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Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology

Creator:: Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology Search this

Extent:: 245 Linear feet ((376 boxes and 10 map drawers))

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials

Date:: 1878-1965

Summary:: The records in this collection embody the administrative functions of the Bureau of American Ethnology from 1879 to 1965. The collection consists of correspondence, card files, registers, official notices, annual and monthly work reports, research statements, research proposals, grant applications, personnel action requests, notices of personnel action, meeting minutes, purchase orders and requisitions, property records, biographical sketches, resolutions, newspaper clippings, reviews of publications, drafts of publications, circulars, programs, pamphlets, announcements, illustrations, cartographic materials, photographic prints, photographic negatives, bibliographies, and reprinted publications.

Scope and Contents:: The records in this collection embody the administrative functions of the Bureau of American Ethnology from 1879 to 1965. The collection consists of correspondence, card files, registers, official notices, annual and monthly work reports, research statements, research proposals, grant applications, personnel action requests, notices of personnel action, meeting minutes, purchase orders and requisitions, property records, biographical sketches, resolutions, newspaper clippings, reviews of publications, drafts of publications, circulars, programs, pamphlets, announcements, illustrations, cartographic materials, photographic prints, photographic negatives, bibliographies, and reprinted publications.

Correspondence comprises the bulk of this collection. A significant portion of this correspondence originates from the Bureau's duty to field inquiries regarding North American aboriginal cultures and respond to requests relating to the duplication of BAE library and archival materials. Inquiries and requests, received from all parts of the world, were submitted by colleagues, museum curators and directors, students, professors, amateur archaeologists, government agents, military officials, Smithsonian Institution officials, artists, and members of the general public. Other correspondence reflects the Bureau's day-to-day operations and internal affairs. Subjects discussed in this correspondence include research projects, field expeditions, annual budgets, personnel matters, the acquisition of manuscripts, the disbursement of specimens, and production of BAE publications. Correspondence is occasionally accompanied by announcements, circulars, programs, pamphlets, photographs, drawings, diagrams, bibliographies, lists, newspaper clippings, and maps. Also among these records are the card files and registers of incoming and outgoing correspondence maintained by early BAE administrative staff. For a list of correspondents, see the appendix to this finding aid, available in the NAA reading room.

The majority of illustrations, artwork, and photographs that appear in this collection are associated with BAE publications, including BAE Annual Reports, BAE Bulletins, Contributions to North American Ethnology and Smithsonian Institution, Miscellaneous Collection. Maps located among the collection originate, by and large, from BAE field expeditions and research projects. BAE staff also amassed great quantities of newspaper clippings that concerned BAE research or points of interest. Of particular note are three scrapbooks comprised of clippings that relate to "mound builders" and the work of the BAE's Division of Mound Explorations.

Also worthy of note are the various records relating to the 1903 investigation of the BAE. Records related to the investigation highlight the Smithsonian Institution's longstanding dissatisfaction with the internal management of the BAE, its concerns over the BAE's loose relationship with the parent organization, and displeasure with the manner in which BAE scientific research was developing. Other materials of special interest are the various administrative records covering the period 1929 to 1946 and 1949 to 1965. The majority cover personnel matters; however, others justify the work of the BAE and bear witness to growing concerns that the BAE would eventually be absorbed by the Department of Anthropology within the United States National Museum.

Arrangement:: The collection has been arranged into the following 12 series: (1) Correspondence, 1897-1965; (2) Cooperative Ethnological Investigations, 1928-1935; (3) Miscellaneous Administrative Files, 1929-1946; (4) Miscellaneous Administrative Files, 1949-1965; (5) Records Concerning the Photographic Print Collection, 1899-1919; (6) Records Concerning Employees; (7) Fiscal Records, 1901-1902 and 1945-1968; (8) Records Relating to the 1903 Investigation of the BAE; (9) Property Records and Requisitions; (10) Clippings; (11) Publications; (12) BAE Library Materials, Pamphlets and Reprints

Administrative History:: The Bureau of Ethnology was established by an act of the United States Congress on March 3, 1879, but it was largely the personal creation of the geologist and explorer Major John Wesley Powell. His earlier explorations of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon formed the basis of the Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region. While exploring the area, Powell became alarmed at what he perceived to be the decline of the aboriginal way of life due to rapid depopulation. In a letter to the Secretary of the Interior, he warned that "in a few years, it will be impossible to study…Indians in their primitive condition, except from recorded history" (Hinsley). He urged swift government action; the result of which was the appropriation of $20,000 (20 Stat. 397) to transfer all documents relating to North American Indians from the Department of Interior to the Smithsonian Institution and its Secretary's appointment of Powell as director of the newly established Bureau of Ethnology, a position he held until his death in 1902. In 1897, its name was changed to the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) to underscore the limits of its geographical reaches.

