Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
In hand of Franz Boas. Alphabetically arranged by English. Native term followed by a number, usually of 3 digits.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 350-c
Local Note:
Non-Chinookan. Perhaps a Salishan language. Note that equivalents are given for "Chinook canoe" and "Kwakiutl canoe"; should be compared first with languages geographically between these two.--Comment by Dell Hymes, November 16, 1960. Probably Comox. (Could compare with Boas' Satlolk Comox).--Laurence L. Thompson, April, 1964.
Confirmed as Comox on basis of terms for "antlers," "arm," "approaches," and "to bark," by John Davis, Department of Linguistics, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, here 2-8-71. He believes that this may be the raw material for Boas' vocabulary of Catloltq in his report to the British Assn. for the Advancement of Science, 1890, 6th Report of the Northwest Tribes, pages 141-163. (This reference telephoned in afterwards, has not been checked.--MCB)
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Written on slips marked with 2-digit numbers at upper right. In hand of a clerk, with occasional corrections or whole slips in hand of Franz Boas. Not arranged alphabetically or by number, as of 1/64.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 350-b
Local Note:
Language identified by Dell Hymes, November 16, 1960.
In letter of July 25, 1957, to W.C. Sturtevant (commenting on forms sent for determination by WCS) Hymes wrote : "In 350, I think you are right that the material is Clatsop....In general, the orthography looks like that of Boas about 1890-94. I suspect this is a copy (whether in part by Boas himself, I can't say of course) of material Boas obtained, but never published, on the Clatsop dialect. While in Philadelphia at APS this spring, I copied a Clatsop vocabulary (by Boas) arranged according to the English translations alphabetically. Manuscript 350 may contain more material, though probably most is identical."
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Albumen prints
Photographs
Date:
Nov-Dec 1894
Scope and Contents:
Man in Button Blanket and Eagle Down and Cedarbark Headdress, Standing in Center Of Group on Beach, Some in Button Blankets and Cedarbark Headdresses; Canoe in Background
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.00059500
OPPS NEG SI.3949
Local Note:
These photographs are listed in Boas accession file #29057. Additional information supplied by Bill Holm.
Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Albumen prints
Photographs
Date:
Nov-Dec 1894
Scope and Contents:
Group of Men, All with Cedarbark Headgear, Some in Wool Blankets, Standing and Sitting Behind Blanket Pile; Wood Plank Houses and Totem Poles in Background
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.00060000
OPPS NEG SI.3944
OPPS NEG.73-9785
Local Note:
These photographs are listed in Boas accession file #29057. Additional information supplied by Bill Holm.
Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Albumen prints
Photographs
Date:
Nov-Dec 1894
Scope and Contents:
Five Men Standing Behind Skin Drum?, Three with Face Paint, Button Blankets And Cedarbark Headdresses, One with Eagle Down; Seated Group Of People and Canoe in Background
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.00060100
OPPS NEG SI.3947
Local Note:
These photographs are listed in Boas accession file #29057. Additional information supplied by Bill Holm.
The collection consists of one (1) notebook containing Franz Boas' notes on the Nisqa'a. The notebook includes a vocabulary and several pages of sketches. There are also two loose pages of notes and pages 3-6 of the newsletter of The New York Society for Ethical Culture (circa 1909).
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.
