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The Handbook: A Retrospective

Author:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan  Search this
Jacknis, Ira  Search this
Merrill, William L.  Search this
Editor:
Krupnik, Igor  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
2022
Citation:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan, Jacknis, Ira, and Merrill, William L. 2022. "The Handbook: A Retrospective." In Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 1, Introduction. Krupnik, Igor, editor. 561–581. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.
Identifier:
168420
Series Standard Number:
0282926003
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_168420

Appendix 1, Timeline

Author:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan  Search this
Krupnik, Igor  Search this
Editor:
Krupnik, Igor  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
2022
Citation:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan and Krupnik, Igor. 2022. "Appendix 1, Timeline." In Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 1, Introduction. Krupnik, Igor, editor. 595–609. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.
Identifier:
168581
Series Standard Number:
0282926003
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_168581

Taíno Symposium – Session 3 – José Barreiro and Christina González Co-Moderators Introduction

Creator:
National Museum of the American Indian  Search this
Type:
Symposia
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2019-06-04T19:46:41.000Z
YouTube Category:
Education  Search this
Topic:
Native Americans;American Indians  Search this
See more by:
SmithsonianNMAI
Data Source:
National Museum of the American Indian
YouTube Channel:
SmithsonianNMAI
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_tpVVRprFBwM

"The Married Couple: the Man Whose Wife Was Wooed By a Bear

Creator:
National Museum of Natural History  Search this
Type:
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2008-08-13T01:06:06.000Z
YouTube Category:
Education  Search this
Topic:
Natural History  Search this
See more by:
smithsonianNMNH
Data Source:
National Museum of Natural History
YouTube Channel:
smithsonianNMNH
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_XUXIGSdwPcI

Production of the Handbook 1970-2008

Author:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan  Search this
Editor:
Krupnik, Igor  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
2022
Citation:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan. 2022. "Production of the Handbook 1970-2008." In Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 1, Introduction. Krupnik, Igor, editor. 531–548. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Scholarly Press.
Identifier:
168419
Series Standard Number:
0282926003
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_168419

Tributes

Author:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan  Search this
Editor:
Krupnik, Igor  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
2022
Citation:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan. 2022. "Tributes." In Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 1, Introduction. Krupnik, Igor, editor. 589–589. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.
Identifier:
168421
Series Standard Number:
0282926003
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_168421

The Classification of the Native Languages of North America

Author:
Goddard, Ives  Search this
Editor:
Goddard, Ives  Search this
Series_editor:
Sturtevant, William C.  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
1996
Citation:
Goddard, Ives. 1996. "The Classification of the Native Languages of North America." In Languages. Goddard, Ives, editor. 290–323. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. In Handbook of North American Indians, 17.
Identifier:
167486
Series Standard Number:
9780874741971
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_167486

Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 10, Southwest (Non-Pueblos)

Editor:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
1983
Citation:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan, editor. 1983. Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 10, Southwest (Non-Pueblos). Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
20817
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_20817

