Leonard Mason papers
name: label: Creator
content: Mason, Leonard, 1913-2005
place: label: Place
content: North America
creator: label: Creator
content: Mason, Leonard, 1913-2005
culture: label: Culture
content: Anishinaabe (Chippewa/Ojibwa)
label: Culture
content: Saulteaux
label: Culture
content: Dane-zaa (Dunne-za)
label: Culture
content: Swampy Cree
label: Culture
content: Cree
setName: label: See more items in
content: Leonard Mason papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Leonard Mason papers mainly include material on the Swampy Cree and the Dunne-za (Beaver) from Mason's early anthropological research. Mason's research during the late 1930s to early 1940s among these communities is primarily focused on acculturation and material culture, but also includes a thorough bibliography of research on Swampy Cree culture. This collection consists of prints, slides, negatives, fieldnotes, manuscripts, receipts, and correspondence.
bioghist: label: Biographical note
content: Leonard Edward Mason (1913-2005) was an anthropologist who was active from the mid to late 20th century, best known for his research among the Swampy Cree and the peoples of Micronesia. Mason received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1935 and 1941 respectively. During his time at the University of Minnesota, Mason researched the Swampy Cree at the Hudson Bay Company's Oxford House in Manitoba, Canada. Before earning his PhD in Anthropology from Yale University in 1950, Mason held multiple governmental positions including the resident analyst at the Office of Residence and Intelligence at the United States State Department. While a graduate student at Yale University, Mason began his research in Micronesia among the Marshallese of the Marshall Islands. 

After leaving Yale University, Leonard Mason became a faculty member at the University of Hawaii as first associate professor and later, professor. While there, Mason studied Pacific Island ethnology, with special interests in social and cultural change, resettled populations, and applied anthropology and research in Micronesia. Mason became an Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Hawaii in 1969.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.5 Linear feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1938-1943
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.XXXX.0207
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Original nitrate negatives are not available. Copy negatives are available for viewing.
bibliography: label: Selected Bibliography
content: 1941.  -- The Swampy Cree: A Study in Acculturation -- . Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 1941.

1941. "Notes on the Material Culture of the Oxford House Cree"  -- Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science --  9, no. 1 (1941): 11-19.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Leonard Mason papers reflect a portion of Mason's early anthropological work among the Swampy Cree and the Dunne-za (Beaver). From 1938 to 1940, while studying at the University of Minnesota, Mason researched among the Swampy Cree at the Hudson Bay Company's Oxford House in Manitoba, Canada. Following this research, Mason studied the Dunne-za of Alberta, Canada, while earning his PhD from Yale University. Most of this collection relates to Mason's research concerning his work among the Swampy Cree in the late 1930s. Mason's research is documented in this collection through prints, slides, negatives, fieldnotes, manuscripts, receipts, and correspondence.  

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.