Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-16
INDIAN CULTURE
SUBJECT OF STUDY
Or. Cooper to Direct Survey
of Tribes East Of Mississippi
K
: River.

One OF the most 1or-TeocnlnS s6uoioS
Of primitive culture ever undertaken has
been started by the department Of an
Nhropology Of the Catholic University
Of America, partly financed BY the
social Science Research Council.
This project, directed by Rev. DR..
John M. Cooper, professor Of anthro-
uology, consists of an chronological. sur
vey Of all the tribes which have nveo
in historic times east Of the Mississippi
And the checking of approximately 500
culture traits, according to their tribal,
Biographical and temporal distribu-
DIXON. This viii require about five years.
: Eventually, DR.. Cooper says, 1t Is PROP
able that the survey will include al
OF North America and possibly South
America.
= :, The first step in this enormous
ing on q specially designed card OF
each reference to each of the culture
traits In each tribe, obtained from the
writings of anthropologistS, missionaries,
traders and travellers since the discovery
of the continents work which requires
the painstaking search Of thousands OF
volumes These then will be arranged
in tabular form and also incorporated
on maps OF the tribal areas. All TINS
.9inay later be supplemented by neld
york.
so Works in Appalachian Area.
,,,, DIR. Cooper now is working on the
area east Of the Appalachlans from
; Newfoundland to the CarolinaS, the
wi field with which he Is especially TAMIL
lar. The next step will take in the
Country between the Appalachians and
i the Mississippi. The whole Is expected
to provide such fundamental picture
81 the entire culture of q race-food,
habitation, social life, religion, warfare,
family and all the rest-as has never
existed before for q primitive people
whose crude beginnings are the basis OF
"a civilization. Scholars now recognize,
DR.. Cooper says. that the distribution
.sof culture traits in time and area Is
the basis Of ethnology and that valid
conclusions cannot be reached OF
: further research work planned intel
ligently without the complete picture.
.,.,,. This wholesale scholarship project
4 might be compared to clearing away the
tfnderbrnsh of an entire science. AT
:. present, DR.. Cooper explained, there Is
Z: vast amount Of disorganized material.
Detailed work has been done on sepa-
rate tribes and distinct areas, but there
has been little effort to coordinate it.
Thus the student interested in the de-
velopment and distribution of any par
ticular custom Is forced to the laborious
process Of searching everything that has
!. been written. When the present work
,sis completed he can secure all that Is
4 known on his particular interest in Q
n few neatly tabulated pages and start
cut on further research with clean
slate SO that there need be no duph-
: cation.
80 Heritage Of Indians.
q" A single field NAV involve many ele-
ments to be tabulated, DR.. Cooper
! points out. Much Of present-day
American agriculture, for example, Is
"a direct heritage from the Indian who
was cultivating corn, beans, squash.
= pumpkins, melons, sweet potatoes and
= tobacco and making use Of maple sirup
/, and birch strip when the first white
men came. Each Of these crops must
be checked against each tribe or sub
tribe ever recorded as having cultivated
! It. The final tabulation viii show the
Course Of an article of food or agrt-
= cultural product from area to area,
Under the conditions OF primitive CONS
munication, and viii throw much light
on usages which were actually Indian
in origin and those initiated from the
whites.
- DR.. Cooper's outline includes such
!, diverse topics rs domestic animals re-
lations to wild animals. methods OF get
= ting food, ways of clearing ground,
planting, ciiltivating and harvesting,
bunting and trapping, fishing, storing
ant preservation of meats and fruits.
cooking, kitchen and eating utensils;
types Of dwellings, articles OF cloth
g ing. personal adornment, ornaments,
TRANSFORMATION, weaving, basketry, sew
: ing, pottery. weapons and armor, tools,
sports, entertainment, gambling. writ
ing, reckoning of time, signaling knowl-
edge of stars, music, dancing, efhgies.
political organization, slavery, adoption,
4 Inheritance, childbirth, education, pun
1shment, training OF boys and girls.
marriage, divorce, polygamy, division of
labor within the family, death, embalm-
ing, burial, belief in future life and re-
1gion.
.sph VIII Study SuperstitiOns.
-. He will study especially the char
acteristtc religious beliefs and SUPER
stttions of the Indians, determining the
spread Of such beliefs as those In REIN
cagnation and the Milky Way or North
Tern Lights as the home of the dead.
GIN descriptions Of different tribes these
\. cTup up again and again but there Is
-s5fo exact information Of how general
they were. He viii also compile all
: the references to the corn spirit, one
s,rof the most ubiquitous figures in primi-
tive mythology. and the typical In
dian figures OF the thunderbird, the
snow spirit the skeleton being, the
rnemegwecie or dwarfs, and the giant
animals. All these are key figures In
Indian lore.
The final topic to be compiled in
raudes the sacrifices to the dead and
10 spirits, the Spring, harvest and new
fire festivals, divinations and taboos,
and magic practises and medicines.