Guide to the Indigenous Materials at the American Philosophical Society

Description: The Kwakwaka'wakw materials in the ACLS collection are located predominantly in the "Kwakiutl" section of the finding aid, which contains a full listing of all materials (other relevant sections are "Northwest Coast", "Bella Bella (Heitsuk)", and item AfBnd.4 in "Non-American and non-linguistic material"). Some of the larger individual sets of materials listed within this section also have their own specific tables of contents (available upon request) detailing their often highly diverse contents. Overall, the vast majority of the material is made of of 1) manuscripts sent to Boas by George Hunt from the 1890s to the 1930s, frequently in both Kwak'wala and English, covering a very broad range of Kwakwaka'wakw history, culture, languages, customs, and traditions; and 2) field work materials recorded by Boas and Boas' own analyses of material sent by Hunt, covering a similar range of topics. Additional materials by other individuals focus especially on linguistic and ethnographic matters. Also see the guide entry "Kwakiutl materials, Franz Boas Papers" for information on the correspondence between Boas and Hunt, which gives additional context to the materials in the ACLS collection.

Collection:ACLS Collection (American Council of Learned Societies Committee on Native American Languages, American Philosophical Society) (Mss.497.3.B63c)

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Kwakwaka'wakw materials, Franz Boas Papers

Culture:

Wiwekam

Wiweqayi

Tłatłasikwala

Nak'waxda'xw includes: Nakoaktok, Nakwoktak, Nakwaxda'xw

Namgis includes: Nimkish, Nimpkish

K'ómoks includes: Comox

Kwakwaka'wakw includes: Kwakiutl

Kwagu'ł

Dzawada'enuxw includes: Tsawataineuk

Gopinuxw

Gusgimukw includes: Koskimo

Gwa'sala

Gwatsinuxw includes: Quatsino

Gwawa'enuxw

Da'naxda'xw

A'wa'etłala

Language:English | German | Kwak'wala

Date:1885-1942

Type:Text

Genre:Correspondence

Extent:1 linear foot

Description: This collection contains the bulk of correspondence between Franz Boas and his professional colleagues, though there are also other Boas collections in the library. The correspondents listed above contain some correspondence related to the culture or language listed in this entry. The largest correspondence is that of George Hunt, which took place from 1894-1933 and runs around 1000 pages. A full index for this correspondence is available upon request, and includes cross references to the locations (in other APS collections) of fieldwork and other materials referred to in the letters. Other correspondences primarily about Kwakwaka'wakw matters are that of the Cadwalladers, Dan Cranmer, John Fillmore (concerning the transcription of Boas' cylinder recordings of Kwakiutl songs), Alfred I. Hall, and C. J. Nowell. In the finding aid listings for some of these correspondents, the individual letters pertaining to this culture or language will be identified by a subject heading, though for some correspondents this indexing has not yet been completed. Some letters may contain only brief mentions of work being conducted in relation to the topic. Some additional correspondences in this collection that have not yet been indexed may also contain additional material.

Collection:Franz Boas Papers (Mss.B.B61)

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Mi'kmaq materials, Frank G. Speck Papers

Culture:

Wolastoqiyik includes: Wəlastəkwewiyik, Malecite, Maliseet

Wabanaki includes: Wabenaki, Wobanaki

Passamaquoddy includes: Peskotomuhkati

Mi'kmaq includes: Micmac

Cherokee

Beothuk

Language:English | Mi'kmaq

Date:1909-1949

Contributor:Speck, Frank G. (Frank Gouldsmith), 1881-1950 | Butler, Eva L. | Mechling, William Hubbs, 1888-1953 | Barlow, Steve

Type:Text

Extent:8 folders

Description: Materials relating to Mi'kmaq history, language, and culture. Includes Speck's field notes on topics such as wampum, hunting territories, Cape Breton texts, Newfoundland traditions, the Passamaquoddy, etc., as well as a map with names of Bear River Band members and one piece of birch bark with pictographs inscribed; Speck's miscellaneous notes and correspondence on topics such as consultants, specimens, hieroglyphics, linguistics, fieldwork, Mi'kmaq and Cherokee, and the Mi'kmaq mission newspaper; a text on Mi'kmaq dance with interlinear translation, notes, and a musical score; 10 pages of linguistic notes and vocabulary collected along the Miramichi River, along with 6 pages of typed copy by John Witthoft; correspondence with Mechling concerning linguistic research on the Mi'kmaq, Malecite [Malecite-Passamaquoddy], and Oaxaca languages, Mi'kmaq burials, and historic materials on Beothuk and Mi'kmaq; a brief article on a traveler's account of the Mi'kmaq in 1822; an incomplete article or set of reading excerpts taken after 1922 by Speck from John G. Millais (1907); and extracts concerning the sweat house taken by Butler from the Jesuit Relations.

