Salvage ethnography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Salvage ethnography is a branch of ethnography concerned with the practice of salvaging a record of what was left of a culture before it disappeared. Salvage ethnography is also a branch of anthropology.

Some of the objectives of salvage ethnography include:

• Presenting correct and objective details of a different way of life.
• Gathering a first hand experience in another language and culture, so as to have an insider's point of view.
• Developing a holistic approach by understanding language, folklores, myths, religions and social life, family and kinship, economy and politics of the culture, subject to study.

Robert H. Lowie (1883–1957) was one of the first to employ salvage ethnography as a technique by doing studies on the culture of the Crow Indians. The purpose of the technique was "to salvage a record of what was left of a culture before it disappeared." This aspect had assumed a particular significance at that time (during 18th century and early 19th century) as the American Indians were becoming separated from their traditional culture.

Lowie was joined in this practice by numerous other professional anthropologists, artists, and photographers. Anthropologist such as Alfred L. Kroeber (1876–1960) collected ethnographic material in a multi-pronged approach of collecting basic linguistic information, as well as oral histories, and objects representing a group's material culture.

Frances Densmore (1867–1957) represents an important ethnomusicologist who worked in the tradition of salvage ethnography. Densmore recorded the songs and lyrics of Native Americans in an attempt to preserve them permanently.

Artists compounded the work of professional anthropologists during this time period. Photographer Edward S. Curtis (1868–1952) was preceded by painter George Catlin (1796–1872) in attempting to capture indigenous North American traditions that they believed to be disappearing. Both Curtis and Catlin have been accused of taking artistic license by embellishing a scene or making something appear more authentically, "Native American".

[edit] References

Conn, Steven. "History's Shadow: Native Americans and Historical Consciousness in the Nineteenth Century." Chicago, University of Chicago Press. 2004. . ISBN: 0-226-11494-5.

[edit] See also

• Nanook of the North
• Edward Sheriff Curtis
• George Catlin
• Visual anthropology
• Robert H. Lowie
• Alfred L. Kroeber
• Frances Densmore