Under Powell, the BAE organized the nation's earliest anthropological field expeditions, in which the characteristics and customs of native North Americans were observed firsthand and documented in official reports. Images of Indian life were captured on photographic glass plate negatives, and their songs on wax cylinder recordings. Histories, vocabularies and myths were gathered, along with material objects excavated from archaeological sites, and brought back to Washington for inclusion in the BAE manuscript library or the United States National Museum.

The fruits of these investigations were disseminated via a series of highly regarded and widely distributed publications, most notably BAE Annual Reports, BAE Bulletins, and Contributions to North American Ethnology. BAE research staff also responded routinely to inquiries posed by colleagues, government agencies, and the general public on matters ranging from artwork to warfare. Moreover, the BAE prepared exhibits on the various cultural groups it studied not only for the Smithsonian Institution, but also for large expositions held nationwide.

In 1882 Powell, under instruction of Congress, established the Division of Mound Explorations for the purpose of discovering the true origin of earthen mounds found predominately throughout the eastern United States. It was the first of three temporary, yet significant, subunits supported by the Bureau. Cyrus Thomas, head of the Division, published his conclusions in the Bureau's Annual Report of 1894, which is considered to be the last word in the controversy over the mounds' origins. With the publication of Thomas' findings, the Division's work came to a close.

The course of BAE operations remained largely the same under Powell's successors: W.J. McGee (acting director) 1902; William Henry Holmes, 1902-1910; Frederick W. Hodge, 1910-1918; J. Walter Fewkes, 1918-1928; Matthew W. Stirling, 1928-1957; Frank H.H. Roberts, Jr., 1957-1964; and Henry B. Collins (acting director), 1964-1965. However, following a 1903 internal investigation of the Bureau's administrative activities, Smithsonian officials called for a broader scope of ethnological inquiry and greater application of anthropological research methodologies. The BAE responded in 1904 by expanding agency activities to include investigations in Hawaii, the Philippines, and the Caribbean.

The BAE extended its geographical reaches once again, in the 1940s, to include Central and South America. In 1943, the Institute of Social Anthropology (ISA) was established as an independent subunit of the Bureau for the purpose of developing and promoting ethnological research throughout the American Republics. The findings of ISA-sponsored investigations were published in the six volume series, Handbook of South American Indians (BAE Bulletin 143). Julian H. Steward, editor of the Handbook, was appointed director of ISA operations and held the position until 1946 when George M. Foster assumed responsibility. The ISA was absorbed by the Institute of Inter-American Affairs in 1952, thus terminating its relationship with the BAE.

In 1946 the BAE assumed partial administrative control of the recently established River Basin Surveys (RBS), its third and final autonomous subunit. The purpose of the RBS was to salvage and preserve archaeological evidence threatened by post-World War II public works programs, more specifically the rapid construction of dams and reservoirs occurring throughout the country. Excavations conducted under the RBS yielded considerable data on early North American Indian settlements, and subsequent deliberations on this data were published as reports in various BAE Bulletins.

In 1965, the BAE merged administratively with the Smithsonian Institution's Department of Anthropology to form the Office of Anthropology within the United States National Museum (now the Department of Anthropology within the National Museum of Natural History). The BAE manuscript library, also absorbed by the Department of Anthropology, became the foundation of what is today the National Anthropological Archives (NAA).

In its 86 year existence, the BAE played a significant role in the advancement of American anthropology. Its staff included some of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries' most distinguished anthropologists, including Jeremiah Curtain, Frank Hamilton Cushing, J.O. Dorsey, Jesse Walter Fewkes, Alice Cunningham Fletcher, Albert H. Gatschet, John Peabody Harrington, John N.B. Hewitt, William Henry Holmes, Ales Hrdlicka, Neil Judd, Francis LaFlesche, Victor and Cosmo Mindeleff, James Mooney, James Pilling, Matilda Coxe Stevenson, Matthew Williams Stirling, William Duncan Strong, and William Sturtevant. The BAE also collaborated with and supported the work of many non-Smithsonian researchers, most notably Franz Boas, Frances Densmore, Gerard Fowke, Garrick Mallery, Washington Matthews, Paul Radin, John Swanton, Cyrus Thomas, and T.T. Waterman, as well as America's earliest field photographers such as Charles Bell, John K. Hillers, Timothy O'Sullivan, and William Dinwiddie. Several of its staff founded the Anthropological Society of Washington in 1880, which later became the American Anthropological Association in 1899. What is more, its seminal research continues to be drawn upon by contemporary anthropologists and government agents through the use of BAE manuscripts now housed in the NAA.

Sources Consulted:

Hinsley, Curtis. Savages and Scientists: The Smithsonian Institution and the Development of American Anthropology, 1846-1910. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981.

