Frances Densmore recording Mountain Chief2

The Bureau of American Ethnology (or BAE, originally, Bureau of Ethnology) was established in 1879 by an act of Congress for the purpose of transferring archives, records and materials relating to the Indians of North America from the Interior Department to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. But from the start, the bureau's visionary founding director,

John Wesley Powell John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He ...

, promoted a broader mission: "to organize anthropologic research in America." Under Powell, the bureau organized research-intensive multi-year projects; sponsored

ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...

, archaeological and

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

field research; initiated publications series (most notably its Annual Reports and Bulletins); and promoted the fledgling discipline of

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

. It prepared exhibits for expositions and collected anthropological artifacts for the Smithsonian United States National Museum. In addition, the BAE was the official repository of documents concerning American Indians collected by the various US geological surveys, especially the Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region and the Geological Survey of the Territories. It developed a manuscript repository, library and illustrations section that included photographic work and the collection of photographs. In 1897, the Bureau of Ethnology's name changed to the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) to emphasize the geographic limit of its interests, although its staff briefly conducted research in US possessions such as Hawaii and the Philippines. In 1965, the BAE merged with the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology to form the Smithsonian Office of Anthropology within the United States National Museum (now the Department of Anthropology,

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

). In 1968, the SOA archives became the

National Anthropological Archives The National Anthropological Archives is a collection of historical and contemporary documents maintained by the Smithsonian Institution, which document the history of anthropology and the world's peoples and cultures. It is located in the Smi ...

Research

The BAE's staff included some of America's earliest field anthropologists, including

Frank Hamilton Cushing Frank Hamilton Cushing (July 22, 1857 in North East Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania – April 10, 1900 in Washington, D.C.) was an American anthropologist and ethnologist. He made pioneering studies of the Zuni Indians of New Mexico by enter ...

James Owen Dorsey James Owen Dorsey (October 31, 1848 – February 4, 1895) was an American ethnologist, linguist, and Episcopalian missionary in the Dakota Territory, who contributed to the description of the Ponca, Omaha, and other southern Siouan languages. He ...

Jesse Walter Fewkes Jesse Walter Fewkes (November 14, 1850 – May 31, 1930) was an American anthropologist, archaeologist, writer, and naturalist. Biography Fewkes was born in Newton, Massachusetts on November 14, 1850, and initially trained as a zoologist at H ...

Alice Cunningham Fletcher Alice Cunningham Fletcher (March 15, 1838 in HavanaApril 6, 1923 in Washington, D.C.) was an American ethnologist, anthropologist, and social scientist who studied and documented American Indian culture. Early life and education Not much is ...

, John N.B. Hewitt,

Francis LaFlesche Francis La Flesche (Omaha, 1857–1932) was the first professional Native American ethnologist; he worked with the Smithsonian Institution. He specialized in Omaha and Osage cultures. Working closely as a translator and researcher with the anth ...

Cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

and Victor Mindeleff,

James Mooney James Mooney (February 10, 1861 – December 22, 1921) was an American ethnographer who lived for several years among the Cherokee. Known as "The Indian Man", he conducted major studies of Southeastern Indians, as well as of tribes on the G ...

William Henry Holmes William Henry Holmes (December 1, 1846 – April 20, 1933), known as W. H. Holmes, was an American explorer, anthropologist, archaeologist, artist, scientific illustrator, cartographer, mountain climber, geologist and museum curator and ...

Edward Palmer Edward Palmer may refer to: * Edward Palmer (d.1624) (1555–1624), antiquary and projector of a university in Virginia * Edward Palmer (socialist) (1802–1886), American religious socialist * Edward Palmer (Canadian politician) (1809–1889), Pri ...

, James Stevenson, and

Matilda Coxe Stevenson Matilda Coxe Stevenson (''née'' Evans) (May 12, 1849 – June 24, 1915), who also wrote under the name Tilly E. Stevenson, was an American Ethnology, ethnologist, geologist, explorer, and activist. She was a supporter of women in science, helpi ...

. In the 20th century, the BAE's staff included such anthropologists as

John Peabody Harrington John Peabody Harrington (April 29, 1884 – October 21, 1961) was an American linguist and ethnologist and a specialist in the indigenous peoples of California. Harrington is noted for the massive volume of his documentary output, most of which h ...

