Guide to the Indigenous Materials at the American Philosophical Society

Description: This volume contains extracts of Benjamin Smith Barton's "New Views of the Origin of the Tribes and Nations of America" (Philadelphia, 1797), with additions by Peter S. Du Ponceau. The bulk of the volume is comprised of word list of 54 words with equivalents listed in a range of 50-70 languages. While Barton listed no authority, Du Ponceau cited sources. Languages with words listed include Chitimacha, Atakapa, Cherokee, Osage, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Nottoway, Kansa, Omaha, Dakota, Pawnee, Nanticoke, Gros Ventres, Miami, Mi'kmaq, Seminole, Quapaw, Yuchi, Delaware, Ojibwe, Shawnee, Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, Tuscarora, Natches, Wyandot, Creek, Mahican, Mohegan, and many others. The word list includes the terms for God, heaven, and sky, as well as various terms relating to kinship, parts of the body, weather, and more. The volume also includes notes on sounds of the Otomi (Othomi) observations on declension; observations about the Omaha, Kansa, Oto, Arkansas, and Missouri languages; and notes on symbol and sound. Also includes a newspaper clipping of a review (in German) of Barton's "New Views" that appeared in "Göttingische Anzeigen von gelehrten Sachen," June 17, 1799.

Collection:A comparative vocabulary of Indian languages (Mss.497.B28)

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Abenaki materials, Selected materials, 1676-1930, on Indian linguistics

Culture:

Wabanaki includes: Wabenaki, Wobanaki

Abenaki includes: Abnaki

Language:French | Abenaki, Eastern | Abenaki, Western

Date:circa 1756-1760 and undated

Contributor:Aubéry, Joseph, 1673-1755

Type:Text

Genre:Microfilms | Catechisms | Canticles | Hymns | Grammars

Extent:3 items

Description: Part of a collection comprised of religious and linguistic materials in various Native American languages. Many were written by Jesuit missionaries of New France. These three items concern the Abenaki language and include linguistic and religious materials in French and Abenaki, including catechisms, hymns, canticles, parts of speech, etc. Originals in the archives of the Séminaire de Québec at the Université Laval [formerly the Séminaire de Québec] and the Archives de l'Archeveche de Quebec.

Collection:Selected materials, 1676-1930, on Indian linguistics (Mss.Film.453)

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Account of some of the traditions, manners and customs of the Lenee Lenauppa Indians: traditions of the Lenee Lenaupee or Delawares: and, language of the Delawares, [ca. 1825]

Culture:

Lenape includes: Lenni-Lenape, Delaware

Language:English

Date:circa 1825

Contributor:Trowbridge, C. C. (Charles Christopher), 1800-1883

Type:Text

Genre:Microfilms | Reports

Extent:1 reel

Description: This is a forty-eight page report on Delaware culture and language, with selected words and phrases and their meanings, by C. C. Trowbridge in response to a 1823 questionnaire distributed by Lewis Cass. In part a criticism of Heckewelder and DuPonceau. Originals at the University of Michigan.

Collection:Account of some of the traditions, manners and customs of the Lenee Lenauppa Indians: traditions of the Lenee Lenaupee or Delawares: and, language of the Delawares, [ca. 1825] (Mss.Film.883)

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Algonquian materials, C. F. Voegelin Papers

Culture:

Shawnee

Penobscot

Potawatomi includes: Pottawotomi, Neshnabé, Bodéwadmi

Ojibwe includes: Ojibwa, Chippewa, Ojibway

Mi'kmaq includes: Micmac

Meskwaki includes: Mesquakie, Musquakie, Sac, Sauk, Fox, Sac-and-Fox

Menominee includes: Menomini, Mamaceqtaw

Lenape includes: Lenni-Lenape, Delaware

Ktunaxa includes: Kootenai, Kootenay, Kutenai, Tonaxa

Cree includes: Nēhiyaw, Cri

Cheyenne

Blackfeet includes: Blackfoot, Niitsítapi, Siksika, Siksikaitsitapi

Date:circa 1930s-1960s

Subject:Linguistics | Anthropology | Algonquian languages | New England--History | Orthography and spelling