Frederica de Laguna papers

Creator:
De Laguna, Frederica, 1906-2004  Search this
McClellan, Catharine  Search this
Swanton, John Reed, 1873-1958  Search this
Guédon, Marie Françoise  Search this
Emmons, George Thornton  Search this
Correspondent:
Stearns, Mary Lee  Search this
Aberle, David F. (David Friend), 1918-2004  Search this
Arensberg, Conrad M. (Conrad Maynadier), 1910-1997  Search this
Baird, Melissa  Search this
Balzer, Marjorie  Search this
Bersch, Gretchen  Search this
Birket-Smith, Kaj  Search this
Black, Lydia  Search this
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942  Search this
Chowning, Ann  Search this
Clark, J. Desmond (John Desmond), 1916-2002  Search this
Codere, Helen F., 1917-2009  Search this
Collins, Henry B. (Henry Bascom), 1899-1987  Search this
Colton, Harold Sellers, 1881-1970  Search this
Conklin, Harold C., 1926-2016  Search this
Corbett, John M.  Search this
Darnell, Regna  Search this
Dauenhauer, Nora  Search this
Dauenhauer, Richard  Search this
Davenport, William  Search this
Dockstader, Frederick J.  Search this
Drucker, Philip, 1911-1982  Search this
Du Bois, Cora Alice, 1903-1991  Search this
Duff, Wilson, 1925-  Search this
Fair, Susan  Search this
Fitzhugh, William W., 1943-  Search this
Foster, George McClelland, 1913-  Search this
Garfield, Viola Edmundson, 1899-1983  Search this
Giddings, James Louis  Search this
Gjessing, Gutorm, 1906  Search this
Grinev, Andrei V.  Search this
Hanable, William S.  Search this
Hara, Hiroko, 1934-  Search this
Haury, Emil W. (Emil Walter), 1904-1992  Search this
Heizer, Robert F. (Robert Fleming), 1915-1979  Search this
Helm, June, 1924-  Search this
Herskovits, Melville J. (Melville Jean), 1895-1963  Search this
Holtved, Erik  Search this
Jenness, Diamond, 1886-1969  Search this
Kahn, Mimi  Search this
Kan, Sergei  Search this
Krauss, Michael E., 1934-  Search this
Kroeber, A. L. (Alfred Louis), 1876-1960  Search this
Larsen, Helge, 1905-1984  Search this
Leer, Jeff  Search this
Lindgren, E. J. (Ethel John), 1904-1988  Search this
Lomax, Alan, 1915-2002  Search this
Low, Jean  Search this
Mathiassen, Therkel, 1892-1967  Search this
Mead, Margaret, 1901-1978  Search this
Olson, Wallace  Search this
Rainey, Froelich G. (Froelich Gladstone), 1907-1992  Search this
Riddell, Francis A. (Francis Allen), 1921-2002  Search this
Ritchie, William A. (William Augustus), 1903-1995  Search this
Schneider, William  Search this
Schumacher, Paul J. F.  Search this
Shinkwin, Anne D.  Search this
Spier, Leslie, 1893-1961  Search this
Spiro, Melford E., 1920-2014  Search this
Underhill, Ruth, 1883-1984  Search this
VanStone, James W.  Search this
Weiner, Annette B., 1933-  Search this
Weitzner, Bella, 1891?-1988  Search this
White, Leslie A., 1900-1975  Search this
Woodbury, Natalie Ferris Sampson  Search this
Woodbury, Richard B. (Richard Benjamin), 1917-2009  Search this
Workman, Karen Wood  Search this
Workman, William B.  Search this
Names:
American Anthropological Association  Search this
Bryn Mawr College  Search this
Photographer:
Smith, Harlan Ingersoll, 1872-1940  Search this
Extent:
2 Map drawers
38 Linear feet (71 document boxes, 1 half document box, 2 manuscript folders, 4 card file boxes, 1 flat box, and 1 oversize box)
Culture:
Yakutat Tlingit  Search this
Tutchone  Search this
Tsimshian  Search this
Indians of North America -- Subarctic  Search this
Tlingit  Search this
Tanana  Search this
Kawchodinne (Hare)  Search this
Ahtna (Ahtena)  Search this
Athapascan Indians  Search this
Northern Athabascan  Search this
Chugach  Search this
Kalaallit (Greenland Eskimo)  Search this
Indians of North America -- California  Search this
Eyak  Search this
Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America  Search this
Degexit'an (Ingalik)  Search this
Arctic peoples  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Map drawers
Manuscripts
Maps
Field notes
Correspondence
Photographs
Sound recordings
Place:
Alaska -- Archaeology
Aishihik (Yukon)
Angoon (Alaska)
Alaska -- Ethnology
Chistochina (Alaska)
Greenland
Copper River (Alaska)
Klukshu (Yukon)
Hoonah (Alaska)
Kodiak Island (Alaska)
Klukwan (Alaska)
Saint Lawrence River Valley
New Brunswick -- Archaeology
Yukon Island (Alaska)
Date:
1890-2004
bulk 1923-2004
Summary:
These papers reflect the professional and personal life of Frederica de Laguna. The collection contains correspondence, field notes, writings, newspaper clippings, writings by others, subject files, sound recordings, photographs, and maps. A significant portion of the collection consists of de Laguna's correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and students, as well as her informants from the field. Her correspondence covers a wide range of subjects such as family, health, preparations for field work, her publications and projects, the Northwest Coast, her opinions on the state of anthropology, and politics. The field notes in the collection mainly represent de Laguna and her assistants' work in the Northern Tlingit region of Alaska from 1949 to 1954. In addition, the collection contains materials related to her work in the St. Lawrence River Valley in Ontario in 1947 and Catherine McClellan's field journal for her research in Aishihik, Yukon Territory in 1968. Most of the audio reels in the collection are field recordings made by de Laguna, McClellan, and Marie-Françoise Guédon of vocabulary and songs and speeches at potlatches and other ceremonies from 1952 to 1969. Tlingit and several Athabaskan languages including Atna, Tutchone, Upper Tanana, and Tanacross are represented in the recordings. Also in the collection are copies of John R. Swanton's Tlingit recordings and Hiroko Hara Sue's recordings among the Hare Indians. Additional materials related to de Laguna's research on the Northwest Coast include her notes on clans and tribes in Series VI: Subject Files and her notes on Tlingit vocabulary and Yakutat names specimens in Series X: Card Files. Drafts and notes for Voyage to Greenland, Travels Among the Dena, and The Tlingit Indians can be found in the collection as well as her drawings for her dissertation and materials related to her work for the Handbook of North American Indians and other publications. There is little material related to Under Mount Saint Elias except for correspondence, photocopies and negatives of plates, and grant applications for the monograph. Of special interest among de Laguna's writings is a photocopy of her historical fiction novel, The Thousand March. Other materials of special interest are copies of her talks, including her AAA presidential address, and the dissertation of Regna Darnell, a former student of de Laguna's. In addition, materials on the history of anthropology are in the collection, most of which can found with her teaching materials. Although the bulk of the collection documents de Laguna's professional years, the collection also contains newspaper articles and letters regarding her exceptional performance as a student at Bryn Mawr College and her undergraduate and graduate report cards. Only a few photographs of de Laguna can be found in the collection along with photographs of her 1929 and 1979 trips to Greenland.
Scope and Contents:
These papers reflect the professional and personal life of Frederica de Laguna. The collection contains correspondence, field notes, writings, newspaper clippings, writings by others, subject files, sound recordings, photographs, and maps.

