Indians of North America -- California Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Volumes
Pages
Maps
Date:
1852-1853
Scope and Contents:
Includes a sketch map showing names and locations of Karok villages and the number of houses in each. Manuscript copy of the blurred pencil notes from the inside front and back covers and page [1] made by A.R. Pilling, 8/1970 and filed with manuscript.
Indians of North America -- California Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Typed transcript of Gibbs' notes and comments on them by Catherine Callaghan filed with the Manuscript, 6/1962. Notes on the names of the tribes mentioned by Gibbs made by A.R. Pilling and filed with the Manuscript, 8/1970.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 857-c
Local Note:
autograph document
Citation:
Manuscript 857-c, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Copied into Schedule of John Wesley Powell's Introduction to the Study of Indian Languages outline of 180 terms in handwriting of George Gibbs; with "Sinecu" and "Isleta" [del Sur] terms added in pencil in handwriting of James Mooney [1897].
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 454
Local Note:
Sinecu and Isleta notes are marked, "D7-97" and "D-15," as are corresponding notes in Mooney's notebook, Catalog Number 1953, where these figures apparently refer to the dates December 7 and 15, 1897. See 19th Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology for year 1897-98, page xvi, referring to Mooney's trip to this area in December, 1897. --MCB, 1/67.
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Indians of North America -- California Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
1852
Scope and Contents:
With copy of the Hopah vocabulary. Trinity River, Calif. 1852. Autograph document. 5 pages. Includes a few notes on the "Redwood Indians" [Chilula] and "Mad River Indians and Bay Indians" [Wiyot] and a house count for Yurok and Hupa villages. Manuscript notes by A. R. Pilling, 1 slip, filed with the Manuscript, 8/1970.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 954
Local Note:
autograph document signed
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 954, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
MS 280 Comparative vocabulary of the following tribes: Bellabella (Haeeltzeck), Bellacoola (Billi-hoola), Chimmesyan, Haida (Haidah), Tongas, Kittizoo (Kittistzoo)
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Contents:
1. Ham-mock-ha-vi [vocabulary], by Major Heintzelman. No date. 6 pages.
2. Mohave [vocabulary], by Lt. Mowry. No date. 6 pages. Recorded in Comparative Vocabulary. Copied by George Gibbs. Informant: Olive Catman, a five year captive of the Mohave.
3. Comparative vocabulary of Mohave and Humokhavi. No date. 13 pages. Recorded in Department of Interior Comparative Vocabulary. Copied by Gibbs. Mohave contents from Manuscripts 819-a and 1042.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 1135
Local Note:
Manuscript document
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 1135, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- California Search this
Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
1857
Scope and Contents:
Letter to George Gibbs, transmitting three "upper Rogue River" vocabularies. Fort Yamhill, Oregon Territory. January 10, 1857. Autograph letter signed 4 pages.
Comparative vocabulary of Applegate, Ta-kil-ma, and Uppa (Shasta). [Fort Yamhill, Oregon Territory] [Before January 10, 1857] Manuscript document 8 pages.
Individual Applegate Creek and Ta-kil-ma vocabularies. [Fort Yamhill, Oregon Territory] Before January 10, 1857] Manuscript document 12 pages.
Gibbs, George. Drafts of two letters to W. B. Hazen, concerning the collection of vocabularies and creation myths. Port Townsend, Washington Territory. February 26, 1856 [1857], and March 16 [1857]. Autograph document signed 11 pages.
Both the comparative and the individual vocabularies are copies by George Gibbs. The individual vocabularies are recorded in Comparative Vocabulary. The draft of the February 26 letter from Gibbs to Hazen contains a Nisqually creation myth. The comparative vocabulary is annotated by A. C. Anderson (compare Athapascan Manuscript number 123), with a few later Manuscript notes by A. S. Gatschet and J. C. Pilling. Although the individual Applegate Creek vocabulary is also labeled "Nabiltse," it is not the same language as Nabiltse (compare Nabiltse Manuscript number 131).
Concerns astronomical terminology of the Mohave Indians; enclosing drawing of Mohave constellation Ah-mo, the goat or mountain sheep, based on information from the Mohave chief, Iretabah.
MS 191-a: Note in hand of Milhau: "...this language was spoken by nearly all the Indians who formerly occupied the valley of the Umpqua east of the Coast Range and is very similar to that spoken on the Headwaters of the Coquille."