McGee, WJ. "Bureau of American Ethnology." The Smithsonian Institution, 1846-1896, The History of its First Half-Century, pp. 367-396. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1897.

Sturtevant, William. "Why a Bureau of American Ethnology?" Box 286, Functions of the BAE, Series IV: Miscellaneous Administrative Files, 1948-1965, Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology, National Anthropological Archives.

Related Materials:: Additional material relating to BAE administrative affairs and research projects can be found among the National Anthropological Archives' vast collection of numbered manuscripts. Too numerous to list in this space, these include official correspondence, monthly and annual work reports, fiscal records, field notes, personal diaries, expedition logs, catalogues of specimens, vocabularies, historical sketches, maps, diagrams, drawings, bibliographies, working papers and published writings, among various other material. Most of these documents are dispersed throughout the numbered manuscript collection as single items; however, some have been culled and unified into larger units (e.g., MS 2400 is comprised of documents relating to the Division of Mound Explorations). Artwork and illustrations produced for BAE publications are also located among the NAA's numbered manuscript collection as well as its photograph collection (e.g., Photo Lot 78-51 and Photo Lot 80-6).

Photographs concerning BAE research interests can be found among the following NAA photographic lots: Photo Lot 14, Bureau of American Ethnology Subject and Geographic File ca. 1870s-1930s; Photo Lot 24, BAE Photographs of American Indians 1840s to 1960s (also known as the Source Print Collection); Photo Lot 60, BAE Reference Albums 1858-1905; and Photo Lot 85, BAE Miscellaneous Photographs 1895 to 1930. Other photographic lots include portraits of BAE staff and collaborators, namely Photo Lot 33, Portraits of Anthropologists and others 1860s-1960s; Photo Lot 68, Portraits of John Wesley Powell ca. 1890 and 1898; and Photo Lot 70, Department of Anthropology Portrait File ca. 1864-1921.

Additional materials in the NAA relating to the work of the BAE can be found among the professional papers of its staff, collaborators and USNM anthropologists. These include the papers of Ales Hrdlicka, John Peabody Harrington, Otis Mason, J.C. Pilling, Matthew Williams Stirling, and William Duncan Strong. Documents relating to the work of the BAE can be found among the records of the River Basin Surveys (1928-1969) and the Institute of Social Anthropology (1941-1952).

Records related to this collection can also be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA). SIA accession 05-124 includes information regarding the 1942 transfer of six audio recordings related to the Chumash Indian language from the Bureau of American Ethnology to the National Archives, nine pages of Chumash translations, and "The Story of Candalaria, the Old Indian Basket-Maker." The Fiscal and Payroll Records of the Office of the Secretary, 1847 to 1942 (Record Unit 93), includes voucher logs, disbursement journals and daybooks of money paid out to the BAE from 1890 to 1910. BAE correspondence can also be found among the Records of the Office of the Secretary (Record Unit 776, accession 05-162). The Papers of William Henry Holmes, second director of the BAE, are also located among the SIA (Record Unit 7084).

Accession records concerning artifacts and specimens collected by the BAE are located in the registrar's office of the National Museum of Natural History.

Related collections can also be found at the National Archives and Records Administration. RG 57.3.1, the Administrative Records of the United States Geological Survey, includes register of applications for BAE ethnological expositions conducted between 1879-1882. RG 75.29, Still Pictures among the Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, includes 22 photographs of Arapaho, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche, Navajo, and Apache Indians taken by William S. Soule for the BAE during 1868-1875. RG 106, Records of the Smithsonian Institution, includes cartographic records (106.2) relating to Indian land cessions in Indiana created for the First Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1881 (1 item); a distribution of American Indian linguistic stock in North America and Greenland, by John Wesley Powell, for the Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, ca. 1887 (1 item); a distribution of Indian tribal and linguistic groups in South America, 1950 (1 item); the Indian tribes in North America, for Bulletin 145, Bureau of American Ethnology, 1952 (4 items). Sound Recordings (106.4) include songs and linguistic material relating to the Aleut, Mission, Chumash, and Creek, gather by the BAE in 1912, 1914, 1930-41. Some include translations (122 items).

Provenance:: The Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology were transferred to the Smithsonian Office of Anthropology Archives with the merger of the BAE and the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History in 1965. The Smithsonian Office of Anthropology Archives was renamed the National Anthropological Archives in 1968.

Restrictions:: The Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology are open for research.

Access to the Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology requires an appointment.

Rights:: Contact repository for terms of use.