A significant portion of the collection consists of de Laguna's correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and students, as well as her informants from the field. Her correspondence covers a wide range of subjects such as family, health, preparations for field work, her publications and projects, the Northwest Coast, her opinions on the state of anthropology, and politics. Among her notable correspondents are Kaj Birket-Smith, J. Desmond Clark, Henry Collins, George Foster, Viola Garfield, Marie-Françoise Guédon, Diamond Jenness, Michael Krauss, Therkel Mathiassen, Catharine McClellan, and Wallace Olson. She also corresponded with several eminent anthropologists including Franz Boas, William Fitzhugh, J. Louis Giddings, Emil Haury, June Helm, Melville Herskovitz, Alfred Kroeber, Helge Larsen, Alan Lomax, Margaret Mead, Froelich Rainey, Leslie Spier, Ruth Underhill, James VanStone, Annette Weiner, and Leslie White.

The field notes in the collection mainly represent de Laguna and her assistants' work in the Northern Tlingit region of Alaska from 1949 to 1954. In addition, the collection contains materials related to her work in the St. Lawrence River Valley in Ontario in 1947 and Catharine McClellan's field journal for her research in Aishihik, Yukon Territory in 1968. Most of the audio reels in the collection are field recordings made by de Laguna, McClellan, and Marie-Françoise Guédon of vocabulary and songs and speeches at potlatches and other ceremonies from 1952 to 1969. Tlingit and several Athapaskan languages including Atna, Tutochone, Upper Tanana, and Tanacross are represented in the recordings. Also in the collection are copies of John R. Swanton's Tlingit recordings and Hiroko Hara's recordings among the Hare Indians. Additional materials related to de Laguna's research on the Northwest Coast include her notes on clans and tribes in Series VI: Subject Files and her notes on Tlingit vocabulary and Yakutat names specimens in Series 10: Card Files.

Drafts and notes for Voyage to Greenland, Travels Among the Dena, and The Tlingit Indians can be found in the collection as well as her drawings for her dissertation and materials related to her work for the Handbook of North American Indians and other publications. There is little material related to Under Mount Saint Elias except for correspondence, photocopies and negatives of plates, and grant applications for the monograph. Of special interest among de Laguna's writings is a photocopy of her historical fiction novel, The Thousand March.

