Frank Cushing
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Frank Hamilton Cushing (July 22, 1857 in North East Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania – April 10, 1900 in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
) was an American
anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
and
ethnologist Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Scien ...
. He made pioneering studies of the Zuni Indians of New Mexico by entering into their culture; his work helped establish
participant observation Participant observation is one type of data collection method by practitioner-scholars typically used in qualitative research and ethnography. This type of methodology is employed in many disciplines, particularly anthropology (including cultur ...
as a common anthropological research strategy. In recent years, however, questions have emerged about Cushing's activities among the Zuni. Consequently, Frank Cushing's work provides an important case study for considering the ethics of both ethnographic research and the generation of museum collections.


Early life

Cushing was born in the borough of North East, Pennsylvania. He later moved with his family to
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...
. As a boy he took an interest in the Native American artifacts in the surrounding countryside and taught himself how to knap flint (make arrowheads and such from flint). He published his first scientific paper when he was 17. After a brief period at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
, where he curated an exhibit of Indian artifacts, Cushing attracted notice from the director of the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
. At 19 Cushing was appointed curator of the
ethnological Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropology, so ...
department of the
National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
There he came to the attention of
John Wesley Powell John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He ...
, of the
Bureau of Ethnology The Bureau of American Ethnology (or BAE, originally, Bureau of 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 Departme ...
.


Work at Zuni

Cushing was invited by Powell to join the James Stevenson
anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behaviour, wh ...
expedition to
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. The group traveled by rail to the end of the line at
Las Vegas, New Mexico Las Vegas, often known simply as Vegas, is a city in and the county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities (one a city and the other a town), both were named Las Vegas: West Las Vegas ("Old Town" ...
, then on to Zuni Pueblo. Fascinated by this culture, Cushing gained permission to stay at the pueblo. He "went native", living with the Zuni from 1879 to 1884, and becoming anthropology's first participant observer. This technique has often been attributed to
Bronisław Malinowski Bronisław Kasper Malinowski (; 7 April 1884 – 16 May 1942) was a Polish anthropologist and ethnologist whose writings on ethnography, social theory, and field research have exerted a lasting influence on the discipline of anthropology. ...
, but he did not work with the Trobriand Islanders until more than 30 years following Cushing's lengthy stay at Zuni. After some initial difficulties, Cushing was generally accepted by the community. He was adopted by the Governor of the Pueblo, Patrico Pino (Ba:lawahdiwa), he was given a Zuni name, "Tenatsali", meaning "medicine flower", and he was allowed to participate in Zuni activities. In 1881, Cushing was initiated into the warrior society, the Priesthood of the Bow. Yet, there were always factions who disliked and distrusted Cushing. At least once, members of the Zuni community considered killing him as they believed he was after their sacred secrets. Despite his later success and quasi-acceptance, the same charge frequently brought him close to local definitions of witchcraft, a serious violation of Zuni norms. Cushing often recounted Zuni folk tales and legends. In 1882 he took his Zuni father, Pedro Pino (Lai-iu-ah-tsai-lu), and fellow Bow members on a tour to the Eastern United States to show them his culture. Their journey attracted considerable press attention, as there was great interest in American Indians of the West. Cushing considered the tour part of what he called "the reciprocal method." He introduced his anthropological subjects to his own culture, just as they had introduced him to theirs (Green 1990:166). He was a century ahead of other practitioners of this process, now called "reflexive anthropology". During this tour, Cushing married Emily Tennison of Washington, D.C. His wife and her sister returned with him and his party to Zuni. Cushing became embroiled in political intrigue after President
Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. Hayes served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861. He was a staunch Abolitionism in the Un ...
in 1877 signed a bill designating the boundaries of the new Zuni reservation. One section of Zuni territory, called the Nutria Valley, had been left out. Three land speculators, including Major W. F. Tucker, arrived in Zuni in late 1882 to claim the parcel for a cattle ranching operation. The angered Zuni appealed to Cushing for help, and he wrote letters to newspapers in Chicago and Boston in their defense. Major Tucker's father-in-law was US Senator John A. Logan from Illinois, who was influential in the Republican Party and would become a vice presidential candidate in 1884. Although the administration of President
Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was the 21st president of the United States, serving from 1881 to 1885. He was a Republican from New York who previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A. ...
redefined the Zuni boundaries in 1883 to correct the Nutria Valley omission, the damage to Cushing's position had been done. Senator Logan resented his reputation being tarnished in the "land grab" imbroglio. As U.S. Senator, he threatened director John Wesley Powell of the
Bureau of American Ethnology The Bureau of American Ethnology (or BAE, originally, Bureau of 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 Departme ...
with funding cuts if Cushing's stay in Zuni was not terminated. Cushing was forced to return to Washington, ending his landmark efforts among the New Mexico natives. Cushing returned to Zuni briefly in 1886 as leader of the Hemenway Southwestern Archaeological Expedition. He was forced from this position by personal and health problems. In 1889 he was succeeded as leader by ethnologist J. Walter Fewkes, who had little field experience.