Type:Still Image | Text

Extent:25 folders, 1 box

Description: There are many materials relating to Algonquian languages in the C. F. Voegelin Papers. This entry is intended as a catch-all for materials labeled as Algonquian or Macro-Algonquian, or having to do with several Algonquian languages in a general way. Researchers should also view the entries for specific Algonquian languages and culture groups. Algonquian materials are located in both Subcollection I and Subcollection II. In Subcollection I, there is relevant correspondence with Leonard Bloomfield (regarding an inscription on a silver bracelet; Bloomfield's "Menomini Grammar"), Charles Hockett (with questions about Voegelin's article on Delaware and examples from other Algonquian languages), and Morris Swadesh (including a brief Stockbridge vocabulary and a slip of Moravian Delaware) in Series I. Correspondence; 1 box of comparative Algonquian vocabulary and grammar in Series II. and several linguistic maps (i.e., "Algonquian language text with illustrations" and "Linguistic classification of the Southern New England Algonquians"), particularly of the Potawatomi, Delaware, and Shawnee, to accompany the texts of Voegelin's work on Algonquian languages, in Series VII. Photographs. In Subcollection II, there is relevant correspondence from Eric Hamp (to Ives Goddard regarding preparation of Arapaho and Algonquian works) and Frank Speck (to Edward Sapir regarding his work on Mi'kmaq and other northern Algonquian languages and societies) in Series I. Correspondence. There is also an entire subseries devoted to Macro-Algonquian: Subseries III. Macro-Algonquian of Series II. Research Notes. This subseries contains a grammatical sketch of Algonquian by Leonard Bloomfield (135 pages of typescript with handwritten edits and 7 interleaved pages of notes by Voegelin); another "Sketch of Algonquian" by Bloomfield consisting of a notebook (approx. 45 pages) and handwritten notes (approx. 80 pages); 5 folders of notebooks focusing on beginning sounds ("Č and K," "L and M," "N and P," " Š and T," and "Θ and ?"), drawing from Pacific Coast Algonquian ("PCA"), Fox [Meskwaki], Plains Cree, Menominee, and Ojibwe; 3 folders of other comparative Algonquian notebooks organized by general nouns, body parts, kinship terms, numerals, and verbs; miscellaneous Algonquian notes; and specimens of Central Algonquian, including short texts in Fox [Meskwaki], Ojibwe, Menominee, and Plains Cree, with English translations. The rest of the material in the Macro-Algonquian folder is organized according to specific languages: Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Fox (Meskwaki), Kutenai [Ktunaxa culture], Ojibwe, Penobscot, and Shawnee. Finally, there is an article titled "Some Observations on Algonquian Phonology" in Series III. Works by Voegelin, Subseries I: General works; an incomplete typed draft of Bloomfield's "Sketch of Algonquian" in Series IV. Works by Others; and a "Linguistic map of Southern New England" in Series III. Works by Voegelin, Subseries V: American Indian Languages.

Collection:C. F. Voegelin Papers (Mss.Ms.Coll.68)

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Algonquin materials, C. F. Voegelin Papers

Culture:

Algonquin

Language:English | Algonquin

Date:1935 and undated

Contributor:Voegelin, C. F. (Charles Frederick), 1906-1986 | Bloomfield, Leonard, 1887-1949 | Sapir, Edward, 1884-1939

Subject:Linguistics | Anthropology | Algonquian languages

Type:Text

Genre:Correspondence | Essays

Extent:2 folders

Description: Two items relating to the Algonquin language have been identified in the C. F. Voegelin Papers. Both are in Subcollection II. Edward Sapir briefly mentions "Algonkin" in the context of his work on Blackfoot in Series I. Correspondence; and there is a copy of Leonard Bloomfield's 128-page "Algonquin" located in Series IV. Works by Others.

Collection:C. F. Voegelin Papers (Mss.Ms.Coll.68)

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Algonquin materials, Indian manuscripts, 1661-1879

Culture:

Algonquin

Anishinaabe includes: Anishinaabeg, Anishinabe, Nishnaabe, Anishinabek

Language:French | Algonquin | Latin

Date:1661-1819 and undated

Type:Text

Extent:10 items

Description: These manuscripts include dictionaries, grammars, catechisms, prayers, canticles, hymns, and Bible tales prepared by French Sulpician missionaries in New France in Algonquin, the Nipissing dialect of Algonquin, and some Iroquoian languages. From originals at the Seminaire de Montreal, les Pretres de Saint-Sulpice.

Collection:Indian manuscripts, 1661-1879 (Mss.Film.1109)

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Algonquin materials, Selected materials, 1676-1930, on Indian linguistics

Culture:

Innu includes: Montagnais, Mountaineer

Inuit includes: Inuk, Eskimo (pej.), ᐃᓄᐃᑦ

Algonquin

Abenaki includes: Abnaki

Language:French | Algonquin | Latin

Date:1637-1847

Contributor:Vaultier, Peter | Crespieul, François de, 1639-1702 | Cuoq, J. A. (Jean André), 1821-1898 | Laure, Pierre-Michel, 1688-1738

Type:Text

Extent:8 items

Description: Part of a collection comprised of religious and linguistic materials in various Native American languages. Many were written by Jesuit missionaries of New France, although Cuoq was Sulpician. These eight items primarly concern the Algonquin language and include linguistic and religious materials in French, Latin, and Algonquin such as prayers, hymns, canticles, music, catechisms, etc. A few items incorporate some Abenaki, Inuit, and Innu language material as well. There is also the 125-page Registre de Sillery 1637 a 1690 containing Native baptismal and confirmation records. Originals in the archives of the Séminaire de Québec at the Université Laval [formerly the Séminaire de Québec] and the Archives de l'Archeveche de Quebec.

