George Hunt Kwak'wala ethnographic manuscripts, 1890s-1930s

Collection context

Creator:
Hunt, George and Boas, Franz, 1858-1942
Abstract:
The George Hunt Kwak'wala ethnographic manuscripts consist of 30 volumes (about 8,500 pages) of linguistic and ethnographic notes made about the Kwakwaka'wakw by George Hunt in Fort Rupert between about 1898 and about 1931, at the request of and in collaboration with Franz Boas. The texts, which contain a wide array of stories and cultural information, were written by Hunt in Kwakʼwala with interlinear English translations. The material also includes two of the published volumes that resulted, with Boas's annotations correlating the printed texts to the manuscripts.
Extent:
30 Volumes 5 bound manuscript binders (Vols 1-3); 21 library cases of manuscripts (Vols 4-13); one letter-size manuscript box (Vol 14); one tall manuscript box (Vol 2, part 1); and two printed books with Boas annotation (Vol 10b and CX). Total approximately 8,500 pages.
Language:
The texts were written by Hunt in Kwakʼwala with interlinear English translations. A small number of texts are written in related dialects.
Scope and content:

The materials consist of 30 volumes (about 8,500 pages) of linguistic and anthropological notes made about the Kwakwaka'wakw by George Hunt in Fort Rupert, British Columbia, between 1898 and 1931, at the request of and in collaboration with Franz Boas.

The texts, which consist of a wide array of stories and cultural information, were written by Hunt in Kwakʼwala with interlinear English translations. Hunt would mail small batches to Boas, who then made extensive corrections and notations on the pages. The manuscripts were given to Columbia University by Boas in the early part of the 20th century. (The actual Hunt/Boas correspondence is held by the American Philosophical Society.)

Hunt's information came from careful and extensive interviews with many Kwakwaka'wakw people, as well as from his Kwakwaka'wakw wives, but the manuscripts are not direct transcriptions of interviews. Rather, they are distillations of what he learned from his informants, and they also draw on his own experience growing up in Fort Rupert. Hunt himself was the child of an English father and a high-ranking Tlingit mother.

These manuscripts form the basis for most if not all of Boas's publications on the Kwakwaka'wakw, but are unique and distinct from the published materials in many ways. The manuscripts include Hunt and Boas's disagreements on Kwakʼwala orthography and English translations; Boas's annotations, with e.g. museum accession numbers next to references to ceremonial objects; occasional small drawings, some of which were not published; and multiple numeration systems that refer to various publications. These manuscripts are well-known in the scholarly arena and have been the basis for many publications over the last 100 years, but have been inaccessible to the Kwakwaka'wakw themselves.

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is located onsite.

This collection may be accessed in-person in the RBML Reading Room.

Terms of access:

Patrons may take photographs of material in the Reading Room. Items may be designated as culturally sensitive at any time and restricted by Library staff upon examination.

Location of this collection:
6th Floor East Butler Library
535 West 114th Street
New York, NY 10027, USA
Before you visit:
Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.
Contact:
rbml@library.columbia.edu