Archives of Aboriginal Knowledge. Containing All the Original Paper Laid Before Congress Respecting the History, Antiquities, Language, Ethnology, Pictography, Rites, Superstitions, and Mythology, of the Indian Tribes of the United States: Volume 5

Archives Of Aboriginal Knowledge. Containing All The Original Paper Laid Before Congress Respecting The History, Antiquities, Language, Ethnology, Pictography, Rites, Superstitions, And Mythology, Of The Indian Tribes Of The United States by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft is a 19th?century, government?funded ethnographic survey compiled with contributions from field researchers. The multi?volume project surveys the origin, history, languages, manners and customs, religion, social organization, and prospects of Native American tribes east of the Mississippi, and grounds generalizations in vocabularies, grammars, and detailed field observations. It treats language as a central vehicle for understanding origins and migrations, outlining three major stock groups—Algonquin, Iroquoian, and Appalachian—with the Winnebago as a western intrusion. The work discusses civilization and decline after European contact, while noting pockets of progress in some western groups. Extensive attention is given to religion and cosmology (fire/sun rites, manito, secret societies), social structure (totemism, kinship, matrilineal chiefs among some Iroquoian groups), and ceremonial life. Colonial policy and contact with European powers are integrated with biographical sketches and linguistic documentation to form a comprehensive ethnography for Congress.