John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt
Encyclopedia
John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt (born December 16, 1859, died October 14, 1937) was a linguist
and ethnographer who specialized in Iroquoian
and other Native American languages.
Hewitt was born on the Tuscarora Indian Reservation near Lewiston, New York
. His mother was of Tuscarora
, French
, Oneida
, and Scottish
descent, his father of English
and Scottish
. His parents raised him speaking the English language
, but when he left the reservation to attend schools in Wilson
and Lockport
, he learned to speak the Tuscarora language
from other students who spoke the language.
In 1880, he was hired by Erminnie A. Smith
of the Smithsonian Institution
's Bureau of Ethnology (now the Bureau of American Ethnology
), as an assistant ethnologist. He worked with Smith for several years until her death in 1886. He then applied to the institution for employment to complete the Tuscarora-English dictionary he had begun with Smith. He moved to Washington DC where he would work as an ethnologist until his death in 1937. He worked on the dictionary throughout his life, but it was not published during his lifetime. (It was later edited and published as the Tuscarora-English/English-Tuscarora dictionary..)
Hewitt's prolific researches included studies of Iroquois
mythology and language were compiled in his well-known "Iroquois Cosmology" which was published in two parts, 1903 and 1928.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and ethnographer who specialized in Iroquoian
Iroquoian languages
The Iroquoian languages are a First Nation and Native American language family.-Family division:*Ruttenber, Edward Manning. 1992 [1872]. History of the Indian tribes of Hudson's River. Hope Farm Press....
and other Native American languages.
Hewitt was born on the Tuscarora Indian Reservation near Lewiston, New York
Lewiston, New York
Lewiston is a village in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 2,781 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Morgan Lewis, an early 19th-century governor of New York. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.The Village of Lewiston,...
. His mother was of Tuscarora
Tuscarora (tribe)
The Tuscarora are a Native American people of the Iroquoian-language family, with members in New York, Canada, and North Carolina...
, French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, Oneida
Oneida tribe
The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...
, and Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
descent, his father of English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
. His parents raised him speaking the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, but when he left the reservation to attend schools in Wilson
Wilson, New York
Wilson is a village in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 1,213 at the 2000 census. The village is said to be named after Luther Wilson. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area....
and Lockport
Lockport (city), New York
Lockport is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 21,165 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a set of Erie canal locks within the city. Lockport is the county seat of Niagara County and is surrounded by the town of Lockport...
, he learned to speak the Tuscarora language
Tuscarora language
Tuscarora, sometimes called Ska:rù:rę, is an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people, spoken in southern Ontario, Canada, and northwestern New York around Niagara Falls, in the United States. The historic homeland of the Tuscarora was in eastern North Carolina, in and around the Goldsboro,...
from other students who spoke the language.
In 1880, he was hired by Erminnie A. Smith
Erminnie A. Smith
Erminie A. Smith was an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology.Erminnie Smith published works on the Iroquois people, she was active in collecting their legends and employed John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt to assist in this work.Erminnie Adele Platt was born in...
of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
's Bureau of Ethnology (now the Bureau of American Ethnology
Bureau of American Ethnology
The Bureau of American Ethnology was established in 1879 by an act of Congress for the purpose of transferring archives, records and materials relating to the Indians of North America from the Interior Department to the Smithsonian Institution...
), as an assistant ethnologist. He worked with Smith for several years until her death in 1886. He then applied to the institution for employment to complete the Tuscarora-English dictionary he had begun with Smith. He moved to Washington DC where he would work as an ethnologist until his death in 1937. He worked on the dictionary throughout his life, but it was not published during his lifetime. (It was later edited and published as the Tuscarora-English/English-Tuscarora dictionary..)
Hewitt's prolific researches included studies of Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
mythology and language were compiled in his well-known "Iroquois Cosmology" which was published in two parts, 1903 and 1928.