Travels and Researches in Native North America, 1882-1883

Herman ten Kate
Pieter Hovens , Editor and translator
William Orr , Editor and translator
Louis Hieb , Editor and translator

This important but little-known account of several southwestern tribes has heretofore been available only in the author's native Dutch. Ten Kate's studies of the Pima, Hopi, Apache, and Zuni people are especially noteworthy for their information on tribal cultures. He observed firsthand and sought out informants willing to elaborate on Indian games and sports and on social organization and myths of religious significance. He was particularly interested in the position of women and treatment of children and admired the natives' attitudes on these matters more than did other early anthropologists. His best material is from his extended stay at Zuni, where he and Frank Hamilton Cushing became lifelong friends. His observations on the impact of whites on Indian cultures constitute valuable documentation of the dilution of native life-styles. Although he is not as well known as contemporaries like Bandelier, Bourke, and Matthews, ten Kate's work remains influential in the field after more than 120 years.

". . . an amazing travelogue. . . a clear and insightful persepective that is especially remarkable for its respect of native attitudes and culture. . A highly recommended addition to reference shelves that cover Native American history as well as outside culture's perceptions of them."--Wisconsin Bookwatch

"Extremely well-annotated and nicely illustrated. . . This long overdue translation of [Ten Kate's] earliest writings will serve to widen awareness of his work."--The Santa Fe New Mexican

"The book includes extensive chapter notes, sketches copied from existing photographs, and an index. . Travels and Researches in Native North America is worth the price for its valuable information on Indian culture in the early 1880s."--Roundup Magazine

"The editors and translaters of this version have provided a volume of great benefit to anthropologists and historians. . . Highly recommended."--CHOICE Magazine

"This is the first time Ten Kate's work has been available in English. The translator-editors--Pieter Hovens, William Orr and Louis Hieb--have done an excellent job."--Enchantment, NM

"This volume is a mine of information and a pleasure to read."--New Mexico Historical Review

"This work is carefully researched with excellent black and white photos."--Journal of the West

Pieter Hovens, a curator in the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, Netherlands, is the author and editor of several books on Dutch scholars and artists in North America.

The late William Orr was a career foreign service officer.

Louis Hieb is a specialist in the history of anthropology in the Southwest.

University of Arizona Southwest Center series

8 x 10 423 pages 27 halftones