Professional Controversy

Among the forces driving the growth of the Smithsonian Institution at the end of the 19th century was John Wesley Powell's belief in the need to document Native American life and to collect Indian materials before the Westward expansion of the United States caused both to disappear. This conviction accounted for the urgency with which the Stevenson expedition, including the inexperienced Frank Cushing, was dispatched to Zuni pueblo in 1879. It is no coincidence that numerous Zuni artifacts, including many sacred objects (some considered living beings by the Zuni), began to be shipped to Washington the same year. By its heyday, the Zuni collection of the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History included some 10,000 pieces, the earliest of which were acquired by the members of the Stevenson expedition. Many (if not most) of these artifacts were collected through less-than-honest means, sometimes including outright theft, and often against the express wishes of Zuni elders and traditionalists. The Zuni tried Cushing, himself, for stealing sacred artifacts. While he managed to survive his trial, it is certain that Cushing, like other members of the Stevenson expedition and later anthropologists, removed sacred items from the Zuni pueblo. Some of these artifacts joined the Smithsonian collection; others found themselves further afield, in the collections of museums as far away as Germany and the UK.


Later years

Because of Cushing's work at Zuni, in 1882 Powell assigned the anthropologist to an expedition to the Hopi village of Oraibi. His mission was to council with Oraibi's chiefs and get permission to trade goods for a collection of artifacts and crafts for the Smithsonian expedition. The Oraibi Governor approved the visit and trade, but the ultra-conservative Oraibi Traditionalists held special council and refused to trade. The expedition was forced to leave without trading. Cushing worked with Tichkematse (
Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...
), who worked at the Smithsonian, to document
Plains Indian Sign Language Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL), also known as Hand Talk, Plains Sign Talk, Plains Sign Language, or First Nation Sign Language, is an endangered sign language common to the majority of Indigenous nations of North America, notably those of ...
. Cushing led the Pepper-Hearst Expedition at Key Marco (1895–1897) and studied abandoned villages in the
American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...
. He came into contact with
Stewart Culin Robert Stewart Culin (July 13, 1858 – April 8, 1929) was an American ethnographer and author interested in games, art and dress. Culin played a major role in the development of ethnography, first concentrating his efforts on studying the A ...
on the
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
and began to work with him to write about the history of
game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...
s and their role in culture. Cushing was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1896. Cushing died suddenly. While on a research project in Maine, he choked on a fishbone. Subsequent hemorrhaging in his throat led to his death on April 10, 1900. He was only 42. Some Zuni have understood Cushing's unfortunate and untimely death as spiritual retribution for his handling of secret information and his pilfering of sacred objects.


Significance of work

Cushing was an innovator in the development of the anthropological view that all peoples have a
culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
from which they draw. He was ahead of his time as the first participant observer who entered into and participated in another culture, rather than studying and commenting on it as an outside observer. At the same time, Cushing's work also presents a series of ethical dilemmas that must be considered in tracing anthropology's relationship to Indigenous people. The noted artist
Thomas Eakins Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American Realism (visual arts), realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artist ...
painted him in Zuni costume. John K. Hillers took photographs at Zuni, some showing Cushing as a Bow Priest.