Collection:Selected materials, 1676-1930, on Indian linguistics (Mss.Film.453)

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Blackfeet materials, C. F. Voegelin Papers

Culture:

Blackfeet includes: Blackfoot, Niitsítapi, Siksika, Siksikaitsitapi

Language:English | Blackfoot

Date:circa 1930s-1960s

Contributor:Voegelin, C. F. (Charles Frederick), 1906-1986 | Lewis, Oscar, 1914-1970 | Bear Hat, Velma | Water Chief, Margaret | Sapir, Edward, 1884-1939

Type:Text

Extent:13 folders, 2 boxes

Description: The C. F. Voegelin Papers contain correspondence, card files, notes, notebooks, Vocabularies, and other linguistic and ethnographic materials relating to Blackfeet language and culture. These are located in both Subcollection I and Subcollection II of the Voegelin Papers. Materials in Subcollection I include 2 boxes of card files (mostly vocabulary) and 2 folders of document files in Series II. Card Files. Of particular interest in Folder #1 might be some notes on vocabulary and eight pages of an incomplete letter, apparently to Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin, from someone based at the Blackfeet agency doing fieldwork under the auspices of Clark Wissler and working with Mr. Calfchild. The writer mentions societies, exogamy, kinship, reciprocity, bands, etc. Folder #2 contains child-focused material including typed texts (mostly sporadic comments) obtained from children, fragments of typed observations about children's interactions and language use, and a two-page list of 24 Blackfoot children, with their full names, ages, and sometimes notes about their fluency or references to texts and other works for which these individuals were apparently consulted. There is also a bundle of texts, mostly about Blackfoot societies and their origins, labeled "Old Bull (Shultz's Informant)" [Possibly a reference to James Willard Schultz (1859-1947)]. Continuing with Subcollection I, there is also 1 folder of undated linguistic notes in Series V. Research Notes, Subseries V-A: Language Notes; a folder containing the typed transcript of a dialogue (between children at play) between Velma Bear Hat and Margaret Water Chief in Series V. Research Notes, Subseries V-B: Text; and 3 undated folders in Series VI. Notebooks (which were described in detail by Richard A. Rhodes, Department of Linguistics at the University of California-Berkeley, in 1988, and include vocabulary, stories, work on paradigms, vowel clusters, suffixes, numerals, kinship terms, and some ethnographic information in #3). Blackfoot materials in Subcollection II include correspondence with Oscar Lewis (regarding Blackfoot culture and linguistic classfication, particularly in relation to Kutenai, and including a paper Lewis sent and Voegelin's response) and Edward Sapir (mentioning work on Blackfoot, Algonquin and Wiyot) in Series I. Correspondence; and several folders in Series II. Research Notes, Subseries III. Macro-Algonquian. The latter contain Blackfoot grammatical notes, Blackfoot prefixes, sketches of Blackfoot designs, and 8 notebooks. Blackfoot notebooks 1-7 contain stories (Blackfoot with interlinear English), Vocabularies, and names of speakers, and a separate unnumbered Blackfoot notebook contains ethnographic notes in English, though some Blackfoot terms and phrases are included.

Collection:C. F. Voegelin Papers (Mss.Ms.Coll.68)

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Cheyenne materials, C. F. Voegelin Papers

Culture:

Cheyenne

Language:English | Cheyenne

Date:circa 1949-1976

Contributor:Voegelin, C. F. (Charles Frederick), 1906-1986 | Croft, Kenneth

Subject:Linguistics | Anthropology | Folklore | Ethnography | Algonquian languages

Type:Text

Extent:2 folders

Description: Two items relating to the Cheyenne language have been identified in the C. F. Voegelin Papers. They are both located in Subcollection II. They consist of Voegelin's correspondence with Kenneth Croft (regarding Croft's Cheyenne materials, which he deposited at APS and distributed among individuals after he moved on to Nahuatl) in Series I. Correspondence; and a Cheyenne folder containing a 1950 letter from Croft, a brief grammatical sketch, transcriptions of words from tape recordings [possibly from Croft's audio recordings also deposited at the APS and available through the Digital Library], and a 2-page typewritten story in Cheyenne and English ("My Grandfather's Advice") in Series II. Research Notes, Subseries III. Macro-Algonquian.

Collection:C. F. Voegelin Papers (Mss.Ms.Coll.68)

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Delaware materials, Peter Stephen Du Ponceau letters, 1816-1822, to John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder

Culture:

Onondaga includes: Onöñda'gega'

Lenape includes: Lenni-Lenape, Delaware

Haudenosaunee includes: Iroquois, Onkwehonwe

Language:English

Date:1816-1822

Contributor:Du Ponceau, Peter Stephen, 1760-1844 | Heckewelder, John Gottlieb Ernestus, 1743-1823

Type:Text

Genre:Microfilms | Correspondence

Extent:2 reels

Description: These are eighteen letters that mostly concern Indian linguistics. Topics include Heckewelder's writings on the Indians; question of whether or not any of the Delaware can pronounce the letter "r"; and Zeisberger's Onondaga grammar and dictionary. From originals in possession of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

Collection:Peter Stephen Du Ponceau letters, 1816-1822, to John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder (Mss.Film.1162)