Morris Edward Opler (May 3, 1907 – May 13, 1996), American
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
and advocate of
Japanese American
are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
, was born in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
. He was the brother of
Marvin Opler
Marvin Kaufmann Opler (June 13, 1914 in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, New York (state), New York – January 3, 1981) was an American anthropologist and social psychiatry, social psychiatrist. His brother Morris Edward Opler was also an anthropolog ...
, an anthropologist and social
psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
.
Morris Opler's chief anthropological contribution is in the
ethnography
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
of Southern
Athabaskan
Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific C ...
peoples, i.e. the
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
and
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
, such as the
Chiricahua
Chiricahua ( ) is a band of Apache Native Americans.
Based in the Southern Plains and Southwestern United States, the Chiricahua (Tsokanende ) are related to other Apache groups: Ndendahe (Mogollon, Carrizaleño), Tchihende (Mimbreño), Sehende ...
,
Mescalero
Mescalero or Mescalero Apache ( apm, Naa'dahéńdé) is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, located in south-cen ...
,
Lipan, and
Jicarilla. His classic work is ''An Apache Life-Way'' (1941). He worked with
Grenville Goodwin
Grenville W. "Gren" Goodwin (1898 – 27 August 1951) was Mayor of Ottawa for several months in 1951. His hometown was Prescott, Ontario and he was an optometrist by profession. He moved to Ottawa in 1911. He served in France during World ...
, who was also studying social organization among the Western Apache. After Goodwin's early death, Opler edited a volume of his letters from the field and other papers, published in 1973.
Opler earned his Ph.D. from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in 1933. He taught at
Reed College in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, and the
Claremont Colleges in Claremont, California, during the 1940s
and later taught at Cornell University and the University of Oklahoma.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Opler worked as a community analyst at the
Manzanar concentration camp, documenting conditions in camp and the daily lives of its
Japanese American inmates. Arriving in 1943, he was sympathetic toward the displaced Japanese Americans and frequently butt heads with camp administrators, covering the so-called "
Manzanar Riot" and resistance to the unpopular "
loyalty questionnaire" and conscription of men from camp.
He also aided the defense of
Gordon Hirabayashi and
Fred Korematsu
was an American civil rights activist who resisted the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Shortly after the Imperial Japanese Navy launched its attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Or ...
in their (unsuccessful) cases challenging the legality of the exclusion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast, writing an
''amicus'' brief for each case that argued the military necessity cited by
Western Defense Command head
John L. DeWitt was in fact based "on racial grounds."
In his published works, he challenged the way American public schools teach about Japanese Americans, and fought to improve the way they were viewed by Americans.
Notable Accomplishments
Morris Edward Opler was not the first to anthropologically study and work with the Apache people, nor was he the sole voice contributing to their historical narrative. He readily acknowledged the accomplishments of others who studied his same field of interest. However, he was a highly influential leader in Native American and Japanese-American
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
, and he achieved many noteworthy accomplishments in his work.
Opler was highly educated. After earning a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
and a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. from the University of Buffalo, he received his doctorate from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. At the same time that he was working toward his Ph.D., he was starting down the path of his impactful anthropological fieldwork and research among the Apache people. This research inspired his dissertation, entitled "An Analysis of Mescalero and Chiricahua Apache Social Organization in the Light of Their Systems of Relationships," which he presented in 1932.
Ten years later, in 1942, while Opler was working at Claremont College, he was awarded a
Fellowship
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
grant from the
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been ...
as a result of his research among the Apache people during the decade prior.
Just a year after receiving that honor from the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Opler began working with the American
Office of War Information
The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...
, doing anthropological work with the Japanese Americans kept in concentration camps during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
(more specifically in the
Manzanar War Relocation Center) as a result of the United States government's distrust of Japanese loyalty to America. Opler showed compassion toward the Japanese internees and even wrote a few legal briefs on behalf of Japanese American individuals, two of which were significant enough to be heard by the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
.
In part because of Opler's work, the Supreme Court ruled in 1945 that the Japanese internees were being held and treated unconstitutionally, and after that they were filtered back into everyday society.
In 1949, after he had completed his research and work at Manzanar in California, Opler returned to New York and accepted a position at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
. During his twenty years there, motivated by his past experiences researching Japanese culture in the camps during WWII, he established a new program for the Cornell students that was dedicated to Asian Studies.
Career Path
Morris Edward Opler worked actively in his field for almost 50 years. His anthropological fieldwork began in 1931, when he began doing fieldwork in New Mexico among the
Mescalero
Mescalero or Mescalero Apache ( apm, Naa'dahéńdé) is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, located in south-cen ...
Apache tribe. He had a lifelong interest in the indigenous people of western America, specifically the
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
, and consistently focused his studies on their lifestyles and practices.
In addition to his anthropological studies, Opler entered the world of academia, working as a professor for many years, beginning in 1937, when he was employed at
Reed College. This occupation was followed by positions at
Claremont College,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, and finally, at the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
, after he had retired from Cornell University in 1969. Interspersed between these academic positions, Opler also worked for the
Office of War Information
The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...