MS 191-b: Two copies by George Gibbs of John J. Milhau's Upper Umpqua vocabulary. Consists of 1 literal copy, 6 pages, and 1 transliterated copy, 6 pages.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 193
Local Note:
Letter of November 14, 1856 (Manuscript Number 191-a) states: "I enclose you herewith vocabularies of the Indian languages spoken between Cape Arago and Cape Foulweather viz the Coose Bay [Manuscript Number 191-a] lower Umpque or Kallawatsett [Manuscript Number 958], and the Alseya [Manuscript Number 955-a], also the Umpqua proper [Manuscript Number 193-a].
Note in hand of G. Gibbs: "The real Tinne-Umpqua."
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 193, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
2 originals, apparently duplicates, in the hand of the compiler, 6 pages each. Also separate copies of each of the three vocabularies in the hand of George Gibbs, 6 pages each.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 218
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Includes Gibbs' draft of the same, 3 pages. "Map of the Indian Tribes in the neighborhood of Fort Yuma, Cal.," document 1 page. "Notes on the Indians of the Colorado," by Lieutenant Sylvester Mowry, Third Artillery. Fort Yuma, Calif. March 23, 1856. Autograph document signed. 10 pages including note of transmittal on page 8. (21 pages, total)
Gibbs states that his paper is based on data received from Milhau and Mowry; the latter in turn obtained data from Olive Oatman, Apache captive, 1851-55.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 1043
Local Note:
manuscript document
Other Title:
Notes on the Indians of the Colorado
Genre/Form:
Maps
Citation:
Manuscript 1043, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The collection consists of one (1) drawing captioned "Makah Village at Neah Bay" depicting a view of the village, including plank and pole shelters, dugout canoes, and storage racks. The drawing is signed and dated "Jasper Green Del. April 1967; Sketched from nature by Geo. Gibbs Esq." It is also labeled "No. 42."
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:
George Gibbs (1815-1873) was an ethnologist and expert on the language and culture of the Indians of the Pacific Northwest. A graduate of Harvard University, Gibbs moved west during the gold rush of 1848 and eventually secured the position of Collector of the Port of Astoria, Oregon Territory. From 1853 to 1855, he was a geologist and ethnologist on the Pacific Railroad Survey of the 47th and 49th parallels under the command of Isaac Stevens. In 1857, Gibbs joined the Northwest Boundary Survey and served as geologist and interpreter until 1862. The last decade of his life was spent in Washington, D.C., where he undertook studies of Indian languages under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 76603
NAA INV 08534400
OPPS NEG MNH.417
Provenance:
The drawing was 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:
Drawing of Makah village at Neah Bay based on a sketch by George Gibbs (MS 76603), National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
1. Lillooet ("Lilowat") vocabulary. March 16, 1859. 8 pages in notebook. Note on page 3: "The Lilowat is spoken on the river which feeds Harrison's Lake, a branch of Fraser River. The vocabulary was obtained from the chief of a village at the mouth through Skehukl, the Soomass [Sumass: dialect of Cowichan group of Coast Salish], and may be relied on as tolerably accurate." The Lillooet River feeds into Harrison Lake. The Interior Salish dialect for west British Columbia is referred to as "Lillooet" in Handbook of American Indians, page 417.
2. "Saamena"vocabularies. 1858 and no date. 10 pages in notebook. Two vocabularies: Vocabulary of the "Saamena or as it is called by the Canadians, "Couteau," was obtained at Fort Hope, Mch. 4, 1858 from Kwee-tah-lich-kan, son of Pa-haa-luk, the Chief of the Kletch-ah-meh'h village at Forks of Fraser & Thompson's Rivers." 7 pages. Includes names for varieties of salmon in "Soomass" (Sumass) and Saamena. pages 12-19. Vocabulary obtained from Te-o-sa-luk, a Saamena of the Chileweyech [--?--]," no date. 3 pages. On page 1 note in Mooney's hand: "alias Nientemewh." Page 11 marked "copied".
3. "Yukeh" vocabulary. No place or date recorded. 3 pages in notebook. The word "Ross" follows the name "Yukeh." This refers to note on page iv: Mr Edward Ross says that the Yukehs have no numerals above five; thus they would say o'-pe mahote, twice five, for ten."
4. "Tai-eet vocabulary. Fort Hope, 1850. 10 pages in notebook. "The following vocabulary of the Tai-eet was obtained at Fort Hope, Sept. 25, 1850 from two men and a woman. It is the dialect intervening between the Kwantlen and the Saamena on Fraser River." page 25.
5. "Nevada or Yuba (Ross)" vocabulary. No date. 2 pages in notebook, pages 35-36. Possibly copied from Ross (?).
6. "Chilowhe'huk (Chilliwack) vocabulary. 4 pages in notebook, pages 36-39. No date. "Not completed as it does not differ sufficiently from the Kwantlen & neighboring dialects in Fraser River to make it an object." Chilliwack belongs to the Cowichan group of Coast dialects, Handbook of American Indians, page 417.
