Stephen Powers

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Stephen Powers (1840-1904) was an American journalist and ethnographer who wrote notable early accounts of the Indians of California.

Powers was born in Waterford, Ohio, and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1863. He served as an army correspondent for the Cincinnati Commercial during the American Civil War. In 1869 he walked across the southern U.S. to San Francisco, California, and published his experiences and observations in a book (1871).

Between 1871 and 1876, Powers traveled thousands of miles on foot and on horseback through northern and central California, becoming familiar with its native Indian population. He described their traditional lifeways, religion, myths, and modern circumstances in a series of articles, most of which were published in the Overland Monthly.

Powers subsequently reworked his Tribes of California material for publication in book form by John Wesley Powell's governmental Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region.

Alfred L. Kroeber, the dean of California ethnologists, said of Powers' book that "it will always remain the best introduction to the subject."

[edit] External Links

Available on-line are Powers' Overland Monthly articles on the Karuk (1), Karuk (2), Yurok, Hupa, Yuki, Pomo, Miwok, Modoc, Yokuts, Nisenan (Maiduan), various groups (Achumawi, Yana, Maidu), Wintu, Patwin, and general characteristics of the California Indians.

[edit] References

• Heizer, Robert F. (editor). 1975. "Letters of Stephen Powers to John Wesley Powell Concerning Tribes of California". In Stephen Powers, California's First Ethnologist, part 2. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility No. 28. Berkeley.
• Park, Susan. 1975. "The Life of Stephen Powers". In Stephen Powers, California's First Ethnologist, part 1. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility No. 28. Berkeley.
• Powers, Stephen. 1871. Afoot and Alone: A Walk from Sea to Sea by the Southern Route, Adventures and Observations in Southern California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, etc. Columbian Book Company, Hartford, Connecticut.
• Powers, Stephen. 1975. The Northern California Indians: A Reprinting of 19 Articles on California Indians Originally Published 1872-1877. Edited by Robert F. Heizer. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility No. 25. Berkeley.
• Powers, Stephen. 1976. Tribes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley.