Henry W. Tate
Encyclopedia
Henry Wellington Tate was an oral historian from the Tsimshian
First Nation in British Columbia
, Canada, best known for his work with the anthropologist Franz Boas
.
Little is known of his early life in Lax Kw'alaams
(a.k.a. Port Simpson), B.C. He was probably the son of Arthur Wellington Clah
, an hereditary chief and prominent early Christian convert who had taught the Tsimshian language
to the Anglican lay missionary William Duncan in the 1850s.
In 1903 Boas wrote to Clah, on the recommendation of his Tlingit-Kwakwaka'wakw
informant George Hunt
, expressing an interest in finding someone with whom to work on a description of Tsimshian culture. Clah turned the correspondence over to Tate, and Tate began to send Boas information, especially transcribed oral narratives, through the mail. It seems certain that Boas and Tate never met face to face. The result was Boas's long 1916 monograph Tsimshian Mythology. When that volume appeared, Boas wrote in its preface that "Mr. Tate died in April 1914."
One of the few insights into Tate's life in Tsimshian Mythology comes in a discussion of clan-to-clan adoption, citing Tate's adoption from the Laxsgiik
(Eagle clan) into the Gispwudwada
(Killerwhale clan) of the Gispaxlo'ots
tribe by his maternal grandfather, and his subsequent adoption of his own daughter into the Gispwudwada as well.
Boas and Tate's correspondence is housed at the American Philosophical Society
in Philadelphia. It includes complaints by Boas that Tate is resisting his instructions by writing the stories in English first, and then translating into his own Tsimshian, instead of transcribing his informants' Tsimshian first.
In the 1930s, Tate's widow, now known as "Mrs. Sam Bennett," of the Gits'iis
tribe, served as a key informant to the anthropologist Viola Garfield
during her fieldwork in Lax Kw'alaams.
Aspersions were cast on the reliability or thoroughness of Tate's work by a 1917 review of Tsimshian Mythology written by Marius Barbeau
, who had by then done much more extensive, face-to-face fieldwork in Lax Kw'alaams with Clah's grandson, William Beynon
. The literary historian Ralph Maud has written at length on the complicated give-and-take which resulted in the publication of Tate's stories and the possible cultural distortions that resulted. Maud has also produced a volume which reformats Tate's stories to bring out the poetry in his English.
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...
First 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...
, Canada, best known for his work with the anthropologist 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...
.
Little is known of his early life 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...
(a.k.a. Port Simpson), B.C. He was probably the son of Arthur Wellington Clah
Arthur Wellington Clah
Arthur Wellington Clah was a Canadian First Nations employee of the Hudson's Bay Company at Lax Kw'alaams , B.C., who was also a hereditary chief in the Tsimshian nation, an anthropological informant, and an extensive diarist....
, an hereditary chief and prominent early Christian convert who had taught the Tsimshian language
Coast Tsimshian
Coast Tsimshian, known by its speakers as Sm'algyax, is a Tsimshianic language spoken by the Tsimshian nation in northwestern British Columbia and southeastern Alaska...
to the Anglican lay missionary William Duncan in the 1850s.
In 1903 Boas wrote to Clah, on the recommendation of his Tlingit-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...
informant George Hunt
George Hunt (ethnologist)
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...
, expressing an interest in finding someone with whom to work on a description of Tsimshian culture. Clah turned the correspondence over to Tate, and Tate began to send Boas information, especially transcribed oral narratives, through the mail. It seems certain that Boas and Tate never met face to face. The result was Boas's long 1916 monograph Tsimshian Mythology. When that volume appeared, Boas wrote in its preface that "Mr. Tate died in April 1914."
One of the few insights into Tate's life in Tsimshian Mythology comes in a discussion of clan-to-clan adoption, citing Tate's adoption from 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) into the Gispwudwada
Gispwudwada
The Gispwudwada is the name for the Killerwhale "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to the Gisgahaast clan in British Columbia's Gitksan nation and the Gisk'ahaast/Gisk'aast Tribe of the Nisga'a...
(Killerwhale clan) of the Gispaxlo'ots
Gispaxlo'ots
The Gispaxlo'ots are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia, Canada, and one of the nine of those tribes making up the "Nine Tribes" of the lower Skeena River resident at Lax Kw'alaams , B.C...
tribe by his maternal grandfather, and his subsequent adoption of his own daughter into the Gispwudwada as well.
Boas and Tate's correspondence is housed at the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
in Philadelphia. It includes complaints by Boas that Tate is resisting his instructions by writing the stories in English first, and then translating into his own Tsimshian, instead of transcribing his informants' Tsimshian first.
In the 1930s, Tate's widow, now known as "Mrs. Sam Bennett," of the Gits'iis
Gits'iis
The Gits'iis are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia, Canada, and one of the nine of those tribes making up the "Nine Tribes" of the lower Skeena River resident at Lax Kw'alaams The Gits'iis are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia, Canada,...
tribe, served as a key informant to the anthropologist Viola Garfield
Viola Garfield
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.-Early life:...
during her fieldwork in Lax Kw'alaams.
Aspersions were cast on the reliability or thoroughness of Tate's work by a 1917 review of Tsimshian Mythology written by 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...
, who had by then done much more extensive, face-to-face fieldwork in Lax Kw'alaams with Clah's grandson, 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....
. The literary historian Ralph Maud has written at length on the complicated give-and-take which resulted in the publication of Tate's stories and the possible cultural distortions that resulted. Maud has also produced a volume which reformats Tate's stories to bring out the poetry in his English.