7. "Hailt-zuk or Belbella" vocabulary" obtained at Victoria, April 26, 1859, from Capt. Stewart." 10 pages in notebook, pages 40-42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54. Note on page 40: "...obtained at Victoria, April 26, 1859, from "Capt. Stewart" and Indian of the tribe through the medium of Frederic Minni, a Canadian, who partially spoke the language. It is generally reliable...." Page 41 marked "copied;" Another copy by Gibbs of this vocabulary in Ms. Number.
8. "Bel-le-whil-la or Bel'hoo-la" vocabulary. Victoria. 1859. 10 pages in notebook, pages 41, 43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53, 55, 56. Note on page 56: "The vocabulary of the Belhoola was obtained from a woman of that tribe with the assistance of the Indian Stewart through the means of the Belbella vocabulary (cf. 277, part 7). With the exception of a very few words, my rendering of the latter [Belbella] was perfectly intelligible to her. The principal difficulty experienced in this was the excessively gutteral pronounciation of the language. I have classed this without hesitation among the Flathead languages from its obvious analogies. Some words, identical with those of the Belbella are marked with an asterisk. These are probably borrowed the one from the other, or perhaps were given by the woman from having mixed with the Belbellas." Page 41 marked "copied." 8-a Words obtained by Mackenzie at "Friendly Village," page 57.
9-10. Vocabularies of the "Okina'kane (O-Kin-ah-kehn[=Okinagan]) & Similkameen." 1853 & 1859. 17 pages in notebook, pages 58-74. "The incomplete vocabulary of the Okinakane was obtained in 1853. That of the Similkameen in 1859 and the latter is to be retained in place of the first as much more reliable. Given by "Sam" the guide employed by the N.W.B.S." The contents at the beginning of this volume has penciled note indicating that "Okinakane" and "Similkameen" are two dialects of one language.--page 1, note in hand of Mooney.
11. "Additional forms in Yakima," from Rev Marie Charles Pandosy, No date. 1 page in notebook, page 75.
12. "Piskwowse or Winatsha" vocabulary obtained 1853 and revised in 1860. 14 pages in notebook, pages 76-90, & 201. Note on page 76: "Revised at Ft. Colville, March 1860, by the assistance of Lahome's daughter. I have not however confidence in its being entirely correct. There may have been a difference in dialect between her and the first interpreter." Marked "copied" on page 76. Originally a Salish tribe, "Gibbs states that by 1853 they were so largely intermarried with the Yakima as to have almost lost their identity." page 264 of Handbook of American Indians. Page 201 has list of Winatsha Indians in 1853.
13. Vocabulary obtained from Spokane Gerry in 1854. 13 pages in notebook, pages 91-104. Marked "copied" on page 91.
14. Klikatat vocabulary obtained from Yahotowit in 1854. Copy by Gibbs of his original vocabulary, 15 pages in notebook, pages 105-119 and 222. Note in Gibbs' hand: "I am not certain that this is unmixed with the Yakama, as it resembles more closely two vocabularies of that dialect which I obtained then I have been led to expect. It was received from Ya-ho-tow-it." Apparently a copy by Gibbs from his original in Manuscript Number 671. Another copy by Gibbs is cataloged as Manuscript Number 693.
14. "Klikatat" vocabulary, copied from (?) "Tolmie." No date. 1 page in notebook, page 222. 15 Kalispel or Pend Oreille vocabulary, 1860. 15 pages in notebook, pages 119-133. "...vocabulary of the Kalispelm or Pend Oreille obtained from a man at Colville Depot, Jany., 1860. It is spoken by the Indians of Clarke's Fork of the Columbia River." Page 119 marked "copied."
16. "Shoos-whap or She-whap-much" vocabulary, 1860. 15 pages in notebook, pages 134-138. "Obtained at Colville Depot, Jany., 1860 from a woman by the assistance of the man from which the foregoing of the Kalispeln was derived [Manuscript Number 227, part 15], and using that in interpreting. Page 134 marked "copied."
17. "Chepewyan vocabulary" extracted from MacKenzie." No date. 7 pages in notebook, pages 149, 150, 152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162.
18-19. "Knistinaux" (Cree) (18) and "Algonquin" (19) vocabulary "extracted from MacKenzie." 8 pages in notebook, pages 149, 151, 153, 155, 157, 161, 163.