Biographical Note:
Franz Boas (1858-1942) was a German-American anthropologist and pioneer of modern anthropological practice. He studied physics and geography at the universities at Heidelberg and Bonn before completing a doctoral program in physical geography at Kiel in 1881. After graduation, he joined an expedition of Baffin Island (1883-1884), which influenced his decision to him to focus on cultural tradition rather than biological and physical influences. In 1885, Boas emigrated to the United States, where he took an editorial position with the journal Science and started what would become his most famous ethnographic project, working among the Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka'wakw) Indians, in 1886. Boas spent three years teaching at Clark University in Massachusetts, then took an appointment at the Field Museum in Chicago in 1892. Boas then moved to New York, where he joined the American Museum of Natural History (1895-1905) and began teaching at Columbia University in 1896. For 37 years, Boas established himself as an academic and mentored numerous future influential anthropologists, including Margaret Mead, Alfred Kroeber, Edward Sapir, and Zora Neale Hurston. He also served as one of the founders of both the American Anthropological Association and the International Journal of American Linguistics.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 2135
Variant Title:
Niska notes and sketches
Nisqa Notes
Related Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds additional material by Franz Boas concerning the Nisga'a in MS 348 Niska Manuscript and MS 1823 Nisqa (Niska) Dictionary.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Field notes
Drawings
Citation:
MS 2135 Franz Boas notebook concerning the Nisga'a, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The collection consists of thirty-four (34) items, including thirty-two (32) maps of the Baffin Island coast drawn by unidentified Inuit informants and annotated by Franz Boas; and two (2) numbered lists of place names by Boas. Most of the maps are not identified as to the precise area they represent except by Inuit place names. Other notes on the maps include a short text in an Inuit language and some notes in German and English; most of these notes are illegible because Boas used a shorthand system of his own in writing many of them. Moreover, his handwriting is very difficult to read even when not abbreviated. Many of the maps consist of two or more sheets of paper that were glued together and contain notes and drawings on both sides.
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:
The items in the collection were numbered 1-32 when cataloged by the United States National Museum (USNM). This order has been maintained when possible. Several numbers are now missing from the series, and a few items do not have numbers. Unnumbered items appear at the end of the collection.
Biographical Note:
Franz Boas (1858-1942) was a German-American anthropologist and pioneer of modern anthropological practice. He studied physics and geography at the universities at Heidelberg and Bonn before completing a doctoral program in physical geography at Kiel in 1881. After graduation, he joined an expedition of Baffin Island (1883-1884), which influenced his decision to focus on cultural tradition rather than biological and physical influences. In the summer of 1883 Boas traveled from Germany to Cumberland Sound, Baffin Island, aboard the sailing vessel Germania whose main objective was to evacuate the personnel of the German station of the First International Polar Year from Kingua Fjord. Over the winter of 1883–1884 Boas confined himself to Cumberland Sound and in the spring and summer of 1884, he crossed the Cumberland Peninsula and visited numerous Inuit communities along the Davis Strait coast.
In 1885, Boas emigrated to the United States, where he took an editorial position with the journal Science and started what would become his most famous ethnographic project, working among the Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka'wakw) Indians, in 1886. Boas spent three years teaching at Clark University in Massachusetts, then took an appointment at the Field Museum in Chicago in 1892. Boas then moved to New York, where he joined the American Museum of Natural History (1895-1905) and began teaching at Columbia University in 1896. For 37 years, Boas established himself as an academic and mentored numerous future influential anthropologists, including Margaret Mead, Alfred Kroeber, Edward Sapir, and Zora Neale Hurston. He also served as one of the founders of both the American Anthropological Association and the International Journal of American Linguistics.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 169270
USNM Accession 29060
Publication Note:
Some of the maps were reproduced in:
Boas, Franz. Baffin-Land: Geographische Ergebnisse einer in den Jahren 1883 und 1884 ausgeführten Forschungsreise. Gotha: Justus Perthes, 1885.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Maps
Citation:
Maps of parts of Baffin Island collected by Franz Boas (MS 169270), National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
This subseries of the Correspondence series contains copies of letters that John P. Harrington sent. For the most part the file consists of carbon copies of typed letters or handwritten drafts. There are also a number of signed originals. It is not always clear whether these documents were not sent or whether they were returned to Harrington. In those cases in which an original letter was returned with a reply written on it, the original letter is filed as though it were the reply and can be located under the name of the correspondent who returned it; a photocopy has been made for filing in correct chronological order within the file of letters sent.
The primary focus of Harrington's correspondence is his work--both that which he undertook on an official basis for the B.A.E. and that which he pursued because of strong personal interests. References to his research and fieldwork take the form of passing references in letters to acquaintances, detailed accounts in letters to close friends, requests for authorization of proposed fieldwork, and reports of work accomplished in letters to supervisors, and lists of instructions to field and clerical assistants.
