Stephen Powers (1840–1904) was an American

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, ethnographer, and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

of Native American tribes in California. He traveled extensively to study and learn about their cultures, and wrote notable accounts of them. His articles were first published over a series of years in the ''

Overland Monthly The ''Overland Monthly'' was a monthly literary magazine, literary and cultural magazine, based in California, United States. It was founded in 1868 and published between the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th centu ...

'' journal, but collected in ''The Tribes of California'' (1877) published by the US Geological Survey.

Early years

Stephen Powers was born in Waterford, Ohio. He attended and graduated from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1863. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

years, Powers served as a Union Army correspondent for the ''Cincinnati Commercial'' newspaper. In 1869 Powers left Ohio for the West. He walked across the Southern and

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

to his destination of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. After arriving, Powers wrote about his experiences and observations, and had his book published in 1871.

California Native Americans

Between 1871 and 1876, Stephen Powers traveled thousands of miles on foot and horseback through the Northern, Central Coast, and great Central Valley regions of

. Powers become very familiar with the various distinctive Native Californian Indian population groups and tribes. He studied their lives and crafts including: spiritual and religious beliefs and ceremonies; indigenous languages, narratives and

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

; art forms of

basketry Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...

, carvings, pottery and weaving; dwellings and belongings. He also studied their ways of interacting with

plants Plants are the eukaryotes that form the kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria to produce sugars f ...

and

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

s for food, clothing,

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

s, and tools. Powers observed and documented their adaptations to circumstances from a hundred years of homeland invasions by Spanish, Mexican, and European-American immigrants settling on their land, and the resulting consequences. Stephen Powers published his diverse ethnographic studies in a series of articles, which appeared primarily in the ''

'' journal from 1872 to 1877.

''Tribes of California''

Stephen Powers subsequently reworked his ''Tribes of California'' articles, notes and other material for a book's publication. It was published in 1877 as part of the federally sponsored ''Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region'' series edited by the renowned western geologist John Wesley Powell, then Director of the Geological Survey of the Department of Interior, as well as the Bureau of Ethnological Studies at 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 ...

. Alfred L. Kroeber, an

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 ...

, director of the University of California, Berkeley's Museum of Anthropology and the dean of Native Californian

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 ...

s, said Stephen Powers' book ''Tribes of California'': "..., it will always remain the best introduction to the subject."

Legacy

His book and articles are held by his alma mater, the

, which has put them online as part of the ''Making of America'' collaboration among major universities.

References

External links

* ;Stephen Powers' "Overland Monthly" articles Available on-line for the following cultural groups: *

Karuk The Karuk people ()Andrew Garrett, Susan Gehr, Erik Hans Maier, Line Mikkelsen, Crystal Richardson, and Clare Sandy. (November 2, 2021) ''Karuk; To appear in The Languages and Linguistics of Indigenous North America: A Comprehensive Guide (De G ...

-�
"Overland-Karuk (1)""Overland-Karuk (2)"
* Yurok —�
"Overland-Yurok"
* Hupa —�
"Overland-Hupa"
* Yuki —�
"Overland-Yuki"
*

Pomo The Pomo are a Indigenous peoples of California, Native American people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to ...

—�
"Overland-Pomo"
*

Miwok The Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) are members of four linguistically related Native Americans in the United States, Native American groups indigenous to what is now Northern California, who traditionally spoke one of the Miwok lan ...

—�
"Overland-Miwok"
* Modoc —�
"Overland-Modoc"
* Yokuts —�
"Overland-Yokuts"
*

Maidu The Maidu are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather River, Feather and American River, American ...

—�
"Overland-Nisenan (Maiduan)"
* Achumawi, Achomawi, Yana people —�
"Overland-various groups"
* Wintu —�
"Overland-Wintu"
*

Patwin The Patwin (also Patween and Southern Wintu) are a band of Wintun people in Northern California. The Patwin comprise the southern branch of the Wintun group, native inhabitants of California since approximately 500. Today, Patwin people are en ...

—�
"Overland-Patwin"
*Cultures —�
"Overland-General characteristics of the California Indians"

(after A.L. Kroeber 1925). Adapted from Heizer (1966: Map 4), California Prehistory Website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Stephen American anthropologists American ethnologists Historians of Native Americans Native American history of California 1840 births 1904 deaths University of Michigan alumni Journalists from Ohio People from Waterford, Ohio Historians from Ohio 19th-century American historians 19th-century American anthropologists