guam
Fiji
Iceland
Date:
1905-1997
Summary:
The papers of Laura Thompson reflect the professional and personal life of an active and pioneering anthropologist. In the 1930s, Thompson began her work in applied anthropology, producing studies of Fiji, Guam and Hawaii intended to aid administrators of economic, educational and political development and pioneering approaches now known as "administrative" and "educational" anthropology. In the 1940s, Thompson applied her skills to the Indian Personality, Education and Administration Research Project, a study of eleven communities of five Native American tribes. From the 1950s until the end of her career, Thompson sought to formulate and demonstrate a theoretical anthropological synthesis of man and culture, while pursuing fieldwork in Iceland and Germany, teaching, and consulting for numerous institutions.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Laura Thompson reflect the professional and personal life of an active and pioneering anthropologist. In the 1930s, Thompson began her work in applied anthropology, producing studies of Fiji, Guam and Hawaii intended to aid administrators of economic, educational and political development and pioneering approaches now known as "administrative" and "educational" anthropology. In the 1940s, Thompson applied her skills to the Indian Personality, Education and Administration Research Project, a study of eleven communities of five Native American tribes. From the 1950s until the end of her career, Thompson sought to formulate and demonstrate a theoretical anthropological synthesis of man and culture, while pursuing fieldwork in Iceland and Germany, teaching, and consulting for numerous institutions.
Included in this collection are field diaries, numerous manuscripts and lectures, research materials, correspondence, sound recordings and ethnographic photographs. Also included are various subject and index files maintained by Thompson for her many research projects. The collection is particularly rich in unpublished manuscripts that Thompson created from 1950 to the mid 1990s. Manuscript topics include particular field sites, such as Fiji and West Germany, as well as Thompson's critical and theoretical exposition regarding the future of applied anthropology, variously titled "Clinical" and "Holistic Anthropology."
Numerous materials pertaining to Thompson's personal life are also located in the collection, including personal diaries and professional awards, correspondence with friends and family, and personal photographs of Thompson from infancy to old age. Located in Thompson's personal papers are her writings from late in life, in which she addressed aging through her anthropological sensibilities, recorded formative memories from her youth, and projected the future of a world rife with injustice and environmental destruction.
A large portion of the Laura Thompson papers include documents from the Indian Personality, Education and Administration (IPEA) Project, initiated by the Office of Indian Affairs and the University of Chicago Committee on Human Development. This investigation of five Native American tribes includes the results of over 1000 psychological studies of native children. Materials included encompass the protocols for and implementation of the project, as well as field reports, psychological tests, correspondence, worker supervision reports and final analyses of findings. Included is a copy of the project's published final report, Personality and Government (1951). The bulk of the records date between 1941and 47; related material spans as late as 1992. Correspondents primarily include project members and consultants, particularly: John Collier, A. I. Hallowell, Maud Hallowell, Royal Hassrick, Robert Havinghurst, Alice Joseph, Bruno Klopfer, Clyde Kluckhohn, Dorothea Leighton, D'Arcy McNickle, Trude Schmidl-Waehner, Heinrich Schultz, Ruth Underhill, and W. Lloyd Warner. The papers of the IPEA Project are restricted in use.
Additional material in the NAA relating to the IPEA Research Project can be found in the following collections: Indian Personality and Administration Research Project Papers, donated by Robert J. Havighurst, and the Dorothea Cross Leighton papers. A list of publications resulting from findings of the project can be found in the Thompson collection accession folder.
Nearly absent from the collection are materials reflecting Thompson's fieldwork in Hawaii, her marriages to Bernhard Tüting and John Collier, and manuscripts of her early publications.
Correspondents in Thompson's papers include:
Ruth BENEDICT,
Charles W. COLLIER,
John COLLIER,
Malcolm COLLIER,
Cora DUBOIS,
Fred EGGAN,
Alfred EMERSON,
Kenneth EMORY,
Frederick V. FIELD,
Roland W. FORCE,
Derek FREEMAN,
Ann Pinson GILL,
Peggy GOLDE,
A. I. HALLOWELL,
Maude HALLOWELL,
Royal HASSRICK,
Robert HAVINGHURST,
Alice JOSEPH,
Felix KEESING,
Lawrence KELLY,
Bruno KLOPFER,
Clyde KLUCKHOHN,
A. L. KROEBER,
Harry S. LADD,
Bruno LASKER,
Dorothy LEE,
Dorothea LEIGHTON,
Charles F. LOOMIS,
Katherine LOUMALA,
Robert H. LOWIE,
John R. MACCORMACK,
Bronislaw MALINOWSKI,
D'Arcy MCNICKLE,
Margaret MEAD,
Robert REDFIELD,
Trude SCHMIDL-WAEHNER,
Heinrich SCHULTZ,
Leslie SPIER,
George D. SPINDLER,
Rebecca STEVENSON,
Ratu J. L. V. SUKUNA (District Commissioner of Lau),
Alfred TOZZER,
W. Lloyd WARNER and
Alvin WOLFE.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arrangement:
Arranged in 11 series: (1) Fiji, 1933-1995; (2) Germany, 1934-1991; (3) Guam, 1938-1996; (4) Indian Personality, Education and Administration Research Project, 1941-1992; (5) Iceland, 1952-1981; (6) Institute of Human Values, 1973-1982; (8) Manuscripts and research, 1935-1994; (9) Professional correspondence, 1943-1992; (10) Publications, 1932-1991; (11) Personal Papers, 1905-1997.
