Viola Garfield
Encyclopedia
Viola E. Garfield was an American
anthropologist
best known for her work on the social organization and plastic arts of the Tsimshian
nation in British Columbia
and Alaska
.
. Her family moved a few years later to Coupeville, Washington
, on Whidbey Island
in Washington State. She enrolled at the University of Washington
in Seattle beginning in 1919, transferring for financial reasons to what is now Western Washington University
, where she became certified as a teacher. This led to her position teaching Tsimshian children in Metlakatla, Alaska
, in the 1920s, an experience which sparked her interest in Northwest Coast ethnology.
While working at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, she became the typist for Charles Garfield, an Alaskan and former miner and fur trader. They married in 1924.
in 1928 and an M.A.
in anthropology in 1931 with a thesis on Tsimshian marriage patterns, based on fresh fieldwork in Metlakatla. At the U.W. she studied under Erna Gunther
, but her Ph.D. work (1931–1933) was largely guided by transfer graduate courses she took at Columbia University
with Franz Boas
and Ruth Benedict
. Through the early 1930s she conducted immensely productive fieldwork in Lax Kw'alaams
, B.C., or Port Simpson, as it was then known, the largest of the Canadian Tsimshian communities. Her chief facilitator was the hereditary chief and trained ethnographic fieldworker William Beynon
. Their work in Port Simpson covered every imaginable facet of Tsimshian culture, including especially social structure—this at the instigation of Boas, whose own Tsimshian monograph had been upstaged by Beynon and Marius Barbeau
's published Tsimshian research. She more than met Boas's expectations. Her 1935 dissertation, published in 1939, was Tsimshian Clan and Society, still a masterful and eminently useful monograph.
While in Port Simpson she was adopted into the Laxsgiik
(Eagle clan) and given the Tsimshian name "Diiks."
Her later work focused on art and music and also included work with the Tlingit in Alaska, facilitated by her husband, who spoke Chinook Jargon
.
For decades until retirement she taught at the University of Washington but never rose above the rank of Associate Professor or received tenure
. She died in 1983.
In 1984 a Festschrift in her honor was published by University of Washington Press, edited by Jay Miller and Carol M. Eastman.
Her extensive papers are housed in University of Washington Special Collections.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anthropologist
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
best known for her work on the social organization and plastic arts of the Tsimshian
Tsimshian
The Tsimshian are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Tsimshian translates to Inside the Skeena River. Their communities are in British Columbia and Alaska, around Terrace and Prince Rupert and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island. There are approximately 10,000...
nation in 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...
and 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...
.
Early life
Viola Edmundson was born in Des Moines, IowaDes Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. Her family moved a few years later to Coupeville, Washington
Coupeville, Washington
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,723 people, 737 households, and 426 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,346.7 people per square mile . There were 814 housing units at an average density of 636.2 per square mile...
, on Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
in Washington State. She enrolled at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in Seattle beginning in 1919, transferring for financial reasons to what is now Western Washington University
Western Washington University
Western Washington University is one of six state-funded, four-year universities of higher education in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in Bellingham and offers bachelor's and master's degrees.-History:...
, where she became certified as a teacher. This led to her position teaching Tsimshian children in Metlakatla, Alaska
Metlakatla, Alaska
Metlakatla is a census-designated place on Annette Island in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 1,375.- History :...
, in the 1920s, an experience which sparked her interest in Northwest Coast ethnology.
While working at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, she became the typist for Charles Garfield, an Alaskan and former miner and fur trader. They married in 1924.
Career
In 1927 Garfield re-enrolled at the University of Washington, earning a B.A.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1928 and an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in anthropology in 1931 with a thesis on Tsimshian marriage patterns, based on fresh fieldwork in Metlakatla. At the U.W. she studied under Erna Gunther
Erna Gunther
Erna Gunther was an American anthropologist who taught for many years at the University of Washington in Seattle.Gunther's work on ethnobotany is still extensively consulted today.-Biography:...
, but her Ph.D. work (1931–1933) was largely guided by transfer graduate courses she took at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
with Franz Boas
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...
and Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict was an American anthropologist, cultural relativist, and folklorist....
. Through the early 1930s she conducted immensely productive fieldwork in Lax Kw'alaams
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...
, B.C., or Port Simpson, as it was then known, the largest of the Canadian Tsimshian communities. Her chief facilitator was the hereditary chief and trained ethnographic fieldworker William Beynon
William Beynon
William Beynon was a hereditary chief from the Tsimshian nation and an oral historian who served as ethnographer, translator, and linguistic consultant to many anthropologists....
. Their work in Port Simpson covered every imaginable facet of Tsimshian culture, including especially social structure—this at the instigation of Boas, whose own Tsimshian monograph had been upstaged by Beynon and Marius Barbeau
Marius Barbeau
Charles Marius Barbeau, , also known as C. Marius Barbeau, or more commonly simply Marius Barbeau, was a Canadian ethnographer and folklorist who is today considered a founder of Canadian anthropology...
's published Tsimshian research. She more than met Boas's expectations. Her 1935 dissertation, published in 1939, was Tsimshian Clan and Society, still a masterful and eminently useful monograph.
While in Port Simpson she was adopted into the Laxsgiik
Laxsgiik
The Laxsgiik is the name for the Eagle "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska...
(Eagle clan) and given the Tsimshian name "Diiks."
Her later work focused on art and music and also included work with the Tlingit in Alaska, facilitated by her husband, who spoke Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...
.
For decades until retirement she taught at the University of Washington but never rose above the rank of Associate Professor or received tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
. She died in 1983.
In 1984 a Festschrift in her honor was published by University of Washington Press, edited by Jay Miller and Carol M. Eastman.
Her extensive papers are housed in University of Washington Special Collections.
Works
- (1931) Change in the Marriage Customs of the Tsimshian. M.A. thesis, University of Washington, Seattle.
- (1939) "Tsimshian Clan and Society." University of Washington Publications in Anthropology, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 167–340.
- (1947) "Historical Aspects of Tlingit Clans in Angoon, AlaskaAngoon, AlaskaAngoon is a city on Admiralty Island in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 572, by the 2010 census the population had declined to 459...
." American Anthropologist, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 438–452.
- (1948) (with Linn Forest) The Wolf and the Raven: Totem Poles of Southeastern Alaska. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
- (1951; reissued, 1966) (with Paul S. Wingert) The Tsimshian and Their Arts. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
- (1951) Meet the Totem. Sitka, Alaska: Sitka Printing Company.
- (1953) "Possibilities of Genetic Relationship in Northern Pacific Moiety Structures." American Antiquity, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 58–61.
- (1955) "Making a Bird or Chief's Rattle." Davidson Journal of Anthropology, vol. 1, no. 11, pp. 155–168.
- (1967) "Tsimshian." In Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Sources
- Miller, Jay (1988) "Viola Edmundson Garfield (1899-1983)." In Women Anthropologists: A Biographical Dictionary, ed. by Uta Gacs, Aisha Khan, Jerrie McIntyre, and Ruth Weinberg, pp. 109–114. New York: Greenwood Press.
- Miller, Jay, and Carol M. Eastman (eds.) (1984) The Tsimshian and Their Neighbors of the North Pacific Coast. Seattle: University of Washington Press.