(1943–1946) and at the
Manzanar War Relocation Center during
WWII
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. After retiring a second time, this time from the University of Oklahoma in 1977, he dedicated his time to writing and publishing articles relating to the conditions of Apache life.
Views and Beliefs
Opler had strong beliefs and opinions, and he was not afraid to make them known. He fought back in writing, often harshly and in a way that excited opposition, against those he disagreed with.
Politically, he had an aversion to
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
and
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
ideals and spoke out against them. This makes sense in the context of his career, because he lived in a time when the United States was experiencing a widespread paranoia surrounding Marxism, and anthropologists were often the group found most guilty of engaging in Marxist mindsets and practices.
Anthropologically, he believed in observing cultural practices and beliefs without judgment or bias (a practice known as
cultural relativity
Cultural relativism is the idea that a person's beliefs and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture. Proponents of cultural relativism also tend to argue that the norms and values of one culture should not be evaluated ...
). He defended the people he studied. For example, while he was working at the
Manzanar War Relocation Center, he showed great sympathy for the Japanese people who were kept there. He was a strong advocate for their rights and comfort while he studied and wrote about their culture.
Opler believed that studies of culture should be independent of studies of biology. He believed that the unchanging nature of human biology and the constant evolution of culture would contradict each other if attempts were made to study them in tandem. Because of this belief that differences in culture didn't come from differences in biology, Opler was racially tolerant and didn't believe one race was biologically superior. This racial tolerance would lead him to dedicate so much of his research efforts to marginalized ethnic groups, namely the Native Americans and the Japanese.
Famous Publications
A majority of Opler's research was done on Native American groups of the American Southwest. He studied specifically the
Chiricahua
Chiricahua ( ) is a band of Apache Native Americans.
Based in the Southern Plains and Southwestern United States, the Chiricahua (Tsokanende ) are related to other Apache groups: Ndendahe (Mogollon, Carrizaleño), Tchihende (Mimbreño), Sehende ...
Indians, who were the subjects of his two most famous books, ''An Apache Life-Way'' and ''Myths and Tales of the Chiricahua Apache Indians''.

''An Apache Life-Way: The Economic, Social, and Religious Institutions of the
Chiricahua
Chiricahua ( ) is a band of Apache Native Americans.
Based in the Southern Plains and Southwestern United States, the Chiricahua (Tsokanende ) are related to other Apache groups: Ndendahe (Mogollon, Carrizaleño), Tchihende (Mimbreño), Sehende ...
Indians'' was one of Opler’s most famous publications. He studied many Native American groups, but the
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
were a main focus of his. The book goes through the life of an Apache year by year. Rather than a history, this book explains the day to day Apache experience, going in chronological order of one’s life. The lifestyle described in the book is from a time before the Americans started the long era of hostile interactions with the Apache.
The people designated as “Apache” in this book are those who spoke the Apache language in the area that is now
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...
, and
Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
. There were many smaller sub-groups that populated these areas, three of them different groups of the
Chiricahua
Chiricahua ( ) is a band of Apache Native Americans.
Based in the Southern Plains and Southwestern United States, the Chiricahua (Tsokanende ) are related to other Apache groups: Ndendahe (Mogollon, Carrizaleño), Tchihende (Mimbreño), Sehende ...
Apache.
The books is divided into several main parts: Childhood; Maturation; Social Relations of Adults; Folk Beliefs, Medical Practice, and Shamanism; Maintenance of the Household; Marital and Sexual Life; The Round of Life; Political Organization and Status; and Death, Mourning, and the Underworld. Each section is divided into more specific subcategories that explore each phase of life and the rituals associated with it.
In ''Myths and Tales of the Chiricahua Apache Indians'' Opler describes the mythology and beliefs of the
Chiricahua
Chiricahua ( ) is a band of Apache Native Americans.
Based in the Southern Plains and Southwestern United States, the Chiricahua (Tsokanende ) are related to other Apache groups: Ndendahe (Mogollon, Carrizaleño), Tchihende (Mimbreño), Sehende ...
Apache. It contains religious stories, as well as historical tales passed down for generations by the Apache. Opler believed that studying the mythology of a people was one of the best ways to understand the roots of their culture. With each of the peoples he studied throughout his career as an anthropologist, he made an effort to become familiar with the folklore of the people.
The book is divided into six main parts, each containing several subcategories and chapters: When the Earth Was New; the Contest for Daylight; The Coyote Cycle and Other Animal, Bird, and Insect Tales; Stories of Supernatural Beings and Encounters with Supernaturals; Stories of Foolish People, Unfaithfulness, and Perversion; and Miscellaneous.
While writing these books, he interviewed several
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
in order to get the truth from their perspective. He consulted with them on the contents of the books, and spent a lot of time with them in order to better understand their culture before publishing about it.
