American Museum of Natural History

Happy birthday to Franz Boas, often called the father of American anthropology. Boas, who was born on July 9, 1858, worked at the American Museum of Natural History from 1896-1905, during which he organized and led the Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1897-1902). This undertaking set our to investigate the links between the people and the cultures of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America and the Eastern Coast of Siberia. Ostensibly the goal of the expedition was to prove the Bering Strait Migration theory which postulated that the North American continent was populated by the migration of Asian peoples across the Bering Strait. However, Boas was more concerned with documenting the cultures on both sides of the Northern Pacific that he and many other anthropologists feared were soon to be lost to colonialism and acculturation.

The fruits of his labors are on view in a number of locations throughout the Museum, including the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians. The hall, which is the Museum’s oldest, opened in 1900 to showcase the collections and research of the expedition. Take a look at the hall. 

Happy birthday to Franz Boas! 

Often called the father of American anthropology, Boas was a curator at the American Museum of Natural History, and led the Jesup North Pacific Expedition from 1897 to 1902. Museum visitors can see the collections and research from this expedition in the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians, which highlights the traditional cultures of the native peoples of North America’s northwest shores from Washington State to southern Alaska, including the Kwakiutl (known today as Kwakwaka’wakw), Haida, Tlingit, and others.

Take a look at the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians. 

For today's peek into the archives, we bring you "Dina Jochelson-Brodsky and Waldemar Jochelson in their Siberian clothes, about 1900" and with the temperature in NYC hovering around 13°F, we're more than a little envious of their get-up. 

Dina and Waldemar were participants in the Museum's Jesup North Pacific Expedition, of 1897-1902. Organized by Franz Boas, the expedition yielded an unparalleled record of the life and culture of the peoples of the North Pacific. In the entire field of anthropology, nothing of comparable ambition or scope had ever before been attempted.

AMNH/337696

Explore the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians through Museum collections and delectable tastings, unique music, and talented artisans from Haida Gwaii, British Columbia.

Take an after-hours historical and culinary journey through the Pacific Northwest with master chef Roberta Olson and anthropologist Aaron Glass. We will connect the history of the hall and Franz Boas to contemporary Northwest Coast communities.

Tastings include:

Smoked and dried salmon (gilgii)

Dried herring roe on kelp (kaaw)

Dried seaweed (skuu)

Herbal teas (xaaw)

Learn more about this cultural salon, and get tickets.