Citation:: Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:: NAA.XXXX.0155

See more items in:: Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology

Archival Repository:: National Anthropological Archives

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw391046c25-21e2-4334-a01f-9a6f734ae9cd

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-naa-xxxx-0155

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John Peabody Harrington papers

Creator:: Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961 Search this

Names:: Geronimo, 1829-1909 Search this

Extent:: 683 Linear feet

Culture:: Indians of Central America Search this; Indians of North America Search this; Indians of South America Search this

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Sound recordings; Maps; Stats (copies); Newspaper clippings; Printed material; Photographs; Botanical specimens; Field notes; Correspondence; Financial records; Personal records; Poetry; Writings

Date:: 1907-1959 (some earlier)

Summary:: Harrington was a Bureau of American Ethnology ethnologist involved in the study of over one hundred American tribes. His speciality was linguistics. Most of the material concerns California, southwestern, northwestern tribes and includes ethnological, archeological, historical notes; writings, correspondence, photographs, sound recordings, biological specimens, and other types of documents. Also of concern are general linguistics, sign language, writing systems, writing machines, and sound recordings machines. There is also some material on New World Spanish, Old World languages. In addition, there are many manuscripts of writings that Harrington sketched, partially completed, or even completed but never published. The latter group includes not only writings about anthropological subjects but also histories, ranging from a biography of Geronimo to material on the history of the typewriter. The collection incorporates material of Richard Lynch Garner, Matilda Coxe Stevenson, and others. In his field work, Harrington seems sometimes to have worked within fairly firm formats, this especially being true when he was "rehearing" material, that is in using an informant to verify and correct the work of other researchers. Often, however, the interviews with informants (and this seems to have been the case even with some "rehearings") seem to have been rather free form, for there is a considerable intertwining of subjects. Nevertheless, certain themes frequently appear in his work, including annotated vocabularies concerning flora and fauna and their use, topography, history and biography, kinship, cosmology (including tribal astronomy), religion and philosophy, names and observations concerning neighboring tribes, sex and age division, material culture, legends, and songs. The fullness of such materials seems to have been limited only by the time Harrington had to spend with a goup and the knowledge of his informants.

Arrangement:: (Some of the titles are tentative). Papers relating to Alaska/Northwest Coast, including (1) Aleut; (2) Tlingit/Eyak; (3) Northern Athapascan (Beaver, Carrier, Chipewyan, Sarsi, Sekani, Cree); (4) Nicola/Thompson; (5) Lummi/Nespelem; (6) Duwamish; (7) Chimakum/Clallam; (8) Makah/Quileute; (9) Quinault/Chehalis/Cowlit; (10) Chinook/Chinook Jargon; (11) "Kwalhioqua-Tlatskanai"; (12) Tillamook, (13) Alsea/Siuslaw/Coos; (14) Southwest Oregon Athapascan (Chasta Costa, Chetco, Upper Coquille, "Gold Beach", Smith River, Tolowa, Tutini, Upper Umpqua), (14) Galice/Applegate; (15) Takelma, general and miscellaneous; (16) Klamath; (17) Wiyot/Yurok/Mattole; (18) Coast Yuki/Northern and Central Pomo/Kato; (19) Coast Miwok; (20) Lake and Coast Miwok/Southeastern Pomo/Wappo; (21) Nisenan/Northern Sierra Miwok; (22) Southern Pomo/Central Sierra Miwok; (23) Karok/Shasta/Konomihu; (24) Chimariko/Hupo; (25) Achomawi/Atsugewi/Wintu/Yana; (26) Chamariko/Achomawi/Atsugewi/Wintu/Yana; (27) Costanoan (Chocheno, Mutsun, Tumsen); (28) Salinan (Antoinano, Migueleno); (29) Yokuts (Chunut, Tachi, Wikchamni, Yawdanchi, Yawelmani, Koyeti); (30) general and miscellaneous; papers relating to southern California and the Basin area,

including (31) Chumash (Barbareno, Cruzeno, Ineseno, Obispeno, Purisimeno, Ventureno); (32) Chauilla; (33) Chemehuevi; (34) Gabrielino; (35) Juaneno; (36) Kitanemuk; (37) Luiseno; (38) Serrano; (39) Tubatulabal; (40) Diegueno; (41) Mohave/Yuma; (42) general and miscellaneous; papers relating to the Southwest, including (43) Apache; (44) Hopi; (45) Jemez; (46) Acoma/Laguna; (47) Cochiti; (48) Navaho; (49) Pima/Papago; (50) Illeta; (51) Taos; (52) Picuris; (53) Tewa; (54) Zuni; (55) general and miscellaneous; papers relating to the Plains, including (56) Comanche; (57) Caddo/Pawnee/Wichita; (58) Dakota/Lakota; (59) Hidatso/Mandan/Crow;

(92) general and miscellaneous; notes and writings on special linguistic studies, including (93) correspondence; (94) financial records; (95) personal records; (96) poetry; (97) newspaper clippings; (98) printed material/reprints/photostats/microfilm; (99) maps; (100) photographs (101) sound recordings; (102) botanical specimens

