Project Tag: Museum Work

John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt

Undated portrait of John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt. (NAA INV 02858800, Photo Lot 33, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.) Native American (Tuscarora), Ethnography, Linguistics,Museum Work John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt (1859-1937) JNB Hewitt was an Indigenous anthropologist of mixed ancestry who worked for the Smithsonian Bureau of American Ethnology for 51 years, devoting his scholarship to preserving …

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James Hirabayashi, Lane Ryo Hirabayashi

Left: Lane Ryo Hirabayashi. Photo from the Los Angeles Times, by Jake Fabricius Photography. Right: James Hirabayashi. Photo from Nichi Bei Weekly Report Japanese American, Ethnic Studies, Activism, Museum Work James Hirabayashi, Lane Ryo Hirabayashi (1926-2012), (1952-2020) Father and son, James Hirabayashi and Lane Hirabayashi were anthropologists who often collaborated, but also pursued distinct areas …

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Chang-Su Houchins

Photo from The Korea Times Korean American, Museum Work, Material Culture Chang-Su Houchins (1925-2009) Chang-su Cho Houchins was a scholar and a museum specialist who contributed to making East Asian culture accessible to the American public. Born in 1925, in Pyongyang, Korea, she studied anthropology at Japan Women’s University in Tokyo during WWII. After coming …

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Frances La Flesche (Minxa’ska)

National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. (Photograph 4504). Native American (Omaha), Ethnomusicology, Museum Work Frances La Flesche (Minxa’ska) (1857-1932) Francis La Flesche was the first Native American professional ethnologist. Working at the Smithsonian, he dedicated his scholarship to documenting Omaha and Osage tribal life and customs.   Born on the Omaha reservation (in present day Nebraska) in …

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Emma Ka‘ilikapuolono Nakuina

Photo circa 1904, from the Hawaii State Archives Native Hawaiian, Museum Work, Cultural and Judicial Activism Emma Ka‘ilikapuolono Nakuina (1847-1929) Emma Kaʻilikapuolono Metcalf Beckley Nakuina is recognized as Hawaiʻi’s first female judge, a folklorist, curator, writer, and scholar who preserved Hawaiian cultural rights, history, and traditions in the face of the U S colonization of …

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