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Catalog Data

Creator:
Howard, James H., 1925-1982 (James Henri)  Search this
Correspondent:
Woolworth, Alan R.  Search this
Weslager, C.A.  Search this
Witthoft, John, 1921-1993  Search this
Swauger, James Lee  Search this
Turnbull, Colin  Search this
Horn, Frances L.  Search this
Garcia, Louis  Search this
Fogelson, Raymond D.  Search this
Hodge, William  Search this
Hayink, J.  Search this
Feder, Norman  Search this
Ervin, Sam J. Jr  Search this
Feraca, Stephen E., 1934-  Search this
Feest, Christian F.  Search this
Cree, Charlie  Search this
Davis, Edward Mott  Search this
De Busk, Charles R.  Search this
Iadarola, Angelo  Search this
Brasser, Ted J.  Search this
Bunge, Gene  Search this
Cavendish, Richard  Search this
Clifton, James A.  Search this
DeMallie, Raymond  Search this
Blake, Leonard W.  Search this
Dean, Nora Thompson  Search this
Spier, Leslie, 1893-1961  Search this
Smith, John L.  Search this
Swanton, John Robert  Search this
Sturtevant, William C.  Search this
Peterson, John H.  Search this
Paredes, J. Anthony, 1939- (James Anthony)  Search this
Schleisser, Karl H.  Search this
Reed, Nelson A.  Search this
Medford, Claude W.  Search this
Lurie, Nancy Oestreich  Search this
Opler, Morris Edward  Search this
Nettl, Bruno, 1930-  Search this
Kraft, Herbert C.  Search this
Johnson, Michael G.  Search this
Lindsey-Levine, Victoria  Search this
Kurath, Gertrude  Search this
Adams, Richard N. (Richard Newbold), 1924-  Search this
Allen, James H.  Search this
Barksdale, Mary Lee  Search this
Battise, Jack  Search this
Names:
Lone Star Steel Company  Search this
Extent:
10.25 Linear feet
Culture:
Seminole  Search this
Sioux  Search this
Shawnee  Search this
Muskogee (Creek)  Search this
Anishinaabe (Chippewa/Ojibwa)  Search this
Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this
Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)  Search this
Chickasaw  Search this
Choctaw  Search this
Yanktonnai Nakota (Yankton Sioux)  Search this
Seneca  Search this
Euchee (Yuchi)  Search this
Omaha  Search this
Iroquois  Search this
Cherokee  Search this
Sahnish (Arikara)  Search this
Potawatomi  Search this
Chaticks Si Chaticks (Pawnee)  Search this
Ponca  Search this
Mi'kmaq (Micmac)  Search this
Kickapoo  Search this
Sac and Fox (Sauk & Fox)  Search this
Menominee (Menomini)  Search this
Lenape (Delaware)  Search this
Oto  Search this
Tonkawa  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
Oklahoma -- Archeology
Date:
1824-1992
bulk 1950-1982
Summary:
To a considerable degree, the James H. Howard papers consist of manuscript copies of articles, book, speeches, and reviews that document his professional work in anthropology, ethnology, ethnohistory, archeology, linguistics, musicology, and folklore between 1950 and 1982. Among these are a few unpublished items. Notes are relatively scant, there being somewhat appreciable materials for the Chippewa, Choctaw, Creek, Dakota, Omaha, Ponca, Seminole, and Shawnee. The chief field materials represented in the collection are sound recordings and photographs, but many of the latter are yet to be unidentified. A series of color photographs of Indian artifacts in folders are mostly identified and represent the extensive American Indian Cultural collection of costumes and artifacts that Howard acquired and created. Other documents include copies of papers and other research materials of colleagues. There is very little original material related to archeological work in the collection and that which is present concerns contract work for the Lone State Steel Company.
Scope and Contents:
The James Henri Howard papers document his research and professional activities from 1949-1982 and primarily deal with his work as an anthropologist, archeologist, and ethnologist, studying Native American languages & cultures. The collection consists of Series 1 correspondence; Series 2 writings and research, which consists of subject files (language and culture research materials), manuscripts, research proposals, Indian claim case materials, Howard's publications, publications of others, and bibliographical materials; Series 3 sound recordings of Native American music and dance; Series 4 photographs; and Series 5 drawings and artwork. Howard was also a linguist, musicologist, and folklorist, as well as an informed and able practitioner in the fields of dance and handicrafts. His notable books include Choctaw Music and Dance; Oklahoma Seminoles: Medicines, Magic, and Religion; and Shawnee! The Ceremonialism of a Native American Tribe and its Cultural Background. Some materials are oversize, specifically these three Winter Count items: 1. a Dakota Winter Count made of cloth in 1953 at the request of James H. Howard, 2. a drawing of British Museum Winter Count on 4 sheets of paper, and 3. Photographs of a Winter Count.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in 5 series: Series 1. Correspondence, 1960-1982, undated; Series 2. Writings and Research, 1824-1992; Series 3. Sound Recordings, 1960-1979; Series 4. Photographs, 1879-1985; Series 5. Drawings and Artwork, 1928-1982.