Much of the correspondence involves queries and the exchange of information and questions. Harrington wrote to scientists for identification of plant, animal or mineral specimens collected during fieldwork, and to postmasters, Indian agents, and social works in search of informants. There is also correspondence regarding acquisition of books, photostats, microfilm, and various supplies and equipment. There are also letters to editors of various journals enclosing articles for publication as well as letters of introduction, obtained by Harrington to facilitate his own work or prepared by him for use by his assistants. A number of letters involve answers which Harrington prepared to questions which were addressed directly to him by members of the public or were referred to him in the capacity of Senior Ethnologist at the B.A.E.
Several hundred items of correspondence relate to Harrington's duties when detailed to the Office of Censorship from 1943 to 1945. Most of these reflect his efforts to obtain translations of letters in foreign languages which he could not identify or for which dictionaries were not available.
Finally there are letters exchanged with landladies; real estate agents; bank personnel; and city, county and federal officials regarding payment or collection of rent, selling of property, confirmation of bank balances, and payment of taxes, as well as letters written to friends and family dealing with purely personal matters.
There are small subsections for undated letters and unmatched portions of letters (second and third pages without salutation) at the end of the file of outgoing letters.
Arrangement:
The section of outgoing letters is arranged chronologically. Under each date, letters are further arranged in alphabetical order by the name of the addressee. When multiple letters were sent to the same correspondent on the same date, these are labeled "(1st)," "(2nd)," etc. In some cases Harrington addressed a letter to a company; when the identity of the respondent at the company is known, this individual's name has been added to the letter in brackets and is the basis for filing. When Harrington addressed a letter to one individual and another replied, the letter is filed under the name of the addressee, but the name of the respondent has been added in a cross-reference note on the letter or on a target.
Local Numbers:
Accession #1976-95
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
John Peabody Harrington papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The preferred citation for the Harrington Papers will reference the actual location within the collection, i.e. Box 172, Alaska/Northwest Coast, Papers of John Peabody Harrington, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
However, as the NAA understands the need to cite phrases or vocabulary on specific pages, a citation referencing the microfilmed papers is acceptable. Please note that the page numbering of the PDF version of the Harrington microfilm does not directly correlate to the analog microfilm frame numbers. If it is necessary to cite the microfilmed papers, please refer to the specific page number of the PDF version, as in: Papers of John Peabody Harrington, Microfilm: MF 7, R34 page 42.
The collection consists of three (3) drawings of Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) designs made by Franz Boas for publication in his article "The Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians." "Dr. Franz Boas" is stamped on the back of one page.
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.
Biographical Note:
Franz Boas (1858-1942) was a German-American anthropologist and pioneer of modern anthropological practice. He studied physics and geography at the universities at Heidelberg and Bonn before completing a doctoral program in physical geography at Kiel in 1881. After graduation, he joined an expedition of Baffin Island (1883-1884), which influenced his decision to him to focus on cultural tradition rather than biological and physical influences. In 1885, Boas emigrated to the United States, where he took an editorial position with the journal Science and started what would become his most famous ethnographic project, working among the Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka'wakw) Indians, in 1886. Boas spent three years teaching at Clark University in Massachusetts, then took an appointment at the Field Museum in Chicago in 1892. Boas then moved to New York, where he joined the American Museum of Natural History (1895-1905) and began teaching at Columbia University in 1896. For 37 years, Boas established himself as an academic and mentored numerous future influential anthropologists, including Margaret Mead, Alfred Kroeber, Edward Sapir, and Zora Neale Hurston. He also served as one of the founders of both the American Anthropological Association and the International Journal of American Linguistics.
Publication Note:
The drawings were reproduced in:
Boas, Franz. "The Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians," Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Instituion 1895. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1897. Figure 12 and Plate 40.
Provenance:
The drawings were found in the USNM collection; no catalog or accession numbers have been identified. The drawing was transferred from the object collections of the Department of Anthropology to the National Anthropological Archives in 1969.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Works of art
Drawings
Citation:
Franz Boas drawings of Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) designs (MS 87824), National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
