Conversation so far:
Where did Benjamin Lee Whorf attend college?
Benjamin Lee Whorf attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University.
What year did Benjamin Lee Whorf attend Yale?
Benjamin Lee Whorf attended Yale in 1931.
Why did Benjamin Lee Whorf take American Indian Linguistics?
Benjamin Lee Whorf had a life-long interest in indigenous languages. He studied Nahuatl in Mexico through a grant in 1930.

Question: Why was he interested in the community around Sapir?
Self-contained rewrite: Why was Benjamin Lee Whorf interested in the community around Sapir?