Joseph S. Danner, Edward S. Davis, Ella C. Deloria, Frances Densmore, Paul Desiardins, Lydia Dornherr, Harry W. Dorsey, Frederick Huntington Douglas, David C. Dozi, Edward P. Dozi, Robert Drak Aitken), Rose S. Gaffney, David E. Gales, S. H. Gapp, Clark M. Garber, Lucrlson Fenton, Jesse Walter Fewkes, Reginald G. Fisher, Barbara Freire-Marreco (see also Barbara Aitken), Rose S. Gaffney, David E. Gales, S. H. Gapp, Clark M. Garber, Lucretia Garcia, Maria Garcia, Paul Garcia, Walter C. Garwick, William Gates, Ja Gapp, Clark M. Garber, Lucretia Garcia, Maria Garcia, Paul Garcia, Walter C. Garwick, William Gates, James A Geary, Otto William Geist,

Richard H. Geoghegan, Harold S. Gladwin, Pliny Earle Goddard, T. R. Goodwin, Howard W. Gorman, Blanche C. Grant, George Grasty, Louis H. Gray, Alexander Grigolia, Alexandra Gromoff, F. A. Gross, Ruther Gruber, Erwin G. Gudde, Grace Guest, Ralph Gustafson, Berard Haile, Alfred Irving Hallowell, Howard M. Hamblin, Lucile Hamner, Adelaide Harrington, Arthur Harrington, Awona Harrington, Edmund Ross Harrington, Elliot Harrington, Mark Raymond Harrington, Robert Fleming Heizer, Marta Herrera (Orozoco), Melville Jean Herskovits, Edgar Lee Hewett, George Gustave Heye,

Thomas Willing Hicks, Willard Williams Hill, William B. Hill, Philip K. Hitti, Hulda R. Hobbs (Heidel), Frederick Webb Hodge, Robert Hofsinde, W. C. Holden, Nils Homer, R. B. Horsefield, James Hovey, Grace Hudson, John W. Hudson, William Hughes, Edward P. Hunt, George Hunt, Wayne Henry (Wolf Robe) Hunt, Arnold J. Jacobins, Jean Allard Jge, George M. Lamsa, William T. Linkins, Ralph Linton, Alan Lomax, Theodore R. Lonewolf, uis Kroeber, Benjamin T. Kurtz, Walter and Hilda Kurze, Oliver LaFarge, George M. Lamsa, William T. Linkins, Ralph Linton, Alan Lomax, Theodore R. Lonewolf,

Boas Long, Ivan Alexis Lopatin, Robert Harry Lowie, Charles F. Lummis, Phoebe Maddux, Frank Marashulo, Frank Marr, John Marr, Edna P. Marsh, Gordon H. Marsh, William B. Marye, Elizabeth Mason, John Alden Mason, Anna P. Mattinger, Wayne L. Mauzy, William Ralph Maxon, Parker McKenzie, F. Romero Mendez, Clinton Hart Merriam, E. Vigo Mestres, Truman Michelson, Harry E. Miller, Ralph L. Milliken, William S. Mills, Willie Miranda, Albert Mohr, Dionisia Mondragon, Manuel Mondragon, Lucy Montgomery, Harriet Moore, Mildred C. Moore, R. E. Moore, Rosalind Moore, Carlos Morales, Marion Moreno, Sylvanus Griswold Morley, Philip A. Munz, O. J. Murie,

Roy Nash, Mrs. W. J. Nichols, Eugene A. Nida, Frans M. Olbrechts, Cornelius Osgood, Asbjorn P. Ousdal, Charles F. Outland, Henry E. Parmenter, Elsie Clews Parsons, A. W. Payne, Ellen Peace, Elizabeth Wells Pearce, Arthur B. Perkins, Mrs. Rodolphe Petter, Kenneth L. Pike, Arnold R. Pilling, Nellie B. Pipes, I. J. Pitman, J. O. Prescott, Erik Kellerman Reed, Nathaniel Julius Reich, Jane Richardson, Arthur Stanley Riggs, Frank Harold Hanna Roberts, Jr., Helen H. Roberts, Clarence M. Ruth, Everett Sanders, Edward Sapir, Charles F. Saunders, F. H. Saville, Paul Schumacher, Donald Scott, Blanche Seeley, Ettie Seeley, Elizabeth Shepley Sergeant,

A. W. Setychell, Jessie Shaw, Anna O. Shepard, Frank T. Siebert, Rita Siedenberg, Albion M. Sitton, Nich Sivonen, H. D. Skinner, Mrs. N. P. Sloan, Clement Smith, Stella Smith, Jack Snow, Maria Soto, Frank Gouldsmith Speck, Robert F. Spencer, Marjorie Spinks, Waldo C. Spraque, Winifred Stamm, Moses Steinberg Marian Stirling, Matthew Williams Stirling, William Duncan Strong, Edgar Howard Sturtevant, Georgianna Barbara Such, John R. Swanton, Turkey Tayac, Douglass Taylor, Lincoln Thompson, Morjorie L. Tichy, Janet Tietjins, Bennie Tilden, J. R. R. Tolkien, W. Cameron Townsend, George L. Trager, Lovell B. Triggs, Edwin H. Tuttle,

