Sophie Bledsoe Aberle (née Herrick; July 10, 1896 – October 1, 1996) was an American

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

, physician and

nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and Human nutrition, nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disci ...

known for her work with

Pueblo people The Pueblo peoples are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Among the currently inhabited Pueblos, Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zuni, and Hopi are some of the ...

. She was one of two women first appointed to the

National Science Board The National Science Board (NSB) of the United States establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President of the United States, president and the United ...

Early life and education

Sophie Bledsoe Herrick was born in 1896 to Albert and Clara S. Herrick in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

. Her paternal grandmother and namesake was the writer Sophia Bledsoe Herrick. Sophie was educated at home and had a brief marriage at age 21 to a man surnamed Aberle, which surname she chose to keep. She began attending

University of California in Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

but switched to

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in 1923, a master's degree in 1925, and a Ph.D. in genetics in 1927. She then attended medical school, earning an M.D. from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1930. While a student, she worked as an assistant

histologist Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures visi ...

embryologist Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos and ...

, and

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

, and as an

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

instructor.

Career and research

Though she began her career with a 4-year stint as an instructor at Yale, Aberle spent most of her career working in Native American areas. She was employed by the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

from 1935 to 1944, then took a position with National Research Council until 1949, and from 1949 to 1954 at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

. In 1948, her first major book was published, which placed Aberle as a strong proponent of Pueblo land rights. She and

Gerty Cori Gerty Theresa Cori (; August 15, 1896 – October 26, 1957) was a Bohemian-Austrian and American biochemist who in 1947 was the third woman to win a Nobel Prize in science, and the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Me ...

were the first women appointed to the

by President

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

in 1951. Aberle remained a member until 1957. She worked for the Bernalillo County Indian Hospital as its chief nutritionist until 1966 when she returned to the

as a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...

, a position she maintained until her 1970 retirement.

Professional service

Aberle spent much of her career working on committees for land allocation and health. She was a member of the upper Rio Grande drainage basin committee, the health committee of the

All Indian Pueblo Council The All Pueblo Council of Governors (formerly the All Indian Pueblo Council) is a non-profit Puebloan leadership organization and political entity. It comprises the 20 Pueblos – 19 across New Mexico and one in Texas and works on legislative, c ...

, the New Mexico Nutrition Committee, the White House Conference on Children in Democracy, the Committee of Maternal and Infant Mortality, Planned Parenthood, and was the chair of the board of directors for the Southwest Field Training School for Federal Service and the Commission on Rights, Liberties, and Responsibilities of American Indians.

Professional memberships

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

American Anthropological Association The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an American organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 members, the association, based in Arlington, Virginia, includes archaeologists, cultural anthropo ...

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...

Works

* ''The Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, Their Land, Economy and Civil Organization'' * ''The Indian: America's Unfinished Business''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aberle, Sophie 1896 births 1996 deaths American women anthropologists University of New Mexico faculty Stanford University alumni Yale School of Medicine alumni American women centenarians 20th-century American anthropologists Historians of Native Americans 20th-century American women writers University of California, Berkeley alumni American nutritionists Women nutritionists 20th-century American physicians 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American women academics 20th-century American academics