George Hunt (ethnologist)
Encyclopedia
George Hunt was a Tlingit consultant to the anthropologist Franz Boas
who through his contributions is considered a linguist and ethnologist in his own right. He was Tlingit by birth but through marriage and adoption became an expert on the traditions of the Kwakwaka'wakw
people (then known as "Kwakiutl") of coastal British Columbia
.
He was born in 1854 at Fort Rupert, British Columbia, the second of eleven children of Robert Hunt, a Hudson's Bay Company
fur trader from Dorset
, England, and Mary Ebbetts (Ansnaq) (1823-1919), a member of the Raven moiety of the Taantakwáan (Tongass) tribe of the Tlingit nation of southeastern Alaska
. Robert and Mary had been married at the original Fort Simpson
, on the Nass River
in northwestern B.C.
Hunt's parents' marriage was the occasion of the introduction of many Tlingit hereditary privileges and artistic motifs (reflected on totem poles) into Kwakwaka'wakw society.
In the early 1880s Hunt served as boatman, guide, and interpreter for Adrian Jacobsen of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition
.
Hunt's collaboration with Boas began in 1886 when Boas first visited the Kwakwaka'wakw. In 1893, Boas brought Hunt to the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago and taught him how to write the Kwak'wala language. He carved a totem pole, Kwanusila
, that was on display in a Chicago park for many decades until it had to be replaced; the carver of the replacement was his descendant Tony Hunt
.
Over the years Hunt produced hundreds of pages of texts for Boas, covering every aspect of Kwakwaka'wakw culture, including potlatch
ceremonies in which Hunt himself participated.
George Hunt's descendants include the filmmaker Barbara Cranmer, and a dynasty of traditional Northwest Coast artists including Henry Hunt
, Richard Hunt
, Stanley Hunt, Tony Hunt, and Calvin Hunt
.
Another descendant of the Hunt family is Corrine Hunt, who designed all of the gold, silver and bronze medals given out at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic games.
In 1986 members of the Boas and Hunt families held a "reunion" at Tsaxis (Fort Rupert).
The Wilson family is included in the Hunt Family, Also the Matilpi's
Franz Boas
Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
who through his contributions is considered a linguist and ethnologist in his own right. He was Tlingit by birth but through marriage and adoption became an expert on the traditions of the Kwakwaka'wakw
Kwakwaka'wakw
The Kwakwaka'wakw are an Indigenous group of First Nations peoples, numbering about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the adjoining mainland and islands.Kwakwaka'wakw translates as "Those who speak Kwak'wala", describing the collective nations within the area that...
people (then known as "Kwakiutl") of coastal British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
He was born in 1854 at Fort Rupert, British Columbia, the second of eleven children of Robert Hunt, a Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
fur trader from Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England, and Mary Ebbetts (Ansnaq) (1823-1919), a member of the Raven moiety of the Taantakwáan (Tongass) tribe of the Tlingit nation of southeastern Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. Robert and Mary had been married at the original Fort Simpson
Lax Kw'alaams
Lax-Kw'alaams , usually called Port Simpson, is an Indigenous village community in British Columbia, Canada, not far from the city of Prince Rupert. It is the home of the "Nine Tribes" of the lower Skeena River, which are nine of the fourteen tribes of the Tsimshian nation...
, on the Nass River
Nass River
The Nass River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Nass Bay, a sidewater of Portland Inlet, which connects to the North Pacific Ocean via the Dixon Entrance...
in northwestern B.C.
Hunt's parents' marriage was the occasion of the introduction of many Tlingit hereditary privileges and artistic motifs (reflected on totem poles) into Kwakwaka'wakw society.
In the early 1880s Hunt served as boatman, guide, and interpreter for Adrian Jacobsen of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition
Jesup North Pacific Expedition
The Jesup North Pacific Expedition was a major anthropological expedition to Siberia, Alaska, and the north west coast of Canada. The purpose of the expedition was to investigate the relationships between the peoples at each side of the Bering Strait...
.
Hunt's collaboration with Boas began in 1886 when Boas first visited the Kwakwaka'wakw. In 1893, Boas brought Hunt to the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago and taught him how to write the Kwak'wala language. He carved a totem pole, Kwanusila
Kwanusila
Kwanusila is a 12.2 meter tall totem pole carved from red cedar. It stands in Lincoln Park at Addison Street just east of Lake Shore Drive in the Lake View neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois...
, that was on display in a Chicago park for many decades until it had to be replaced; the carver of the replacement was his descendant Tony Hunt
Tony Hunt (artist)
Tony Hunt is a Canadian First Nations artist of Kwakwaka'wakw ancestry noted for his work carving totem poles.He was born in 1942 at the Kwakwaka'wakw community of Alert Bay, British Columbia. He received early training from his maternal grandfather Mungo Martin...
.
Over the years Hunt produced hundreds of pages of texts for Boas, covering every aspect of Kwakwaka'wakw culture, including potlatch
Potlatch
A potlatch is a gift-giving festival and primary economic system practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and United States. This includes Heiltsuk Nation, Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Makah, Tsimshian, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka'wakw, and Coast Salish cultures...
ceremonies in which Hunt himself participated.
George Hunt's descendants include the filmmaker Barbara Cranmer, and a dynasty of traditional Northwest Coast artists including Henry Hunt
Henry Hunt (artist)
Henry Hunt is a Canadian First Nations artist from the Kwakwaka'wakw people of coastal British Columbia.He was born in 1923 in the Kwakwaka'wakw community of Fort Rupert, B.C. He is a descendant of the renowned Native ethnologist George Hunt...
, Richard Hunt
Richard Hunt (artist)
Richard Hunt is a Canadian First Nations artist from the Kwakwaka'wakw nation of coastal British Columbia.He was born in 1951 at Alert Bay, B.C., but has lived most of his life in Victoria, B.C. On his father's side, he is a descendant of the renowned Native ethnologist George Hunt...
, Stanley Hunt, Tony Hunt, and Calvin Hunt
Calvin Hunt
Calvin Hunt is a Canadian First Nations artist from the Kwakiutl First Nation of Fort Rupert, British Columbia. The Kwakiutl are part of the larger group Kwakwaka'wakw....
.
Another descendant of the Hunt family is Corrine Hunt, who designed all of the gold, silver and bronze medals given out at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic games.
In 1986 members of the Boas and Hunt families held a "reunion" at Tsaxis (Fort Rupert).
Sources
- Barbeau, Marius (1950) Totem Poles. 2 vols. (Anthropology Series 30, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 119.) Ottawa: National Museum of Canada.
- Berman, Judith (1994) "George Hunt and the Kwak'wala Texts" Anthropological Linguistics Vol. 36, no. 4 (Winter 1994): 483-514.
- Boas, Franz, and George Hunt (1905) Kwakiutl Texts. (Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, vol. 3.) Leiden, Netherlands.
- Boas, Franz, and George Hunt (1906) Kwakiutl Texts—Second Series. (Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, vol. 10). Leiden, Netherlands.
- Codere, Helen (1966) "Introduction." In: Kwakiutl Ethnography by Franz Boas, pp. xi-xxxii. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Hunt, Ross (2007) "The Hunt Family's Trip to West Germany to Attend the Bundesgarten Show." Anthropology News, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 20-21.
- Miller, Tom (2010) "Medals sport a familiar look." Ketchikan Daily News, Feb. 27, 2010, page 1.
External links
The Wilson family is included in the Hunt Family, Also the Matilpi's