2 



In the main the dittieiilties encountered 

 in solving these problems arose from a lack 

 of knowledge of the distribution, num- 

 bers, relationships, and languages of the 

 tribes, and a real appreciation of their 

 character, culture status, needs, and possi- 

 bilities. It was recognized that a knowl- 

 edge of these elements lies at the very 

 foundation of intelligent administration, 

 and thus one of the important objects in 

 organizing the Bureau of Ethnology was 

 that of obtaining such knowledge of the 

 tribes as would enable the several 

 branches of the Goverument to know 

 and appreciate 

 the aboriginal 

 population, and 

 that at the same 

 time would en- 

 able the peo- 

 ple generally to 

 give intelligent 

 administration 

 s y m p a t h e t i c 

 support. An es- 

 sential step in 

 this great work 

 was that of locat- 

 ing the tribes 

 and classifying 

 them in such 

 manner as to 

 make it possible 

 to assemble 

 them in harmo- 

 nious groups, 

 based on rela- 

 tionship of 

 blood, language, 

 customs, beliefs, 

 and grades of 

 culture. It was 

 found that with- 

 in the area with 

 which the na- 

 tion has to deal 

 there are spoken 

 some 500 Indian 

 languages, as 

 distinct from 

 one another as 

 French is from ■"• *• powell, founder and director of 



English, and 



that these languages are grouped in more 

 than 50 linguistic families. It was found, 

 further, that in connection with the dif- 

 ferences in language there are many other 

 distinctions requiring attention. Tribes 

 allied in language are often allied also in 

 capacity, habits, tastes, social organiza- 

 tion, religion, arts, and industries, and it 

 w^as plain that a satisfactory investigation 

 of the tribes required a systematic study 

 of all of these conditions. It was not 

 attempted, however, to cover the whole 

 field in detail. When sutficient progress 

 had been made in the classification of the 



tribes, certain groups were selected as 

 types, and investigations among them 

 were so pursued as to yield results ap- 

 plicable in large measure to all. Up 

 to the present time much progress has 

 been made and a deeper insight has 

 been gained into the inner life and 

 character of tlje native people, and 

 thus, in a large sense, of primitive peo- 

 ples generally, than had been reached 

 before in the world's history. Many 

 of the results of these researches have 

 already been published and are in the 

 hands of all civilized nations. 



Some of the 

 more directly 

 practical results 

 accomplished 

 may be ]>riefly 

 mentioned: (1) 

 A study of the 

 relations, loca- 

 tion, and num- 

 bers of the 

 tribes, and their 

 classification 

 into groups or 

 families, based 

 on affinity in 

 language — a nec- 

 essary basis for 

 dealing with the 

 tribes practi- 

 cally or scien- 

 tifically; (2) a 

 study of the nu- 

 merous sociolo- 

 gic, religious, 

 and industrial 

 problems in- 

 volved, an ac- 

 quaintance with 

 which is essen- 

 tial to the intel- 

 ligent manage- 

 ment of the 

 tribes in adjust- 

 ing them to the 

 requirements of 

 civilization; (3) 

 a history of the 

 relations of the 

 I n d ia n and 

 white races embodied in a volume on 

 land cessions; (4) investigations into the 

 physiology, medical practices, and sani- 

 tation of " a people who suffer keenly 

 from imperfect adaptation to the new 

 conditions imposed on them; (5) the 

 preparation of bibliographies em- 

 bodying all works relating to the 

 tribes; (6) a study of their industrial 

 and economic resources; (7) a study 

 of the antiquities of the country with 

 a view to their record and preserva- 

 tion; and (8) a handbook of the 

 tribes, embodying, in condensed form, 



HE BUREAU OF AMERICAN 