Bibliography
* Basso, Keith H.; & Opler, Morris E. (Eds.). (1971). ''Apachean culture history and ethnology''. Anthropological papers of the University of Arizona (No. 21). Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
* Castetter, Edward F.; & Opler, Morris E. (1936). ''The Ethnobiology of the Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache: The Use of Plants for Foods, Beverages and Narcotics'', ''Ethnobiological studies in the American Southwest'', (Vol. 3); Biological series (Vol. 4, No. 5); Bulletin, University of New Mexico, whole, (No. 297). Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
*
Goodwin, Grenville; & Opler, Morris E. (1973). ''Grenville Goodwin among the Western Apache: Letters from the Field''. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. .
* Hoijer, Harry; & Opler, Morris E. (1938). ''Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache Texts''. The University of Chicago Publications in Anthropology; Linguistic series. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Reprinted 1964 by Chicago: University of Chicago Press; in 1970 by Chicago: University of Chicago Press; & in 1980 under H. Hoijer by New York: AMS Press, ).
* Opler, Morris E. (1932). ''An Analysis of Mescalero and Chiricahua Apache Social Organization in the Light of Their Systems of Relationship''. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago)
*
*
* Opler, Morris E. (1937). "An Outline of Chiricahua Apache Social Organization", In F. Egan (Ed.), ''Social Anthropology of North American Tribes'' (pp. 173–242). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
*
* Opler, Morris E. (1938). "Myths and Tales of the Jicarilla Apache Indians", ''Memoirs of the American Folklore Society'' (No. 31). New York.
*
* Opler, Morris E. (1940). ''Myths and Legends of the Lipan Apache''. Memoirs of the
American Folklore Society
The American Folklore Society (AFS) is the US-based professional association for folklorists, with members from the US, Canada, and around the world, which aims to encourage research, aid in disseminating that research, promote the responsible ...
(Vol. 36). New York: American Folklore Society, J. J. Augustin.
* Opler, Morris E. (1941). ''An Apache Life-way: The Economic, Social, and Religious Institutions of the Chiricahua Indians''. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. (Reprinted 1962 by Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 1965 by New York: Cooper Square Publishers; 1965 by Chicago: University of Chicago Press; & 1994 by Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, ).
*
* Opler, Morris E. (1942). ''Myths and Tales of the Chiricahua Apache Indians''. Memoirs of the American Folklore Society (No. 37). New York: American Folklore Society.
*
*
*
* Opler, Morris E. (1946). ''The Creative Role of Shamanism in Mescalero Apache Mythology''.
* Opler, Morris E. (1946). ''Childhood and Youth in Jicarilla Apache Society''. Los Angeles: The Southwest Museum.
* Opler, Morris E. (1947). ''Mythology and Folk Belief in the Maintenance of Jicarilla Apache Tribal Endogamy''.
*
*
*
*
*
* Opler, Morris E. (1969). ''Apache odyssey: A journey between two worlds''. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
*
* Opler, Morris E. (1971). "Pots, Apache, and the
Dismal River culture
The Dismal River culture refers to a set of cultural attributes first seen in the Dismal River area of Nebraska in the 1930s by archaeologists William Duncan Strong, Waldo Rudolph Wedel and A. T. Hill. Also known as Dismal River aspect and Dism ...
aspect", In K. H. Basso & M. E. Opler (Eds.) (pp. 29–33).
*
*
* Opler, Morris E. (1983). The Apachean culture pattern and its origins. In A. Ortiz (Ed.), ''Handbook of North American Indians: Southwest'' (Vol. 10, pp. 368–392). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
* Opler, Morris E. (1983). Chiricahua Apache. In A. Ortiz (Ed.), ''Handbook of North American Indians: Southwest'' (Vol. 10, pp. 401–418). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
* Opler, Morris E. (1983). Mescalero Apache. In A. Ortiz (Ed.), ''Handbook of North American Indians: Southwest'' (Vol. 10, pp. 419–439). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
* Opler, Morris E. (2001). Lipan Apache. In R. J. DeMallie (Ed.), ''Handbook of North American Indians: Plains'' (Vol. 13, pp. 941–952). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
*
* Opler, Morris E.; & French, David H. (1941). ''Myths and tales of the Chiricahua Apache Indians''. Memoirs of the American Folklore Society, (Vol. 37). New York: American Folklore Society. (Reprinted in 1969 by New York: Kraus Reprint Co.; in 1970 by New York; in 1976 by Millwood, NY: Kraus Reprint Co.; & in 1994 under M. E. Opler, Morris by Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ).
*
*
References
External links
Morris Opler Cornell University
''A Chiricahua Apache's Account of the Geronimo Campaign of 1886'' University of Virginia Library E-Text
''Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache Texts''"A description of a Tonkawa peyote meeting held in 1902" ''American Ethnography''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opler, Morris
1907 births
1996 deaths
20th-century American anthropologists
American ethnologists
University of Chicago alumni
Scientists from Buffalo, New York
Activists from Buffalo, New York
People of the United States Office of War Information
Claremont Colleges people