20. "Kootenay" vocabulary. Place and date not recorded, 33 pages in notebook, pages 164-198, not including page 186 and 192. Page 164 is marked "copied." A copy by Gibbs of this vocabulary, pages 164-176 is filed Manuscript 512 with the note that this vocabulary "was taken from the son of the chief at the Chelenta Depot (Che-tam-towse)" with help of half breed interpreter; "I think the vocabulary can be relied on." Also note in Manuscript Number 512: "additional words of the Algonquin Kootenay in the book." This probably refers to pages 177-198 in Manuscript Number 227. Manuscript Number 512 contains 1 page of "Additional words in Kootenay" not found in Number 227.
21. Vocabulary of the Kalispel & Flathead including geographical names, No date. 2 pages in notebook, pages 199-200.
22. "Similkameen", dialect of the Okinagan, vocabulary, No date,. 9 pages in notebook, pages 202-210. Note in Mooney's hand on page 1 says Okinakane and Similkameen are 2 dialects of 1 language. Note on page 202: "Sam says that the Similkameen, Okin-a-kane, Sin-ke-mah-pe-luks, Skla-kum Methone; Che-lehn, Sin-pai-li-hooch; Se-leh-nich, Sins-peh-lich; Swoi-yehlp, Sche-wuch-hooch all understand one another but not the Soushwap & Couteaux." Sam was informant in 1853, cf. 227, part 10.
23. "Nooksaak" ("Nooksahk") vocabulary. June, 1859. 2 pages in notebook, pages 211 & 228. The Nooksak is a dialect of Squawmish coast group, Handbook of American Indians, page 417.
24. "Soomass" vocabulary. Place and date not recorded. 3 pages in notebook, pages 212-214. Sumass is a dialect of the Cowichan group of coast dialects, Handbook of American Indians, page 417.
25. "Simiahmoo" vocabulary: animals and proper names. 1 page in notebook, page 215. No date. The Semiahmoo is a dialect of the Songish coast group, Handbook of American Indians, page 417.
26. "Saamena" vocabulary. 1 page in notebook, page 216. No date.
27. Skagit vocabulary "(vide Dr Craig's corrections)." No date. 1 page in notebook, page 217. Skagit is a dialect of the Nisqualli group of coast dialects, Handbook of American Indians, page 417.
28. "Simiahmoo" vocabulary of 10 terms. Date and place not recorded. 1 page in notebook, page 218. The Semiahmoo is a dialect of the Songish coast group, Handbook of American Indians, page 417.
29. "Chiloweyuck" vocabulary. Date and place not recorded. 2 pages in notebook, pages 218 & 223. Chilliwack is a dialect of the Cowichan coast group, Handbook of American Indians, page 417.
30. "Nisqually" vocabulary. October, 1858. 6 pages in notebook, pages 219-221, 223 & 226. Note on page 219, "copied."
31. Chehalis vocabulary of 8 words. (Terms for salmon.) No date. page 222. Chinook vocabulary of 9 terms. (Terms for salmon.) No date. Page 224 in notebook. "Cowlitz" vocabulary of 5 terms. (Terms for salmon.) Page 224 in notebook. No date.
32. "Toanhooch" vocabulary. No date. 1 page in notebook, page 227; only 4 terms are recorded.
33. Chimakum- Not filled in; English only.
34. Kwillehyuts- Not filled in; English only.
35. Kwinaiutl- Not filled in; English only.
36. Noo-so-lupsh- Not filled in; English only.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 227
Local Note:
Notes by Gibbs on the source of many of the Salishan vocabularies in this volume are catalogued under Numbers 735 and 742.
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Manuscript 227, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Digitization and preparation of these materials for online access has been funded by the National Science Foundation under BCS Grant No. 1561167 and the Recovering Voices initiative at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
Indians of North America -- California Search this
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Contains numerals from each of the following languages: Attacapa, Chitimacha, (H'Hana), Napa, Diegueno, Coco-Maricopa, Piro, Apache, (Coppermine), Opata, Yaqui, Seri. Copies by Gibbs.
Two copies, as follows: 243-a. Original, in printed Smithsonian outline. 10 double pages. (10 microframes.) 243-b. Copy in hand of George Gibbs. 6 pages. On page 6, the entries for the numerals 1-10 are questioned and marked, "Shawnee?" in the hand of John R. Swanton; he has added two columns giving the numerals in Yatasi and Caddo.
![view MS 218 Comparative vocabulary of the languages spoken by the Umpqua, Lower Rogue River, and Calapooia Tribes of Indians digital asset: Comparative vocabulary of the languages spoken by the Umpqua, Lower Rogue River [Takelma], and Calapooia Tribes of Indians](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?max=200&id=https://sirismm.si.edu/siris/SelectedImages.gif "Comparative vocabulary of the languages spoken by the Umpqua, Lower Rogue River [Takelma], and Calapooia Tribes of Indians")
