Anthropology, History, and American Indians: Essays in Honor of William Curtis Sturtevant (review)

This volume connects a diverse group of scholars who have been influenced by anthropologist William C. Sturtevant, the renowned North Americanist, affiliate of the Smithsonian’s Bureau of American Ethnology, and editor of the multi-volume Handbook of North American Indians (20 vols., Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press). A few of the topics addressed in this collection are scholarly self-examination (Laura Nader), the history of twentieth-century anthropology (Shepard Krech III), the marketing of indigenous symbols (Joallyn Archambault, Adrienne L. Kaeppler), and the anthropology of ‘black drink’ (Sidney W. Mintz).

The collection begins with two biographical essays, by Sturtevant’s sister Harriet Sturtevant Shapiro and by William L. Merrill. These essays provide complementary insights into Sturtevant’s character and influence, both personal and professional. A bibliography of Sturtevant’s publications completes the first section.

The body of the volume is divided into five thematic sections, each containing 5–7 articles. The first two sections (‘Anthropologists, historians, and American Indians’ and ‘Worlds transformed’) address the effect of political context on anthropological research in North America, including the relationship between anthropologists and indigenous peoples. The next two (‘Anthropology evolving’ and ‘Collections in anthropological research’) address the role of collections and archives in anthropological research. The final section (‘Nature in culture’) examines the relationship between natural and cultural environments. Given the large number of articles, I discuss here only a few that are particularly relevant to linguists.

Kathleen J. Bragdon (‘The interstices of literacy: Books and writings and their use in Native American southern New England’) explores vernacular literacy in southern New England Algonquian languages. Bragdon focuses on Massachusett, describing how elements of native culture were incorporated into and transformed by literacy. Vernacular literacy persisted for two hundred years after the beginning of the colonial era and was more widespread and significant than previously recognized.

Elisabeth Tooker (‘Classifying North American Indian languages before 1850’) traces the history of early classifications of North American languages, including the effort of Catherine the Great, Benjamin Smith Barton’s ‘interesting curiosity’ (175) of a volume in the 1790s, and the investigations of Thomas Jefferson, whose records on indigenous languages were largely lost due to theft. These early efforts laid the groundwork for nineteenth-century classifications (e.g. that of John Wesley Powell) which are more well known today.

Ives Goddard (‘Linguistic writings of Alfred Kiyana on Fox (Meskwaki)’) assesses a collection of a rare genre—commentary on literature, vocabulary, and grammar by an author and native speaker of a Native American language. Kiyana’s writings (which date to the 1910s) demonstrate his insight into linguistic structure and valuable metalinguistic commentary. Goddard illustrates the significance of these records with specific examples of what they can teach about Meskwaki language and literature.

These are just three of the twenty-nine articles included in the volume. Linguists with an interest in anthropology or history will enjoy delving into quick snapshots of the diverse areas in which a single scholar has been influential.