Biographical Note:
Laura Thompson (1905-2000) conducted fieldwork in Oceania, the Southwestern United States and Europe; she taught at numerous institutions and served as a consultant for many organizations, including the Naval Government of Guam and the Office of Indian Affairs, throughout her career. Thompson's papers reflect her involvement in each of these activities as well as her desire to formulate a unifying theory of applied anthropology that would address issues including environmentalism and overpopulation.
1905 -- Born in Honolulu, Hawaii on January 23.
1923 -- Graduated from Punahou Academy, Hawaii.
1927 -- Bachelor of Arts, Mills College, California.
1928 -- Graduate studies in anthropology, Radcliffe College and Harvard University, Massachusetts.
1929-33 -- Graduate studies in anthropology, University of California, Berkeley.
1929-34 -- Assistant Ethnologist, Bishop Museum, Hawaii.
1931-32 -- Fellow, Bishop Museum, Hawaii.
1933 -- Ph.D. in anthropology, University of California, Berkeley.
1933-34 -- Lau Islands, Fiji, fieldwork.
1934-37 -- Germany, travel and research.
1938-39 -- Guam, fieldwork under U.S. Naval Government and University of Hawaii.
1938-40 -- Consultant, U. S. Naval Government of Guam.
1940-41 -- Social Scientist, Community Survey of Education, Hawaii.
1941 -- Co-founder, Society for Applied Anthropology. Graduate work in Human Development, University of Chicago, Illinois.
1941-47 -- Coordinator, Indian Personality, Education, and Administration Research Project.
1941-43 -- Papago Indians, fieldwork. Pine Ridge Sioux Indians, fieldwork. Hopi Indians, fieldwork. Navaho Indians, fieldwork. Poston War Relocation Camp, fieldwork. Zuni Indians, fieldwork.
1942-44 -- Consultant, U. S. Office of Indian Affairs.
1946 -- Papago Indians, fieldwork.
1946-54 -- Research consultant, Institute of Ethnic Affairs (Washington DC and New York).
1952 -- Iceland, fieldwork.
1954-56 -- Professor of Anthropology, City College of New York.
1957-58 -- Visiting Professor of Anthropology, University of North Carolina.
1958-59 -- Research fellow, Laboratories of Anthropology, University of North Carolina.
1959-60 -- Visiting Professor, North Carolina State College.
1960 -- Iceland, fieldwork.
1961 -- Visiting professor, Utah State University (summer). Distinguished Visiting Professor, Pennsylvania State University.
1961-62 -- Professor of Anthropology, University of Southern Illinois.
1962 -- Visiting Professor, University of Hawaii (summer).
1962-63 -- Professor of Anthropology, San Francisco State College.
1964 -- Lecturer, Brooklyn College, CUNY.
1974 -- Honorary Ll.D., Mills College, CA.
1976 -- Board of Governors, Institute of Human Values, St. Mary's University, Halifax.
1977 -- Ancient Order of the Chammori (Honor for public service in Guam).
1979 -- Malinowski Award, Society for Applied Anthropology.
1985 -- Returned to Hawaii.
2000 -- Died January 29.
Related Materials:
Additional material in the NAA relating to the IPEA Research Project can be found in the following collections: Indian Personality and Administration Research Project Papers, donated by Robert J. Havighurst, and the Dorothea Cross Leighton papers. A list of publications resulting from findings of the project can be found in the Thompson collection accession folder.
Provenance:
Thompson's papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by the creator periodically over 25 years.
Restrictions:
Portions of the collection, in particular materials from the Indian Personality, Education and Administration Research Project, are restricted in use.
Access to the Laura Thompson papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Citation:
Laura Thompson papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