Ruth Underhill, Richard Fowler Van Valkenburgh, Rosendo Vargas, Charles Frederick Voegelin, Paul Vogenitz, James W. Waldo, Paul A. F. Walter, Althea Warren, Fred Washington, Thomas Talbot Waterman, Edith White, Joseph J. White, Leslie A. White, Grace T. Whiting, Robert B. Whitsett, Benjamin Lee Whorf, H. E. Williams, William L. Wonderly, Arthur Woodward, Robert W. Young, and Father Zephyrin of the Santa Barbara Mission.

Restrictions:: The John Peabody Harrington papers are open for research.

Access to the John Peabody Harrington papers requires an appointment.

Rights:: Contact the repository for terms of use.

Topic:: Linguistics Search this; Indians of North America -- Languages Search this; Ethnomusicology Search this; Ethnobotany Search this; Toponymy Search this; Language and languages -- Documentation Search this

Genre/Form:: Sound recordings; Maps; Stats (copies); Newspaper clippings; Printed material; Photographs; Botanical specimens; Field notes; Correspondence -- 1930-1950; Financial records; Personal records; Poetry; Writings

Citation:: 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.

Identifier:: NAA.1976-95

See more items in:: John Peabody Harrington papers

Archival Repository:: National Anthropological Archives

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw31fe9575b-f7aa-4286-9787-0cfc495ab461

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-naa-1976-95

Online Media:

Northern Athapaskan

Creator:: Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961 Search this

Collection Creator:: Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961 Search this

Extent:: 2.08 Linear feet ((6 boxes))

Culture:: Indians of North America -- British Columbia Search this; Arctic peoples Search this; Indians of North America -- Subarctic Search this; Athapascan Indians Search this; Sarsi Indians Search this; Denésoliné (Chipewyan) Search this; Tsattine Indians Search this; Dakelh (Carrier) Search this; Cree Search this

Type:: Archival materials; Field notes; Dictionaries; Vocabulary

Date:: circa 1936-circa 1941

Scope and Contents:: This subseries of the Alaska/Northwest Coast series contains Harrington's Northern Athapascan research. This section comprises a comparative vocabulary, a comparative dictionary, and other miscellaneous linguistic material, with widely scattered ethnographic information. It combines some secondary source data with original notes which were compiled for the most part during a fieldtrip Harrington made with Robert W. Young to Alberta and British Columbia from October through early December 1939. The two men had corresponded extensively regarding Navajo in 1936 to 1938 and subsequently decided to determine its provenience through the study of languages closely related in vocabulary and construction at the northernmost end of what Harrington termed' 'the chicken-wishbone of Athapascan languages." The northern Athapascan languages for which they obtained data were Sarsi (Sarcee, Sar.), Cold Lake Chipewyan (Cl., Clchip.), Beaver, Carrier (Car.), Babine (Babin), and Sekani (Sekeney, Sek., Sikny, Sik.). They also elicited a short vocabulary in Cree from bilingual speakers, obtained during Harrington's survey of neighboring Canadian languages. The amount of comparative data was increased by the addition of original notes from the earlier work on Navajo and later (1940) work on Tlingit, Eyak, and Upper Umpqua. Harrington may have made these last additions as late as August of 1941 as suggested by the reference "Wn. Aug. 41." The Tlingit notes were subsequently removed to a separate section.

Local Numbers:: Accession #1976-95

Restrictions:: No restrictions on access.

Rights:: Contact the repository for terms of use.

Topic:: Athapascan languages Search this; Sarsi language Search this; Chipewyan language Search this; Tsattine language Search this; Carrier language Search this; Babine language Search this; Sekani language Search this; Navajo language Search this; Cree language Search this; Language and languages -- Documentation Search this; Linguistics Search this; Ethnology Search this

Genre/Form:: Field notes; Dictionaries; Vocabulary

Collection Citation:: 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.

Identifier:: NAA.1976-95, Subseries 1.3

See more items in:: John Peabody Harrington papers; John Peabody Harrington papers / Series 1: Native American History, Language, and Culture of Alaska and the Northwest Coast

Archival Repository:: National Anthropological Archives

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3a06241b5-54ee-4540-a1ea-3fe746563b15

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-naa-1976-95-ref12556

Online Media:

Nicola/Thompson

Creator:: Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961 Search this

Names:: Teit, James Alexander, 1864-1922 Search this

Collection Creator:: Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961 Search this

Extent:: 0.41 Linear feet ((1 box))

Culture:: Indians of North America -- British Columbia Search this; Indians of North America -- Plateau Search this; Nlaka'pamux (Thompson River Salish) Search this

Type:: Archival materials; Field notes; Vocabulary; Narratives; Manuscripts

Place:: Nicola River Valley (B.C.)

