June Helm
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June Helm (September 13, 1924 – February 5, 2004) 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 ...
, primarily known for her work with the
Dene people The Dene people () are an Indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages and it is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term ' ...
in the Mackenzie River drainage.


Early life and education

Helm was born in
Twin Falls, Idaho Twin Falls is the county seat of and the largest city in Twin Falls County, Idaho, United States. The city had a population of 51,807 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
in 1924, to William Jennings Helm and Julia Frances (née Dixon) Helm. In 1930, the family moved to
Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...
. Helm experienced a solitary childhood, full of illness, and was a shy, anxious child. After high school, Helm enrolled in anthropology at the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
, because of its modest tuition, and there she completed a year of education. In 1942, her father's machinery repair business experienced a boom, leading to the finances necessary for Helm to transfer to the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, her school of choice. Helm graduated with a
Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; or or ) is the title of an academic degree in philosophy that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's degrees, the ...
from the University of Chicago in 1944, after completing the two-year program. Helm received her M.A. in 1949. She received encouragement from
Robert Redfield Robert Redfield (December 4, 1897 – October 16, 1958) was an American anthropologist and ethnolinguist, whose ethnographic work in Tepoztlán, Mexico, is considered a landmark of Latin American ethnography. He was associated with the Universi ...
and George Peter Murdock, both of whom influenced her study. Helm received her
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in 1958 from the University of Chicago, after completing her dissertation, which was published by the National Museums of Canada in 1961, titled ''Lynx Point People''.


Personal life

In 1945, Helm married Richard “Scotty” MacNeish, who was a Ph.D candidate in the field of
archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
. In 1949, they moved to
Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
. The two amicably divorced in 1958, at which point Helm returned to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. In 1968, Helm married Pierce King, an
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
. The two stayed together until her death. In 1989, Helm suffered from a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
, which resulted in partial paralysis. She continued to teach for another decade, however, retiring in December 1999.


Career

In 1945, Helm and MacNeish travelled to
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, where MacNeish completed archaeological
field work Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the empirical research, collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across branches of science, disciplines. ...
. This was Helm's introduction to field work, and the next year, she conducted ethnographic research among the people of the region, for her Masters' thesis. Upon Helm and MacNeish's move to Ottawa, Helm became a sessional lecturer at Carlton University, from 1949 to 1959. In the summer of 1950, while MacNeish took part in an archaeological survey of the Mackenzie River, Helm became involved with the Dene people living nearby, to whom she gave the name “The Lynx Point People” in her 1958 dissertation. While working there, Helm learned that they were interested in having their children learn English, so the following summer, Helm returned with Teresa Carterette. The two volunteered as teachers, and also spent time doing fieldwork, to get a better understanding of the people. Helm continued to conduct interviews between 1954 and 1957, contacting people from
Chipewyan The Chipewyan ( , also called ''Denésoliné'' or ''Dënesųłı̨né'' or ''Dënë Sųłınë́'', meaning "the original/real people") are a Dene group of Indigenous Canadian people belonging to the Athabaskan language family, whose ancest ...
, Hare and
Slavey The Slavey (also Awokanak, Slave, and South Slavey) are a First Nations in Canada, First Nations group of Indigenous peoples in Canada. They speak the Slavey language, a part of the Athabaskan languages. Part of the Dene people, their homeland ...
communities. Upon her return, Helm focused on the history and ethnography of the Slavey communities, of which there was little. Helm made great forays in understanding and relating the culture of the northern Athapaskan people, and she disproved hypotheses or discovered errors in the works of
Julian Steward Julian Haynes Steward (January 31, 1902 – February 6, 1972) was an American anthropologist known best for his role in developing "the concept and method" of cultural ecology, as well as a scientific theory of culture change. Early life and ed ...
and Leslie Spier. In 1957, during a linguistics course, Helm met Nancy Oestreich Lurie, and the two became friends. In 1959, the two went to do fieldwork among the Dogrib people in the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...
. They returned to work with other Dogrib groups in 1962 and 1967. After this point, Helm continued her research alone, making ten trips to do fieldwork between 1959 and 1979. Helm worked as a tenured professor of Anthropology at the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
, having worked there from 1960 to December 1999. When Helm first joined the department, it was the Department of Sociology and Anthropology; she worked towards the creation of separate departments, which came to fruition in 1969, and she served as chair. Helm also established an American Indian and Native Studies program, and serves as the first chair, from 1993–1996. In 1996, Helm was contacted by John Zoe, a Dogrib official, and Thomas Andrews, an archaeologist at the
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (PWNHC) (''Centre du patrimoine septentrional Prince-de-Galles'' in French) is the Government of the Northwest Territories' museum and archives. Located in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, th ...
, located in
Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...
, regarding artifacts which had been taken by a graduate student of the University of Iowa in 1894, Frank Russell. Helm assisted in the negotiations for repatriation of the artifacts, particularly a caribou skin tent, which had been too large to exhibit. The negotiations were successful, and the tent was returned to the Dogrib people. Throughout her career, Helm published 11 books and monographs, and more than 40 articles and chapters. Helm spent the last few years of her life assembling her notes, photographs and records from her fieldwork, and sent them to Yellowknife, to be available to the Dene people.


Honours and accomplishments

Helm served as an adviser to the Indian Brotherhood of the Northwest Territories (now the Dene Nation), assisting them as a consultant in terms of land claims rights and research in the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry. Helm served as president of several societies and associations; the Central States Anthropological Society for 1970–1971, the American Ethnological Association from 1981–1983, and the
American Anthropological Association The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an American organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 members, the association, based in Arlington, Virginia, includes archaeologists, cultural anthropo ...
from 1986–1987. In 1994, Helm was elected as a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
. Helm received the F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Achievement Award in 1995. Helm's contributions to the University of Iowa have been recognized, particularly with the creation of the June Helm Award for Service and Excellence, which is awarded annually to a graduate student.


Publications by Helm

;As a sole author * ''The Lynx Point People: The Dynamics of a Northern Athapaskan Band'' Ottawa: National Museum of Canada, 1961. * ''The Indians of the Subarctic: A Critical Bibliography''. Don Mills, Ontario: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, 1976. * ''The People of Denendeh: Ethnohistory of the Indians of Canada's Northwest Territories''. Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press, 2000. ;As editor or coauthor * ''Pioneers of American Anthropology: The Uses of Biography''. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1966. * ''Essays on the Verbal and Visual Arts''. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967.


References


External links


June Helm fonds. Northwest Territories Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helm, June Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1924 births 2004 deaths University of Chicago alumni 20th-century American anthropologists University of Kansas alumni American expatriate academics in Canada