APPENDIX 4 



REPORT OX THE BUREAU OF A:\IERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



Su:: I lia\(' llic honor to submit the followin<j: report on the re- 

 searches, office work, end other activities of tlie Bureau of Ameri- 

 can Etlinoh)<j:y (hirinjr the fiscal year ended June 30, 1925, conducted 

 in accordance witli tlie act of Conjrress approved June 7, 1921. The 

 act referred to contains the following item: 



American etliiiolo.iry : For c-ontinuinj;: etliuological researches ainouff tlie 

 Aniericaii Iiulians and the natives of Hawaii, incliulinf? the excavation and 

 prcsiTvation of ar(heoh)}^ic remains, under the direction of the Smithsonian 

 Institution, includins; the necessary employees and the purchase of necessary 

 hooks and periodicals, .$57. 100. 



The policy of the Bureau of American Ethnolofry in the past 

 has been that of a pioneer, but from necessity the field work of the 

 staff has been both intensive and extensive, mainly reconnais.-ance. 

 As a pioneer, the bureau has opened up new lines of i^esearch in the 

 study of the ethnology of the American Indians and has blazed a 

 trail for others in several fields. While contributing to science tech- 

 nical monographs on certain Indian tribes, it has at the same 

 time prei)ared and circulated, through publication, articles of a pop- 

 ular character covering the wdiole subject. The object has been to 

 furnish reliable data for students wishing accurate knowledge of 

 the American Indians. 



The aboriginal culture of our Indians is rapidly disappearing 

 and being replaced by the white man's civilization. Certain tribes 

 iiave already lost almost all their native customs, and others will 

 follow rapidly until little of scientific value remains for ethnologi- 

 cal field work. The older men among them, who in their i)rime 

 knew the native cidts and rituals, are passing away, and the j'ounger 

 generation of Indians who are taking their places are almost en- 

 tirely ignorant of the significance of the rituals or ceremonials. 

 Current fables and metaphoric stories, mainly explaining the char- 

 acteristics of animals, are now often claimed to be mythologic, al- 

 though many of them have value as tales, not as myths. The In- 

 dian culture is passing away and soon will be lost. It is the inten- 

 tion of the Bureau of American Ethnology to record it before its 

 extinction. 



The excavation and preservation of archeologic remains, from 

 whicli imich valuable scientific material ma}' be obtained, constitute 



CO 



