117:
at Albany in 1954. Becoming director, he developed an extensive collection of
Iroquois materials. Some tribal representatives criticized Fenton for failing to return artifacts. He regarded museums as necessary safeguards for cultural heritage. Some tribal leaders also criticized him for revealing
89:
Fenton soon became known as a leader of studies of the
Iroquois. Fenton wrote a number of position papers during the 1940s and 1950s that outlined problems and issues relating to Iroquois studies which required further work. He encouraged other students of the Iroquois to meet and discuss issues of
100:
It has been noted that Fenton's career saw profound changes in anthropological methods and how research was perceived, with "the patron-client relationships of anthropologist and "informant" ... greeted with increasing suspicion by young
Iroquois after the 1950s". Furthermore, Fenton's classic work
166:
He was also a member of a number of committees, including the
Phillips Fund Committee of the American Philosophical Society (1975-1991) and of the American Committee of the Permanent Council of the International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (1952-1972).
125:, encouraged scholarly use of museums and museum collections in anthropological research. CARM also encouraged the early use of computers in documenting and inventorying museums collections across North America. In 1965 Fenton was awarded the
26:
history and culture. He started his studies of the
Iroquois in the 1930s and published a number of significant works over the following decades. His final work was published in 2002. During his career, Fenton was director of the
97:'s Bureau of American Ethnology, Fenton drew attention to existing historic and ethnographic sources. During the 1930s and 1940s, Fenton undertook substantial studies of Iroquois music and dance while working at the Smithsonian.
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concern in the field, notably in meetings at Red House in New York. Fenton focused attention on such issues as diversity in culture and connections between northern and southern tribes.
101:
was carried out when "...Iroquois ceremonialists were worried about the potential loss of their knowledge and delighted in having someone who wanted to listen and to record it".
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Fenton wrote extensively on
Iroquois ethnology, historiography, the history of anthropology, and museum anthropology for several decades. Some of his works include:
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109:
After becoming senior ethnologist at the
Smithsonian Institution in the 1950s, and then serving as executive secretary for anthropology and psychology at the
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Fenton chaired the
Committee on Anthropological Research in Museums (CARM) from 1965 to 1973, during the majority of its life. CARM, a subcommittee of the
63:
in 1937. (From 1935 until he received his doctorate in 1937, Fenton was also a community worker for the New York Indian
Service. He mainly worked on the
110:
786:
447:
Fenton, William N. (1986), "Sapir as
Museologist and Research Director, 1910β1925", in William Cowan; Michael K. Foster; E. F. K. Koerner (eds.),
133:
527:
122:
136:. He worked there until his retirement in 1979. He remained active in continued research and writing about the Iroquois. He published
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Fenton, William N. (1974), "The Advancement of Material Culture Studies in Modern Anthropological Research", in Miles Richardson (ed.),
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491:
469:
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209:
191:
Fenton, William N. (1940), "Problems Arising from the Historic Northeastern Position of the Iroquois", in Julian H. Steward (ed.),
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249:, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 149, Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office; Smithsonian Institution
932:
721:
160:
32:
156:
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44:
22:(December 15, 1908 β June 17, 2005) was an American scholar and writer known for his extensive studies of
771:
Fenton, William N. (2001). "He-Lost-a-Bet (HowanΚΌneyao) of the Seneca Hawk Clan.". In Kan, Sergei (ed.).
59:, where he graduated in 1931. He went on for graduate study and earned a doctorate in anthropology from
144:
114:
64:
28:
550:, known archeologist of the Iroquois Indian nations and other indigenous peoples of north-east America.
237:(in Iroquoian), Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, Division of Music, Recording Laboratory, 1942,
195:, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 100, Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, pp. 159β252
927:
922:
837:(April 1980). "Frederick Starr, Jesse Cornplanter and the Cornplanter Medal for Iroquois Research".
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The roll call of the Iroquois chiefs : [a study of a mnemonic cane from the Six Nations Reserve
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55:, where the Seneca had their traditional territory. After attending local schools, he studied at
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183:. New Haven; London: Yale University Press ; Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press.