Chronology:
1925 -- James Henri Howard was born on September 10 in Redfield, South Dakota. 1949 -- Received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska. 1950 -- Received his Master of Arts from the University of Nebraska and began a prolific record of publishing. 1950-1953 -- Began his first professional employment as an archaeologist and preparator at the North Dakota State Historical Museum in Bismarck. 1955-1957 -- Was a museum lecturer at the Kansas City (Missouri) Museum. 1957 -- James H. Howard received his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. Joined the staff of the Smithsonian's River Basin Surveys in the summer. 1957-1963 -- Taught anthropology at the University of North Dakota. 1962 -- Chief archeologist at the Fortress of Louisberg Archeological Project in Nova Scotia. 1963-1968 -- Taught anthropology at the University of South Dakota; State Archeologist of South Dakota; Director of the W. H. Over Dakota Museum. 1963-1966 -- Director of the Institute of Indian Studies, University of South Dakota. 1968-1982 -- Associate professor of anthropology at Oklahoma State University at Stillwater (became a full professor in 1971). 1979 -- Consulted for exhibitions at the Western Heritage Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. 1982 -- Died October 1 after a brief illness.
Biographical/Historical note:
James H. Howard was trained in anthropology at the University of Nebraska (B.A., 1949; M.A., 1950) and the University of Michigan (Ph.D., 1957). In 1950-1953, he served as archeologist and preparator at the North Dakota State Historical Museum; and, in 1955-1957, he was on the staff of the Kansas City (Missouri) Museum. During the summer of 1957, he joined the staff of the Smithsonian's River Basin Surveys. Between 1957 and 1963, he taught anthropology at the Universtity of North Dakota. Between 1963 and 1968, he served in several capacities with the University of South Dakota including assistant and associate professor, director of the Institute of Indian Studies (1963-1966), and Director of the W.H. Over Museum (1963-1968). In 1968, he joined the Department of Sociology at Oklahoma State University, where he achieved the rank of professor in 1970. In 1979, he was a consultant for exhibitions at the Western Heritage Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. Howard's abiding interest were the people of North America, whom he studied both as an ethnologist and archeologist. Between 1949 and 1982, he worked with the Ponca, Omaha, Yankton and Yaktonai Dakota, Yamasee, Plains Ojibwa (or Bungi), Delaware, Seneca-Cayuga, Prairie Potatwatomi of Kansas, Mississipi and Oklahoma Choctaw, Oklahoma Seminole, and Pawnee. His interest in these people varied from group to group. With some he carried out general culture studies; with other, special studies of such phenomena as ceremonies, art, dance, and music. For some, he was interest in environmental adaptation and land use, the latter particularly for the Pawnee, Yankton Dakota, Plains Ojibwa, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, and Ponca, for which he served as consultant and expert witness in suits brought before the United Stated Indian Claims Commisssion. A long-time museum man, Howard was also interested in items of Indian dress, articles associated with ceremonies, and other artifacts. He was "a thoroughgoing participant-observer and was a member of the Ponca Hethuska Society, a sharer in ceremonial activities of many Plains tribes, and a first-rate 'powwow man'." (American Anthropologist 1986, 88:692). As an archeologist, Howard worked at Like-a-Fishhook Village in North Dakota, Spawn Mound and other sites in South Dakota, Gavin Point in Nebraska and South Dakota, Weston and Hogshooter sites in Oklahoma, and the Fortess of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. He also conducted surveys for the Lone Star Steel Company in Haskall, Latimer, Le Flore and Pittsburg counties in Oklahoma.
Related Materials:
Howard's American Indian Cultural Collection of Costumes and Artifacts, that he acquired and created during his lifetime, is currently located at the Milwaukee Public Museum. In Boxes 19-21 of the James Henri Howard Papers, there are photographs with accompanying captions and descriptions in binders of his American Indian Cultural Collection of Costumes and Artifacts that his widow, Elfriede Heinze Howard, created in order to sell the collection to a museum.
Provenance:
These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by James Henri Howard's wife, Elfriede Heinz Howard, in 1988-1990, 1992, & 1994.
Restrictions:
The James Henri Howard papers are open for research. Access to the James Henri Howard papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Indians of North America -- Southern states  Search this
Indians of North America -- Northeast  Search this
Ethnology -- United States  Search this
Ethnomusicology  Search this
Folklore -- American Indian  Search this
Powwows  Search this
Citation:
James Henri Howard Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.1994-30
See more items in:
James Henri Howard Papers
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw30379c657-37d6-4c9e-99c4-eb8f7be76c10
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-1994-30