Other materials of special interest are copies of her talks, including her AAA presidential address, and the dissertation of Regna Darnell, a former student of de Laguna's. In addition, materials on the history of anthropology are in the collection, most of which can found with her teaching materials. The collection also contains copies of photographs from the Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899. Although the bulk of the collection documents de Laguna's professional years, the collection also contains newspaper articles and letters regarding her exceptional performance as a student at Bryn Mawr College and her undergraduate and graduate report cards. Only a few photographs of de Laguna can be found in the collection along with photographs of her 1929 and 1979 trips to Greenland.
Arrangement:
Arranged in 12 series: (1) Correspondence, 1923-2004; (2) Field Research, 1947-1968; (3) Writings, 1926-2001; (4) Teaching, 1922-1988; (5) Professional Activities, 1939-2001; (6) Subject Files, 1890-2002; (7) Writings by Others, 1962-2000; (8) Personal, 1923-2000; (9) Photographs, 1929-1986; (10) Card Files; (11) Maps, 1928-1973; (12) Sound Recordings, 1904-1973
Biographical / Historical:
Frederica Annis Lopez de Leo de Laguna was a pioneering archaeologist and ethnographer of northwestern North America. Known as Freddy by her friends, she was one of the last students of Franz Boas. She served as first vice-president of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) from 1949 to 1950 and as president of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) from 1966-1967. She also founded the anthropology department at Bryn Mawr College where she taught from 1938 to 1972. In 1975, she and Margaret Mead, a former classmate, were the first women to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Born on October 3, 1906 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, de Laguna was the daughter of Theodore Lopez de Leo de Laguna and Grace Mead Andrus, both philosophy professors at Bryn Mawr College. Often sick as a child, de Laguna was home-schooled by her parents until she was 9. She excelled as a student at Bryn Mawr College, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in politics and economics in 1927. She was awarded the college's prestigious European fellowship, which upon the suggestion of her parents, she deferred for a year to study anthropology at Columbia University under Boas. Her parents had recently attended a lecture given by Boas and felt that anthropology would unite her interests in the social sciences and her love for the outdoors.

After a year studying at Columbia with Boas, Gladys Reichard, and Ruth Benedict, de Laguna was still uncertain whether anthropology was the field for her. Nevertheless, she followed Boas's advice to spend her year abroad studying the connection between Eskimo and Paleolithic art, which would later became the topic of her dissertation. In the summer of 1928, she gained fieldwork experience under George Grant MacCurdy visiting prehistoric sites in England, France, and Spain. In Paris, she attended lectures on prehistoric art by Abbe Breuil and received guidance from Paul Rivet and Marcelin Boule. Engaged to an Englishman she had met at Columbia University, de Laguna decided to also enroll at the London School of Economics in case she needed to earn her degree there. She took a seminar with Bronislaw Malinowski, an experience she found unpleasant and disappointing.

It was de Laguna's visit to the National Museum in Copenhagen to examine the archaeological collections from Central Eskimo that became the turning point in her life. During her visit, she met Therkel Mathiassen who invited her to be his assistant on what would be the first scientific archaeological excavation in Greenland. She sailed off with him in June 1929, intending to return early in August. Instead, she decided to stay until October to finish the excavation with Mathiassen, now convinced that her future lay in anthropology. When she returned from Greenland she broke off her engagement with her fiancé, deciding that she would not able to both fully pursue a career in anthropology and be the sort of wife she felt he deserved. Her experiences in Greenland became the subject of her 1977 memoir, Voyage to Greenland: A Personal Initiation into Anthropology.

The following year, Kaj Birket-Smith, whom de Laguna had also met in Copenhagen, agreed to let her accompany him as his research assistant on his summer expedition to Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet. When Birket-Smith fell ill and was unable to go, de Laguna was determined to continue on with the trip. She convinced the University of Pennsylvania Museum to fund her trip to Alaska to survey potential excavation sites and took as her assistant her 20 year old brother, Wallace, who became a geologist. A close family, de Laguna's brother and mother would later accompany her on other research trips.

In 1931, the University of Pennsylvania Museum hired de Laguna to catalogue Eskimo collections. They again financed her work in Cook Inlet that year as well as the following year. In 1933, she earned her PhD from Columbia and led an archaeological and ethnological expedition of the Prince William Sound with Birket-Smith. They coauthored "The Eyak Indians of the Copper River Delta, Alaska," published in 1938. In 1935, de Laguna led an archaeological and geological reconnaissance of middle and lower Yukon Valley, traveling down the Tanana River. Several decades later, the 1935 trip contributed to two of her books: Travels Among the Dena, published in 1994, and Tales From the Dena, published in 1997.