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Strangers to Relatives: The Adoption and Naming of Anthropologists in Native North America
75:
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Fenton, William N. (1942), "Contacts between Iroquois herbalism and colonial medicine",
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Fenton, William N. (1966), "Field Work, Museum Studies, and Ethnohistorical Research",
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Fenton left the New York State Museum to become Professor of Anthropology at the
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The Great Law and the Longhouse: A Political History of the Iroquois Confederacy
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Songs from the Iroquois longhouse: from the Archive of the American Folk Song
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and doing field studies. The Seneca nation adopted Fenton into the Hawk
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Fenton, William N. (1979), "Cherokee-Iroquois Connections Revisited",
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Fenton, William N. (1960), "The Museum and Anthropological Research",
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The Great Law and the Longhouse: A Political History of the Iroquois
429:, Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, pp. 15β36
374:
155:
Fenton served as President of a number of academic societies: the
522:(posthumous ed.), Norman, OK: University of Nebraska Press,
787:"William Fenton; scholar in Iroquois culture - The Boston Globe"
79:
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on January 26, 1934. This was the same clan that had adopted
361:
Fenton, William N. (1962), "Ethnohistory and Its Problems",
47:, in 1908. The Fenton family had had interactions with the
326:
The Iroquois Eagle Dance, an offshoot of the Calumet Dance
163:(1959), and the American Society for Ethnohistory (1961).
775:. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 81β98.
504:, Norman, OK: Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press,
181:
An outline of Seneca ceremonies at Coldspring longhouse
449:
New Perspectives in Language, Culture, and Personality
845:(2). New York State Historical Association: 186β199.
202:
Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1941
740:"William N. Fenton, 96, Expert on Iroquois, Is Dead"
427:
The Human Mirror: Material and Spatial Images of Man
256:"The Training of Historical Ethnologists in America"
70:During the 1930s, Fenton lived among the Seneca in
479:
457:
193:Essays in Historical Anthropology of North America
909:, Oral History Collection β University of Florida
247:Symposium on Local Diversity in Iroquois Culture
147:, at the age of 96, on the way to the hospital.
502:The Little Water Medicine Society of the Seneca
520:Iroquois Journey β An Anthropologist Remembers
865:"MSS 295, William Fenton Research Collection"
451:, Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 215β240
8:
722:"William N. Fenton Papers - Background Note"
486:, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press,
464:, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press,
948:Presidents of the American Folklore Society
51:since the 1860s. He grew up in the west of
671:Campisi, Jack; Starna, William A. (2006).
646:"William Fenton Dies at 96 | Savage Minds"
223:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
271:
43:Fenton was born William Nelson Fenton in
241: 977773150, retrieved March 3, 2022
118:too much material about sacred rituals.
560:
93:In his work as an ethnologist with the
31:and a professor of anthropology at the
726:American Philosophical Society Library
328:. Washington: Governm. Print. Office.
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134:State University of New York at Albany
943:20th-century American anthropologists
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204:, Washington, DC, pp. 503β526,
123:American Anthropological Association
938:Writers from New Rochelle, New York
673:"William Nelson Fenton (1908-2005)"
16:American anthropologist (1908β2005)
355:10.1111/j.2151-6952.1960.tb01697.x
14:
746:. Associated Press. 2005-06-23.
589:The Journal of American Folklore
585:"William N. Fenton (1908-2005)"
460:The False Faces of the Iroquois
324:Fenton, William Nelson (1953).
245:William N. Fenton, ed. (1951),
140:in 1998 when he was nearly 90.
1:
273:10.1525/aa.1952.54.3.02a00040
161:American Ethnological Society
143:He died on June 17, 2005, in
874:. 2012-12-09. Archived from
33:State University of New York
811:"Gale - Institution Finder"
518:Fenton, William N. (2007),
500:Fenton, William N. (2002),
478:Fenton, William N. (1998),
456:Fenton, William N. (1987),
436:Journal of Cherokee Studies
297:Fenton, William N. (1980).
254:Fenton, William N. (1952).
231:Fenton, William N. (1942),
74:, becoming fluent in their
964:
179:Fenton, William N (1936).
689:10.1525/aa.2006.108.2.456
157:American Folklore Society
113:, he went to work at the
111:National Research Council
907:William Fenton interview
105:Later career (1956β2005)
39:Early career (1908β1955)
677:American Anthropologist
583:Darnell, Regna (2007).
301:. New York: AMS Press.
260:American Anthropologist
95:Smithsonian Institution
45:New Rochelle, New York
601:10.1353/jaf.2007.0007
145:Cooperstown, New York
115:New York State Museum
65:Tonawanda Reservation
29:New York State Museum
933:American folklorists
835:Fenton, William N.
791:archive.boston.com
744:The New York Times
84:Lewis Henry Morgan
815:galeapps.gale.com
529:978-0-8032-2021-8
159:(1959-1960), the
127:Cornplanter Medal
57:Dartmouth College
20:William N. Fenton
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555:References
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