Collection:Frank G. Speck Papers (Mss.Ms.Coll.126)

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Ottawa material

Culture:

Odawa includes: Ottawa

Anishinaabe includes: Anishinaabeg, Anishinabe, Nishnaabe, Anishinabek

Language:Ottawa | English

Date:1947-1948

Contributor:Chingwa, Joe | Cooper, Victoria | Ettawageshik, Jane, 1915-1996 | Ettawageshik, Fred, 1896-1969

Type:Sound recording

Extent:21 sound tape reels (8 hr., 28 min.) : DIGITIZED

Description: This collection consists of Ottawa songs, interviews, Vocabularies, legends, Nanabojo stories, autobiographical stories, and information on Ottawa history. Some of the material is given in both Ottawa and English, some in Ottawa only. Recordings in Series 1 made by Jane Ettawageshik in Philadelphia in 1947, and Series 2 in Michigan in 1948. Transcriptions and translations of some of the collection can be found in Mss.SMs.Coll.20, "Anishinaabe Language Tape Transcriptions of Anishinaabe Language Recordings by Anishinaabe People from the Traverse Area of Michigan During the 1940s". (NOTE: This material has been digitized and can be accessed online for free by users not physically at the APS Library through a login and password. Please see our Audio Access Page for information on how to request these materials.)

Collection:Ottawa material (Mss.Rec.1)

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Penobscot materials, Frank Siebert Papers

Culture:

Penobscot

Mi'kmaq includes: Micmac

Abenaki includes: Abnaki

Language:English | Abenaki, Eastern

Date:1669; 1678; 1725-1796; 1809-1884; 1900-1995

Type:Sound recording | Still Image | Text

Extent:12 linear feet; 3 hrs. (audio); 5 photographs

Description: The Penobscot materials in the Frank Siebert Papers are concentrated in Series III. Siebert collected census material, treaties and treaty minutes, placenames, with a strong representation of songs, stories, and linguistic materials. There are detailed notes about Indian claims in Maine and genealogical information. There are also educational materials for the teaching of the Penobscot language as well as a wealth of information on Penobscot linguistics. Series V, Siebert's notebooks, have extensive grammatical, phonetic, and vocabulary of the Penobscot language. Both Series III and V reflect Siebert's deep interest in the history of Maine and the Eastern Abenaki including archaeological, pre-history, and colonial era documents such as the Eliot Bible, which Siebert owned a rare copy in his library, which was sold at auction. Series VI and VII contain various drafts of essays on Penobscot culture, language, and history. Series XI contains 5 related photos of Louis Lolar, taken in 1933. Series XII contains approximately 3 hours of Penobscot language recordings, primarily from the 1930s and 1950s.

Collection:Frank Siebert Papers (Mss.Ms.Coll.97)

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Penobscot materials, Frank Speck Recordings

Culture:

Wabanaki includes: Wabenaki, Wobanaki

Penobscot

Mi'kmaq includes: Micmac

Language:Abenaki, Eastern

Date:1935

Contributor:Nelson, Roland | Nicholas, Louis | Speck, Frank G. (Frank Gouldsmith), 1881-1950 | Thibodeau, Joe

Type:Sound recording

Genre:Prayers | Songs

Extent:38 min. : DIGITIZED

Description: The Penobscot materials in the Frank Speck recording collection consist of 18 recordings of songs for various occasions, including wedding songs, hunting songs, social dances, "Micmac" songs, lullabies, and hymns. (NOTE: This material has been digitized and can be accessed online for free by users not physically at the APS Library through a login and password. Please see our Audio Access Page for information on how to request these materials.)

Collection:Recordings of Cherokee, Creek, Naskapi, Penobscot, Sioux, Santee, Tutelo, and Winnebago (Mss.Rec.49)

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Tohono O'odham materials, ACLS collection

Culture:

Tohono O'odham includes: Papago

Language:English | Spanish | Tohono O'odham

Date:1940 and undated

Contributor:Swadesh, Morris, 1909-1967

Subject:Ethnography | Hunting | Linguistics | Music | Arizona--History

Type:Text

Genre:Songs | Speeches | Stories | Vocabularies

Extent:12 pages

Description: The Tohono O'odham materials in the ACLS collection consist of two brief items in the "Papago" section of the finding aid. One is a Spanish-O'odham vocabulary with 118 words (item U8.3), recorded by Morris Swadesh. The other, "Papago phonetics and texts" (item U8.1), by an unidentified author, includes a brief discussion of phonetics, texts relating to hunting rabbit and deer, with interlinear and free translations, songs, and a speech.

Collection:ACLS Collection (American Council of Learned Societies Committee on Native American Languages, American Philosophical Society) (Mss.497.3.B63c)