James Alexander Teit (15 April 1864 — 30 October 1922) was an anthropologist, photographer and guide who worked with

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the movements known as historical ...

to study

Interior Salish The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main branches of the Salishan languages, Salishan language family, the other being Coast Salish languages, Coast Salish. It can be further divided into Northern and Southern subbranches. The first S ...

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

peoples in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He led expeditions throughout

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and made many contributions towards native ethnology. He also worked with

Edward Sapir Edward Sapir (; January 26, 1884 – February 4, 1939) was an American Jewish anthropologist-linguist, who is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the development of the discipline of linguistics in the United States. Sa ...

of the

Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; french: Commission géologique du Canada (CGC)) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country, developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the en ...

in 1911. In the later part of his life Teit worked tirelessly with the native people to preserve their human rights, as discussed by Wendy Wickwire in her work ''At the Bridge''. Teit was born in

Lerwick Lerwick (; non, Leirvik; nrn, Larvik) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. Centred off the north coast of the Scottish mainland ...

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

, Scotland but immigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and married a

Nlaka'pamux The Nlaka'pamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', ''Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''Kni ...

woman named Susanna Lucy Antko. It was through his wife that he became knowledgeable of the culture and

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

of the Nlaka'pamux people. Lucy died of pneumonia in 1899. After his wife's death Teit moved to the small town of Spences Bridge, British Columbia. While living there he married Josephine Morens. Together they had six children: Erik 1905, Inga 1907, Magnus 1909, Rolf 1912, Sigurd 1915, and Thorald 1919. Inga and Erik are buried in the Morens family graveyard with their baby brother. James and Josephine are buried in Merritt B.C.Canadian Museum of Civilization. ''James Alexander Teit''
Accessed 31 July 2008.

Publications by James Teit

AMNH Digital Repository

AMNH Digital Repository

AMNH Digital Repository

AMNH Digital Repository
*Teit, James A. (1912). "On Tahltan (Athabaskan) Work, 1912."
Summary Report of the Geological Survey of Canada 1912
'. (1914) Ottawa, Department of Mines. p. 484-48
GEOSCAN
*Haeberlin, H. K., Teit, James A., Roberts, Helen H., and Boas, Franz. (1930). "Coiled Basketry in British Columbia and Surrounding Region."
Forty-first Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1927-1928
'. Vol. 41, p. 441-522. Washington D.C., Smithsonian Bureau of American Ethnology
Description of whole report by archive.org
*Teit, James A. (1930). "Ethnobotany of the Thompson Indians, British Columbia."
Forty-fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1927-1928
'. Vol. 45, p. 441-522. Washington D.C., Smithsonian Bureau of American Ethnology
Description of whole report by archive.org
*Teit, James A. (1930). "The Salishan Tribes of the Western Plateaus."
Forty-fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1927-1928
'. Vol. 45, p. 23-396. Washington D.C., Smithsonian Bureau of American Ethnology
Description of whole report by archive.org
*Teit, James A. (1930). "Tattooing and Face and Body Painting of the Thompson Indians, British Columbia."
Forty-fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1927-1928
'. Vol. 45, p. 397-439. Washington D.C., Smithsonian Bureau of American Ethnology
Description of whole report by archive.org

References

External links

*
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teit, James Alexander 1864 births 1922 deaths People from Shetland Scottish emigrants to Canada Canadian anthropologists Canadian photographers Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)