Cushing's books on Zuni

* Jesse Green, Sharon Weiner Green and Frank Hamilton Cushing, ''Cushing at Zuni: The Correspondence and Journals of Frank Hamilton Cushing, 1879-1884'', UNMPRESS
University of New Mexico Press The University of New Mexico Press (UNMP) is a university press at the University of New Mexico. It was founded in 1929 and published pamphlets for the university in its early years before expanding into quarterlies and books. Its administrativ ...
, 1990, hardcover * Sylvester Baxter and Frank H. Cushing, ''My Adventurers in Zuni: Including Father of The Pueblos & An Aboriginal Pilgrimage'', PMA Online Org Filter Press, LLC, 1999, paperback, 1999, 79 pages, * Frank H. Cushing, ''My Adventures in Zuni'', Pamphlet, * Frank Hamilton Cushing and Barton Wright, ''The Mythic World of the Zuni'', University of New Mexico Press, 1992, hardcover, * Frank H. Cushing, ''Outlines of Zuni Creation Myths'', AMS Press; Reprint edition (June 1, 1996), Hardcover, * Frank H. Cushing, ''Zuni Coyote Tales'', University of Arizona Press, 1998, paperback, 104 pages, * Frank Hamilton Cushing, ''Zuni Fetishes'', pamphlet, and * Frank H. Cushing, designed by K. C. DenDooven, photographed by Bruce Hucko, Annotations by Mark Bahti, ''Zuni Fetishes'', KC Publications, 1999, paperback, 48 pages, * Frank Hamilton Cushing, ''Zuni Fetishes Facsimile'', pamphlet, * Frank Hamilton Cushing, ''Zuni Folk Tales'', hardcover, * Frank Hamilton Cushing, ''Zuni Folk Tales'', University of Arizona Press, 1999, trade paperback, * Frank H. Cushing, edited by Jesse Green, foreword by Fred Eggan, Introduction by Jesse Green, ''Zuni: Selected Writings of Frank Hamilton Cushing'' University of Nebraska Press, 1978, hardcover, 440 pages, ; trade paperback, 1979, 449 pages, * Frank Hamilton Cushing. ''Zuni Breadstuff (Indian Notes and Monographs V.8)'', AMS Press, 1975, 673 pages,


Other works by Cushing

* Republished as ''Exploration of Ancient Key-Dweller Remains on the Gulf Coast of Florida'', University Press of Florida, 2000, . * ''The Florida Journals of Frank Hamilton Cushing'', edited by Phyllis Kolianos and Brent Weisman. University of Florida Press, 2005, . * ''The Lost Florida Manuscript of Frank Hamilton Cushing'', edited by Phyllis Kolianos and Brent Weisman. University of Florida Press, 2005, .


References

;Bibliography * Frank H. Cushing, edited by Jesse Green, foreword by Fred Eggan, Introduction by Jesse Green, ''Zuni: Selected Writings of Frank Hamilton Cushing'
University of Nebraska Press
1978, hardcover, 440 pages, * Green, Jesse (1990): ''Cushing at Zuni: the Correspondence and Journals of Frank Hamilton Cushing 1879-1893''. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. * McGee, W. J.; Holmes, William H.; Powell, J. W.; Fletcher, Alice C.; Matthews, Washington; Culin, Stewart; McGuire, Joseph D. (1900): in: ''In Memoriam: Frank Hamilton Cushing,'' ''American Anthropologist'', Vol. 2(2), P. 354–380. * Pandey, Trikoli Nath (1972): ''Anthropologists at Zuni''. in: ''Proceedings of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
'', Vol. 116(4), P. 321–337.


External links

* * *
"Frank Hamilton Cushing"
''New Perspectives on the West'' series, PBS.
The Frank Hamilton Cushing Papers
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
Gwyneira Isaac video discussing Cushing
can be viewed as part of serie
19th Century Explorers and Anthropologists: Developing the Earliest Smithsonian Anthropology Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cushing, Frank 1857 births 1900 deaths American ethnologists Cornell University alumni Smithsonian Institution people Deaths from choking Accidental deaths in Maine American anthropologists People from North East, Pennsylvania Members of the American Philosophical Society