In 1935 and 1936, de Laguna worked briefly as an Associate Soil Conservationist, surveying economic and social conditions on the Pima Indian Reservation in Arizona. She later returned to Arizona during the summers to conduct research and in 1941, led a summer archaeological field school under the sponsorship of Bryn Mawr College and the Museum of Northern Arizona.

By this time, de Laguna had already published several academic articles and was also the author of three fiction books. Published in 1930, The Thousand March: Adventures of an American Boy with the Garibaldi was her historical fiction book for juveniles. She also wrote two detective novels: The Arrow Points to Murder (1937) and Fog on the Mountain (1938). The Arrow Points to Murder is set in a museum based on her experiences at the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the American Museum of National History. Fog on the Mountain is set in Cook Inlet and draws upon de Laguna's experiences in Alaska. Both detective novels helped to finance her research.

De Laguna began her long career at Bryn Mawr College in 1938 when she was hired as a lecturer in the sociology department to teach the first ever anthropology course at the college. By 1950, she was chairman of the joint department of Sociology and Anthropology, and in 1967, the chairman of the newly independent Anthropology Department. She was also a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania (1947-1949; 1972-1976) and at the University of California, Berkeley (1959-1960; 1972-1973.)

During World War II, de Laguna took a leave of absence from Bryn Mawr College to serve in the naval reserve from 1942 to 1945. As a member of WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service), she taught naval history and codes and ciphers to women midshipmen at Smith College. She took great pride in her naval service and in her later years joined the local chapter of WAVES National, an organization for former and current members of WAVES.

In 1950, de Laguna returned to Alaska to work in the Northern Tlingit region. Her ethnological and archaeological study of the Tlingit Indians brought her back several more times throughout the 1950s and led to the publication of Under Mount Saint Elias in 1972. Her comprehensive three-volume monograph is still considered the authoritative work on the Yakutat Tlingit. In 1954, de Laguna turned her focus to the Atna Indians of Copper River, returning to the area in 1958, 1960, and 1968.

De Laguna retired from Bryn Mawr College in 1972 under the college's mandatory retirement policy. Although she suffered from many ailments in her later years including macular degeneration, she remained professionally active. Five decades after her first visit to Greenland, de Laguna returned to Upernavik in 1979 to conduct ethnographic investigations. In 1985, she finished editing George Thornton Emmons' unpublished manuscript The Tlingit Indians. A project she had begun in 1955, the book was finally published in 1991. In 1986, she served as a volunteer consultant archaeologist and ethnologist for the U. S. Forest Service in Alaska. In 1994, she took part in "More than Words . . ." Laura Bliss Spann's documentary on the last Eyak speaker, Maggie Smith Jones. By 2001, de Laguna was legally blind. Nevertheless, she continued working on several projects and established the Frederica de Laguna Northern Books Press to reprint out-of-print literature and publish new scholarly works on Arctic cultures.

Over her lifetime, de Laguna received several honors including her election into the National Academy Sciences in 1976, the Distinguished Service Award from AAA in 1986, and the Lucy Wharton Drexel Medal from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999. De Laguna's work, however, was respected by not only her colleagues but also by the people she studied. In 1996, the people of Yakutat honored de Laguna with a potlatch. Her return to Yakutat was filmed by Laura Bliss Spann in her documentary Reunion at Mt St. Elias: The Return of Frederica de Laguna to Yakutat.

At the age of 98, Frederica de Laguna passed away on October 6, 2004.

Sources Consulted

Darnell, Regna. "Frederica de Laguna (1906-2004)." American Anthropologist 107.3 (2005): 554-556.

de Laguna, Frederica. Voyage to Greenland: A Personal Initiation into Anthropology. New York: W.W. Norton Co, 1977.

McClellan, Catharine. "Frederica de Laguna and the Pleasures of Anthropology." American Ethnologist 16.4 (1989): 766-785.

Olson, Wallace M. "Obituary: Frederica de Laguna (1906-2004)." Arctic 58.1 (2005): 89-90.
Related Materials:
Although this collection contains a great deal of correspondence associated with her service as president of AAA, most of her presidential records can be found in American Anthropological Association Records 1917-1972. Also at the National Anthropological Archives are her transcripts of songs sung by Yakutat Tlingit recorded in 1952 and 1954 located in MS 7056 and her notes and drawings of Dorset culture materials in the National Museum of Canada located in MS 7265. The Human Studies Film Archive has a video oral history of de Laguna conducted by Norman Markel (SC-89.10.4).