Date:: circa 1941-circa 1942

Scope and Contents:: This subseries of the Alaska/Northwest Coast series contains Harrington's research on Nicola and Thompson, consisting of comparative vocabulary, outline and notes for write-up, and notes from interviews regarding James A. Teit.

Vocabulary entries were not arranged by Harrington into his usual semantic categories, but were kept together by interview. Nicola terms were frequently elicited with their Thompson equivalents. Words cover animals, plants, geography, material culture, tribenames, and placenames. Also interspersed are a few phrases, notes and sketch maps from two placename trips, summaries of myths in English, and biographical data concerning the informants and others. One interview was based in part on a rehearing of Franz Boas' (1924) "Vocabulary of the Athapascan Tribe of Nicola Valley, British Columbia." At a later date (1942) comparative Athapascan data--Rogue River and Chasta Costa from Wolverton Orton (Wolv., RR, Wolve Chastac.) and Coquille from Coquille Thompson (Thomp.)--was added to these notes.

Harrington's write-up is little more than an outline for an article. It includes a section on informants and some vocabulary excerpted from the field notes. The designation "Nic. for write-up" is misleading as data for Thompson is also given throughout. Several references are made to information from published sources (Dawson 1892, Morice 1932).

During his last two days in Nicola Valley, Harrington visited Mrs. James A. Teit in order to copy Teit's manuscript "Notes on the Early History of Nicola Valley." This section contains notes on their discussions of Teit's work and local history. It also includes comments by an unidentified man Harrington met at Spence's Bridge as well as a photograph of Teit.

Biographical / Historical:: John P. Harrington's work in Merritt and Canford, British Columbia, during the summer of 1941 was part of a continuing effort to trace the origin and relationships of the Athapascan languages, which he often referred to comprehensively as "Chilcotin." In late August to early September--dates given are August 27, August 31, and September 1--he recorded data from speakers of the Lytton (L., Lyt., Upper Th.) dialect of Thompson River Salish, who also remembered a little Nicola Valley Athapascan (Nic., st. for stuwix-mux, southern Chilcotin).

He first worked with Billy Ernest (Billy), 80-year-old chief of the Canford Indians. He also conducted separate interviews with Mrs. Louey Jonah (Mrs. J.) and her husband (Mr. J.), an unidentified "Old Lady," and Louie Charlie, who gave remembered information from Johnny Jackson, said to have been a stuwix speaker, deceased for some five years. Harrington considered his best source of information to be Billy Ernest's sister, Matilda Shackler (Mat.), with whom he reheard much of the data. His interpreter for many of the sessions was Johnny Martin (Martin, Johnny). Nonlinguistic information was obtained from James A. Teit's widow and an unidentified "half-breed at Spence's Bridge."

Local Numbers:: Accession #1976-95

Restrictions:: No restrictions on access.

Rights:: Contact the repository for terms of use.

Topic:: Athapascan languages Search this; Ntlakyapamuk language Search this; Chastacosta language Search this; Coquille language Search this; Language and languages -- Documentation Search this; Linguistics Search this; Names, Geographical Search this

Genre/Form:: Field notes; Vocabulary; Narratives; Manuscripts

Collection Citation:: 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.

Identifier:: NAA.1976-95, Subseries 1.4

See more items in:: John Peabody Harrington papers; John Peabody Harrington papers / Series 1: Native American History, Language, and Culture of Alaska and the Northwest Coast

Archival Repository:: National Anthropological Archives

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3ad0fd54b-237f-4901-baff-76c792b77787

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-naa-1976-95-ref12617

Online Media:

Lummi/Nespelem

Creator:: Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961 Search this

Collection Creator:: Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961 Search this

Extent:: 0.21 Linear feet ((1 box))

Culture:: Lummi Search this; Nespelim Indians Search this

Type:: Archival materials; Field notes; Vocabulary; Narratives

Date:: 1942

Scope and Contents:: This subseries of the Alaska/Northwest Coast series consists almost entirely of vocabulary. Lummi terms are given with English translations and frequently with Nespelem equivalences. A few comparisons are provided in other Salishan languages. (George's paternal grandfather spoke Clallam.) Most of the words describe the natural world. There are small sections on astronomy, weather, and months, as well as a larger number of items pertaining to plants and animals. The placename data are keyed to a number of maps--probably to U.S.G.S. topographical maps of Whatcom County, Sumas, and Blaine Quadrangles, which were found elsewhere in the Papers. Information is also provided on the islands in the Georgia Straits. Some terms pertaining to material culture appear in the plant vocabulary section. Ethnographic notes and references to myths are interspersed throughout the material.