(a linguist who spent more than 40 years documenting endangered languages), Matthew Stirling, and

William C. Sturtevant William Curtis Sturtevant (1926 Morristown, New Jersey – March 2, 2007) was an anthropologist and ethnologist. He is best known as the general editor of the 20-volume ''Handbook of North American Indians''. Renowned anthropologist Claude Lévi-S ...

. The BAE supported the work of many non-Smithsonian researchers (known as collaborators), most notably Franz Boas,

Frances Densmore Frances Theresa Densmore (May 21, 1867 – June 5, 1957) was an American anthropologist and ethnographer born in Red Wing, Minnesota. Densmore is known for her studies of Native American music and culture, and in modern terms, she may ...

Garrick Mallery Garrick Mallery (April 25, 1831 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania – October 24, 1894) was an American ethnologist specializing in Native American sign language and pictographs. Family His father was Judge Garrick Mallery, who was born April ...

Washington Matthews Washington Matthews (June 17, 1843 – March 2, 1905) was a surgeon in the United States Army, ethnographer, and linguist known for his studies of Native American peoples, especially the Navajo. Early life and education Matthews was born in Ki ...

Paul Radin Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

Cyrus Thomas Cyrus Thomas (July 27, 1825 – June 26, 1910) was an American ethnologist and entomologist prominent in the late 19th century and noted for his studies of the natural history of the American West. Biography Thomas was born in Kingsport, ...

and T.T. Waterman. The BAE had three subunits: the Mounds Survey (1882–1895); the Institute of Social Anthropology (1943–1952), and the River Basin Surveys (1946–1969).

Mounds survey

At the time the BAE was founded, there was intense controversy over the identity of the

Mound Builders A number of pre-Columbian cultures are collectively termed "Mound Builders". The term does not refer to a specific people or archaeological culture, but refers to the characteristic mound earthworks erected for an extended period of more than 5 ...

, the term for the prehistoric people who had built complex, monumental earthwork

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher el ...

s. Archaeologists, both amateur and professional, were divided between believing the mounds were built by passing groups of people who settled in various places elsewhere, or believing they could have been built by Native Americans.

, the Bureau's appointed head of the Division of Mound Exploration, eventually published his conclusions on the origins of the mounds in the Bureau's ''Annual Report of 1894.'' It is considered to be the last word in the controversy over the Mound builders' identities. After Thomas' publication, scholars generally accepted that varying cultures of

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, Native Americans, were the Mound builders.

References

* Fagan, Brian M. ''Ancient North America''. Thames & Hudson. New York, 2005 * Hinsley, Curtis M. 1994. ''The Smithsonian and the American Indian: making a moral anthropology in Victorian America''. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Hodge, Frederick Webb, and Corinne L. Gilb. 1956. ''Frederick Webb Hodge, ethnologist''. Berkeley, Calif: University of California.
* Judd, Neil Merton. ''The Bureau of American Ethnology; a partial history''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1967. * Thomas, Cyrus
Report on the mound explorations of the Bureau of Ethnology
Pp. 3–730. Twelfth annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1890–91, by J. W. Powell, Director. XLVIII+742 pp., 42 pls., 344 figs. 1894. * Woodbury, Richard B., and Nathalie F. S. Woodbury
"The Rise and Fall of the Bureau of American Ethnology."
Journal of the Southwest, vol. 41, no. 3, 1999, pp. 283–296. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40170100.

External links

National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

* ttp://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb37575968z/date Digitized copies of the BAE Annual Reports at Gallica
Digitized copies of BAE Annual Reports No. 1 - 15
at

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...

Digitized copies of BAE Annual Reports No. 16 - 81
at

Digitized copies of BAE Bulletins No. 1 – 24

Digitized copies of BAE Bulletins No. 25 – 200

Register to the Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology
National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution {{Authority control Indigenous peoples of North America History of indigenous peoples of North America Smithsonian Institution Pre-Columbian studies 1879 establishments in the United States Government agencies established in 1879

Research

Mounds survey

See also

References

External links