Related collections can also be found in other repositories. The University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania holds materials related to work that de Laguna carried out for the museum from the 1930s to the 1960s. Materials relating to her fieldwork in Angoon and Yakutat can be found in the Rasmuson Library of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks in the papers of Francis A. Riddell, a field assistant to de Laguna in the early 1950s. Original photographs taken in the field in Alaska were deposited in the Alaska State Library, Juneau. Both the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress and the American Philosophical Library have copies of her field recordings and notes. The American Museum of Natural History has materials related to her work editing George T. Emmons' manuscript. De Laguna's papers can also be found at the Bryn Mawr College Archives.
Provenance:
These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Frederica de Laguna.
Restrictions:
Some of the original field notes are restricted due to Frederica de Laguna's request to protect the privacy of those accused of witchcraft. The originals are restricted until 2030. Photocopies may be made with the names of the accused redacted.
Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation  Search this
Anthropology -- History  Search this
Genre/Form:
Manuscripts
Maps
Field notes
Correspondence
Photographs
Sound recordings
Citation:
Frederica de Laguna papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.1998-89
See more items in:
Frederica de Laguna papers
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3363424fd-e665-498b-a37c-9f4a81302a35
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-1998-89
Online Media:

Department of Anthropology records

Creator:
National Museum of Natural History (U.S.). Department of Anthropology  Search this
Smithsonian Institution. Department of Anthropology  Search this
Smithsonian Institution. United States National Museum. Department of Anthropology  Search this
Extent:
330.25 Linear feet (519 boxes)
Note:
Some materials are held off-site; this will be indicated at the series or sub-series level. Advanced notice must be given to view these portions of the collection.
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1840s-circa 2015
Summary:
The Department of Anthropology records contain administrative and research materials produced by the department and its members from the time of the Smithsonian Institution's foundation until today.
Scope and Contents:
The Department of Anthropology records contain correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, memoranda, invoices, meeting minutes, fiscal records, annual reports, grant applications, personnel records, receipts, and forms. The topics covered in the materials include collections, exhibits, staff, conservation, acquisitions, loans, storage and office space, administration, operations, research, budgets, security, office procedures, and funding. The materials were created by members of the Section of Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, the Division of Anthropology of the United States National Museum, the Office of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History, and the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History and range in date from before the founding of the Smithsonian Institution to today. The Department of Anthropology records also contain some materials related to the Bureau of American Ethnology, such as documents from the River Basin Surveys.

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:
This collection is arranged in 28 series: (1) Correspondence, 1902-1908, 1961-1992; (2) Alpha-Subject File, 1828-1963; (3) Alpha-Subject File, 1961-1975; (4) Smithsonian Office of Anthropology Subject Files, 1967-1968; (5) River Basin Survey Files, 1965-1969; (6) Research Statements, Proposals, and Awards, 1961-1977 (bulk 1966-1973); (7) Publication File, 1960-1975; (8) Memoranda and Lists Concerning Condemnations, 1910-1965; (9) Notebook on Special Exhibits, 1951-1952 (10) Section on Animal Industry; (11) Administrative Records, 1891-1974; (12) Administrative Records, 1965-1994 (bulk 1975-1988); (13) Fiscal Records, 1904-1986; (14) Annual Reports, 1920-1983; (15) Chairman's Office Files, 1987-1993; (16) Division of Archaeology, 1828-1965; (17) Division of Ethnology, 1840s, 1860-1972, 1997; (18) Division of Physical Anthropology; (19) Division of Cultural Anthropology, 1920-1968; (20) Records of the Anthropological Laboratory/Anthropology Conservation and Restoration Laboratory, 1939-1973; (21) Collections Management, 1965-1985; (22) Photographs of Specimens and Other Subjects (Processing Laboratory Photographs), 1880s-1950s; (23) Exhibit Labels, Specimen Labels, Catalog Cards, and Miscellaneous Documents, circa 1870-1950; (24) Antiquities Act Permits, 1904-1986; (25) Ancient Technology Program, circa 1966-1981; (26) Urgent Anthropology; (27) Records of the Handbook of North American Indians; (28) Personnel; (29) Repatriation Office, 1991-1994
Administrative History.:
The Smithsonian Institution was founded in 1846. Although there was no department of anthropology until the creation of the Section of Ethnology in 1879, anthropological materials were part of the Smithsonian's collection from its foundation. The Section of Ethnology was created to care for the rapidly growing collection. In 1881, the United States National Museum was established. Soon thereafter, in 1883, it was broken up into divisions, including the Division of Anthropology. In 1904, Physical Anthropology was added to the Division.

The Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) was created in 1879 as a research unit of the Smithsonian, separating research from collections care. However, during the 1950s, research became a higher priority for the Department of Anthropology and, in 1965, the BAE was merged with the Department of Anthropology to create the Office of Anthropology, and the BAE's archives became the National Anthropological Archives (NAA).

In 1967, the United States National Museum was broken up into three separate museums: the Musuem of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History), the National Museum of American Art, and the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). The Office of Anthropology was included in NMNH and was renamed the Department of Anthropology in 1968.

New divisions were added to the Department, including the Human Studies Film Archives (HSFA) in 1981, the Research Institute on Immigration and Ethnic Studies (RIIES) in 1982, and the Repatriation Office in 1993. In 1983, the Smithsonian opened the Museum Support Center (MSC) in Suitland, Maryland, as offsite housing for collections with specialized storage facilities and conservation labs.

The Department of Anthropology is currently the largest department within NMNH. It has three curatorial divisions (Ethnology, Archaeology, and Biological Anthropology) and its staff includes curators, research assistants, program staff, collections specialists, archivists, repatriation tribal liaisons, and administrative specialists. It has a number of outreach and research arms, including the Repatriation Office, Recovering Voices, Human Origins, and the Arctic Studies Center.

The Museum is home to one of the world's largest anthropology collections, with over three million specimens in archaeology, ethnology, and human skeletal biology. The NAA is the Smithsonian's oldest archival repository, with materials that reflect over 150 years of anthropological collecting and fieldwork. The HSFA is the only North American archive devoted exclusively to the collection and preservation of anthropological film and video.

Sources Consulted

National Museum of Natural History. "Department of Anthropology: About" Accessed April 13, 2020. https://naturalhistory.si.edu/research/anthropology/about

National Museum of Natural History. "History of Anthropology at the Smithsonian." Accessed April 13, 2020. https://naturalhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/media/file/history-anthropology-si.pdf

National Museum of Natural History. "History of the Smithsonian Combined Catalog." Accessed April 13, 2020 https://sirismm.si.edu/siris/sihistory.htm

Chronology

1846 -- The Smithsonian Institution is founded

1879 -- George Catlin bequeaths his collection to the Smithsonian The Section of Ethnology is established to oversee ethnological and archaeological collections The Bureau of Ethnology is established by Congress as a research unit of the Smithsonian

1881 -- The U.S. National Museum (USNM) is established as a separate entity within the Smithsonian Institution

1883 -- The staff and collections of the USNM are reorganized into divisions, including a Division of Anthropology

1897 -- The United States National Museum is reorganized into three departments: Anthropology headed by W. H. Holmes; Biology with F. W. True as head; and Geology with G. P. Merrill in charge The Bureau of Ethnology is renamed the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) to emphasize the geographic limit of its interests

1903 -- The Division of Physical Anthropology established

1904 -- The Division of Physical Anthropology is incorporated into the Division of Anthropology

1910 -- The USNM moves into the new Natural History Building

1965 -- The Smithsonian Office of Anthropology is created on February 1 The BAE is eliminated and merged with the Office of Anthropology

1968 -- The Smithsonian Office of Anthropology (SOA) of the National Museum of Natural History is retitled the Department of Anthropology on October 29

1973 -- The Research Institute on Immigration and Ethnic Studies (RIIES) is established at the National Museum of Natural History's (NMNH) Center for the Study of Man (CSM) to study the waves of immigration to the United States and its overseas outposts that began in the 1960's

1975 -- The National Anthropological Film Center is established

1981 -- The National Anthropological Film Center is incorporated into the Department of Anthropology

1982 -- The RIIES, part of the CSM at the NMNH, is transferred to the Department of Anthropology

1991 -- NMNH establishes a Repatriation Office

1993 -- The Repatriation Office is incorporated into the Department of Anthropology

Head Curators and Department Chairs

1897-1902 -- William Henry Holmes

1902-1903 -- Otis T. Mason (acting)

1904-1908 -- Otis T. Mason

1908-1909 -- Walter Hough (acting)

1910-1920 -- William Henry Holmes

1920-1923 -- Walter Hough (acting)