Biographical / Historical:: No date is given for John P. Harrington's study of Lummi. From the format of the notes it seems likely that the fieldwork was done in 1942--probably in January just after his return from Aleut territory. He worked primarily with Patrick George (referred to as, 'Chief ') and his cousin Julius A. Charles (shortened to Mr. Charles or Mr. Chas). Some of the work was done at George's home at Fish Point on the Lummi Indian Reservation. Part may have been done in nearby Bellingham, Washington. Addie George, a Nespelem woman acting as interpreter, was also present at the sessions. Limited amounts of nonlinguistic data were obtained from H. C. Banner, Sidney Jones, Carl Brandur, and an Icelandic couple, Mr. and Mrs. Westmann.

Local Numbers:: Accession #1976-95

Restrictions:: No restrictions on access.

Rights:: Contact the repository for terms of use.

Topic:: North Straits Salish language Search this; Lummi dialect Search this; Clallam language Search this; Language and languages -- Documentation Search this; Linguistics Search this; Ethnology Search this

Genre/Form:: Field notes; Vocabulary; Narratives

Collection Citation:: 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.

Identifier:: NAA.1976-95, Subseries 1.5

See more items in:: John Peabody Harrington papers; John Peabody Harrington papers / Series 1: Native American History, Language, and Culture of Alaska and the Northwest Coast

Archival Repository:: National Anthropological Archives

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3a4c67af6-a892-4957-ae53-467e15c430cd

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-naa-1976-95-ref12623

Online Media:

Duwamish

Creator:: Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961 Search this

Collection Creator:: Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961 Search this

Extent:: 0.63 Linear feet ((2 boxes))

Culture:: Duwamish (Dwamish) Search this; Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America Search this

Type:: Archival materials; Field notes; Vocabulary; Lecture notes; Maps

Place:: King County (Wash.)

Date:: 1910

Scope and Contents:: This subseries of the Alaska/Northwest Coast series contains Harrington's Duwamish research. The materials primarily consist of field notes and lecture notes.

The field notes consist of small slips and 8" x 10" sheets on which Harrington recorded notes on phonetics, vocabulary, and some short sentences. A general vocabulary section--mostly nouns--covers geographical terms, animal names, material culture objects, and terms for age, sex, and religion. Each Duwamish (Duw.) word is followed by the English translation; a few comparisons are given in Snohomish and Clallam. There are larger vocabulary sections dealing with tribenames and placenames. The tribenames are Duwamish terms referring to the neighboring tribes of Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula--mostly other Salish groups. The placename category includes many etymologies as well as sketch maps and references to a "Big map" of Seattle Harbor.

Miscellaneous packets of field notes include biographical information on the Duwamish speakers he worked with and others, a partial bibliography, and notes labeled "< Meany." The latter were apparently personal communications from a professor at the university.

Harrington's lecture notes, evidently used for the course on "The Indians of the Northwest," contain a good deal of original field data. The notes, which were found in great disarray; have been arranged to follow fourteen categories outlined by Harrington on a heading sheet. The sections on history, potlatches, and material culture, in particular, include numerous excerpts from articles by Arthur A. Denny, Myron Eels, and Joseph A. Costello. Much of this secondary source data was checked over with an unspecified person, presumably William Rogers. His comments, labeled "Duw.," frequently appear at the bottom of a page. Notes on "The Indian placenames of King County," consist entirely of original data on places in the vicinity of Lake Washington, White River, and Cedar River. As in the corresponding vocabulary section, etymologies and sketch maps are included.

Biographical / Historical:: Johnn P. Harrington investigated the language and culture of the Duwamish (currently grouped with speakers of other Puget Sound Salish dialects as "Lushootseed") during the period June 17 to August 15, 1910 while residing in Seattle, Washington. He had come there to teach courses on "The Indians of the Northwest" and "The Science of Language" at the University of Washington summer school and to give a series of six popular lectures on "The Siberian Origin of the American Indian" under the auspices of the American Institute of Archaeology.

He studied the Duwamish language with Chief William Rogers at the reservation at Suquamish each weekend during the session. After its close, he made trips with Rogers and a man named Moore to Seattle and Renton ("homeland of the Duwamish") to record placenames. His interpreter in the work was Edward Percival.

Local Numbers:: Accession #1976-95

Restrictions:: No restrictions on access.

Rights:: Contact the repository for terms of use.

Topic:: Puget Sound Salish languages Search this; Snohomish language Search this; Clallam language Search this; Language and languages -- Documentation Search this; Linguistics Search this; Ethnology Search this; Names, Ethnological Search this; Names, Geographical Search this

Genre/Form:: Field notes; Vocabulary; Lecture notes; Maps

Collection Citation:: 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.