Frank Speck

Anthropologist and ethnographer Frank Gouldsmith Speck (1881-1950) was unique among Franz Boas’ early graduate students at Columbia University. Unlike other ethnographers of his time who focused their studies on the Western Indian tribes, Speck chose to study the cultures of the Eastern Woodland Indians. This lifelong work was clearly influenced by his childhood experience of being placed for several years in the care of a family friend, Fidelia Fielding (Dji'ts Bud dnaca), a Native American living in Mohegan, Connecticut who was the last speaker of the Mohegan-Pequot language. Speck documented Indigenous languages, religious and ceremonial life, decorative arts, games, music, hunting territories, and other interactions with their physical environment in order to find subtle differences within tribes, as well as commonalities shared between tribes across whole regions. Throughout his life, during most of which he was based in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania’s Anthropology Department, he worked with a large number of Indian tribes, including the Catawba, Cherokee, Delaware, Houma, Iroqouis, Powhatan, Yuchi, and the Eskimos of Labrador. The items on display here highlight his work with two groups to whom he devoted decades of study: the Penobscot Indians of Maine and the Montagnais-Naskapi (now referred to as the Innu) of northeastern Quebec and Labrabor.

Hand-Annotated Map of the Northeastern U.S. and Eastern Canada showing Tribal and Familial Hunting Grounds, circa 1930s

Hand-Drawn Map of Connecticut Tribes, undated
In this meticulously annotated map, Speck assembled together the results of years of field research in mapping out, to an incredibly precise level of detail, the traditional hunting grounds of tribes and particular families throughout the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. Although later anthropologists have argued that such territorial boundaries were much less exact and might have been formed in response to relatively recent historical pressures such as land competition from fur trading companies, the map vividly summarizes the enormous scope and rigor of Speck’s anthropological work. The map is here shown in its full size in facsimile version. The highly fragile original, damaged by decades of folding and stained by acidic tape, is currently being repaired by conservators at the APS.

Shipment Receipt from Richard White to Frank Speck, 1931

Letter Exchanged between Frank Speck and Richard White, 1930s
Beginning around 1927, Speck developed a unique working relationship with an independent fur trader named Richard White who was based in Labrador, which was at that time still a British colony. Because of the remoteness of this subarctic region, Speck had White send him ethnographic objects made by the Innu peoples of the area, which White often commissioned from his Innu acquaintances. Their 20+ years of correspondence, of which only White’s letters to Speck survive, also shows a remarkable dialogue between a scholar and businessman in which Speck sought to train White remotely in how to be a field collector on his behalf. This partnership, of course, benefited White by making Speck an ever more loyal customer. The letter seen here shows Speck’s drawings and questions about differently painted caribou-hide coats he had received, along with White’s detailed reply. Remarkably, Speck and White met each other in person only twice.

Innu Knife with Beaded Sheath
This knife and sheath, called a pitakan-mukuman in the Innu-aimun language, were either sent to Speck by Richard White or acquired by Speck himself on one of his trips to the North Shore region of Quebec. The beaded decoration is in the style of the Montagnais who live in that region and would have made it from moose hide, as distinct from the Naskapi who made a host of everyday objects and clothing from caribou hide that they decorated by painting. This pitakan-mukuman would have been worn by a hunter around his neck for easy access in a variety of uses.

Naskapi Moon Names, manuscript page, around 1930
Although Speck’s primary focus as an ethnologist was the culture of the peoples he studied, he diligently recorded each group’s terms from their own language for describing features of their culture and the natural world. On this page, Speck documents the names given to new moons by the Lake St. John Band of the Montagnais Indians in the Innu-aimun language. The naming of some moons, such as ceta’n pi•c?m (St. Anne moon) and Ma’ni pi’•c?m (Mary moon), reflects the adoption of aspects of Catholicism within some Innu communities.

Notes on the Penobscot Snowsnake Game Song and Canoe Tilting Game, circa 1910s
The snowsnake game is a winter pastime among the Penobscot and other neighboring peoples. On a day when the snow is suitable, participants make a long runway or snowsnake course by dragging a round log through the snow. The players then throw their “snakes”—hardwood sticks 2 to 3 feet in length with tapered ends, carved and painted to resemble snakes—as far as possible down the course. The player who throws the farthest wins all the other snakes. These snakes were often spoken to like pets and given names such as wino’sis (“old woman”), usually given to the best one, pdeske’sus (“rattler”), and keska’wiat (“fast one”). Before a throw, a player would address the snake and hurl it ahead with a song, such as Speck has recorded here. The full song, given below, says “go quickly, my little snowsnake, and catch the old woman.”

Photograph of Frank Speck at Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec, 1924
Speck was a passionate fieldworker, who greatly preferred living among the people he was studying, eating together with them, and participating in the same daily activities. He was rarely away from Indians for more than a month, heading off to conduct field work whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Innu Man in Boat with Dogs, circa 1930s

Innu Girl in Caribou-Skin Coat with Doll, Labrador, 1914

Jospeh Kurtness, Mistassini (Cree), circa 1920s

Newell Tomah, Penobscot, Old Town, Maine, undated

Penobscot Woman with Birch-Bark Hat and Collar, circa 1910s
The depth and detail that Speck was able to achieve in his research was made possible by the generous communication of knowledge he received from the Native peoples with whom he developed relationships and in whose communities he lived. The photographs he collected, some taken by him and some received from his correspondents, reflect the range of people with whom he worked and the details of everyday life during those times.

Joseph Kurtness   Newell Tomah Penobscot Woman