1923-1935 -- Walter Hough

1935-1960 -- Frank M. Setzler

1960-1962 -- T. Dale Stewart

1963-1965 -- Waldo R. Wedel

1965-1967 -- Richard Woodbury

1967-1970 -- Saul H. Riesenberg

1970-1975 -- Clifford Evans

1975-1980 -- William W. Fitzhugh

1980-1985 -- Douglas H. Ubelaker

1985-1988 -- Adrienne L. Kaeppler

1988-1992 -- Donald J. Ortner

1992-1999 -- Dennis Stanford

1999-2002 -- Carolyn L. Rose

2002-2005 -- William W. Fitzhugh

2005-2010 -- J. Daniel Rogers

2010-2014 -- Mary Jo Arnoldi

2014-2018 -- Torbin Rick

2018- -- Igor Krupnik
Related Materials:
The NAA holds collections of former head curators and department chairs, including the papers of Otis Tufton Mason, Walter Hough, T. Dale Stewart, Waldo Rudolph and Mildred Mott Wedel, Saul H. Riesenberg, Clifford Evans, and Donald J. Ortner; the photographs of Frank Maryl Setzler; and the Richard B. Woodbury collection of drawings of human and animal figures.

Other related collections at the NAA include the papers of Gordon D. Gibson, Eugene I. Knez, and Betty J. Meggers and Clifford Evans; and the records of the Bureau of American Ethnology, the Center for the Study of Man, and the River Basin Surveys.
Provenance:
This collection was transferred to the National Anthropological Archives (NAA) by the National Museum of Natural History's Department of Anthropology in multiple accessions.
Restrictions:
Some materials are restricted.

Access to the Department of Anthropology records requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Anthropology  Search this
Ethnology  Search this
Archaeology  Search this
Citation:
Department of Anthropology Records, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.XXXX.0311
See more items in:
Department of Anthropology records
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3da0f5297-c324-47c1-96dd-171f6edd11b6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-xxxx-0311

MS 4055 Authorities consulted for Synonymy of the Handbook of North American Indians

Collector:
Mooney, James, 1861-1921  Search this
Extent:
2 Pages
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
undated
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 4055
Topic:
Bulletins, Bureau of American Ethnology -- Bulletin 30  Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 4055, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.MS4055
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw347b30c50-6492-456b-ad89-9ddd6dbf509f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-ms4055

Leggings And Moccasins Female

Collector:
Major John W. Powell  Search this
Donor Name:
Major John W. Powell  Search this
Height - Object:
48 cm
Culture:
Shoshone, Western, Bear Lake  Search this
Object Type:
Moccasin Legging
Place:
Bear Lake, Utah, United States, North America
Accession Date:
1875
Collection Date:
1871 to 1879
Topic:
Ethnology  Search this
Accession Number:
004260
USNM Number:
E22001-0
See more items in:
Anthropology
Data Source:
NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3e1a5d609-f1b1-4535-81be-e8f52e2f55cb
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8363841

Woman's Buckskin Dress

Donor Name:
Major John W. Powell  Search this
Length - Object:
83.5 cm
Culture:
Shoshone, Northern, Goose Creek  Search this
Object Type:
Dress
Place:
Not Given, Utah, United States, North America
Accession Date:
5 Dec 1875
Topic:
Ethnology  Search this
Accession Number:
75A00070
USNM Number:
E19828-0
See more items in:
Anthropology
Data Source:
NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3f200e8b7-8752-4e80-ab5a-05d29fb3120e
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8354358

Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 8, California

Editor:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
1978
Citation:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan, editor. 1978. Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 8, California. Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
20811
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_20811

Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 15, Northeast

Editor:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
1978
Citation:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan, editor. 1978. Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 15, Northeast. Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
20812
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_20812

Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 5, Arctic

Editor:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
1984
Citation:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan, editor. 1984. Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 5, Arctic. Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
20818
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_20818

Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 9, Southwest

Editor:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
1979
Citation:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan, editor. 1979. Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 9, Southwest. Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
20813
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_20813

Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 6, Subarctic

Editor:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
1981
Citation:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan, editor. 1981. Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 6, Subarctic. Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
20814
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_20814

Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 11, Great Basin

Editor:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
1986
Citation:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan, editor. 1986. Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 11, Great Basin. Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
20819
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_20819

Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 4, History of Indian-White Relations

Editor:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
1988
Citation:
Scherer, Joanna Cohan, editor. 1988. Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 4, History of Indian-White Relations. Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
20820
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_20820

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