James Deans was a Scottish ethnologist, guide and collector of Victoria, BC, who published several works on the folklore and culture of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

.

Deans joined James Richardson

James Richardson

James Richardson may refer to:*James Richardson , Canadian businessman, Chief Marketing Officer of Cisco Systems*James Richardson , British...

's expedition to survey Queen Charlotte Islands

Queen Charlotte Islands

Haida Gwaii , formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Haida Gwaii consists of two main islands: Graham Island in the north, and Moresby Island in the south, along with approximately 150 smaller islands with a total landmass of...

 in 1878, and he was employed by others as a local guide; his collection of ethnographic materials was criticised by some contemporaries for its insensitivity. He presented an exhibition on the Haida people at the World's Columbian Exposition

World's Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...

, showing a model village based on materials he had obtained. Amongst his works is a paper presented at "The Chicago Folk-Lore Congress of 1893", "The Superstitions, Customs, and Burial Rites of the Tribes of North-Western America".