Changing Directions: Summer Research on the Evolution of Indigenous Arts
from the
THE HARVARD COLLEGE
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROGRAMS NEWSLETTER
September 2002
Every thesis writer dreads discovering in December that his or her topic just isn’t right. Sometimes the proof is elusive, new information demands an impossible increase in research, or simply, the idea isn’t so intriguing as it once was. For Jack Caughran ’03, a History of Art and Architecture concentrator from Post Falls Idaho, a shocking discovery changed the direction of his research. Fortunately, the discovery came in July while he still had summer funding from the Harvard College Research Program (HCRP), and he’s been able to set a new course with help from the Peabody Museum, the site of his discovery.
Jack initially applied to the HCRP to investigate the effects of the collection process on the evolution of indigenous arts. Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, Assistant Professor of History of Art and Architecture and Afro-American Studies, was his faculty sponsor. Jack hypothesized that the pressures of ethnographic collecting and tourism influenced indigenous artists to modify, mask, and often emphasize certain aspects of their work in order to conform to outsiders' constructions of traditional indigenous culture. He planned to focus on Mexico and Guatemala because of the richness of resources.
After some exploratory research, Jack reports, “I was shocked to find that important cultural and religious objects were essentially looted from Native American communities by early anthropologists.” He was suddenly compelled to discover the circumstances under which important ritual artifacts were collected, how they were originally exhibited, and how they had been studied over time. Jack knew he had to come up with a new research plan and headed to the Harvard’s Peabody Museum.
Jack's plan of attack began with pursuing a directed reading of related research. He compiled a list of literary works including Clifford's "Writing Culture," a postmodern critique of ethnographic texts; "Custer Died for your Sins," by Native American cultural critic Vine Deloria; and Janet Berlo's "The Early Years of Native American Art History," which deals primarily with ethnographic arts. "I was delighted to learn that Professor Berlo will be visiting Harvard this fall in the Department of History of Art and Architecture,” Jack notes, “and I look forward to taking her course and possibly consulting her for assistance on my thesis.”
Operating under the premise that ethnographic texts usually teach us more about the ethnographer than about the object of study, Jack began to explore cases in which some scholars directly altered the Native American ethnographic sample to embellish their research results. To his surprise he found that this type of altering had even been conducted under the auspices of Harvard's Peabody Museum. With the museum as a primary resource, Jack contacted Rubie Watson, Howells Director of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, and Associate Curator Diana Loren at the Peabody to discuss Harvard's ethnographic holdings and to consult accession files for certain Native American ritual objects. One piece that Jack intends to highlight is the Tlinget totem pole from Ketchikan, Alaska, which has adorned the main Native American hall in Peabody for decades. “ I now intend to identify a Native American cultural object in the Peabody's holdings and trace its complex not as an objective science, but as a complex social process that in some ways amounts to 'intellectual imperialism'." As many in ethnographic and museum studies know, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, requires that museums inventory "all human remains and important ritual and cultural objects and make them available for reclamation by their associated Native communities." The totem was one such "high-profile object repatriated to its original community."
With the solid foundation of his summer work, Jack has posed some fascinating questions for the fall. "How do we determine cultural affiliation when many groups have scattered or intermarried and when ethnic identity becomes increasingly fluid? What significance do ritual objects have for native communities when they have completely lost (but sometimes reconstructed) their traditional religions?” Jack plans to travel briefly to discuss the object with local tribal leaders and see how the object has been installed in the community. Continued funding through the Harvard College Research Program may help in furthering this goal.
Jack is one of the many undergraduates doing research projects this summer with the support of the Harvard College Research Program. Over the past sixteen years, the HCRP has helped several thousand students conduct independent research with faculty guidance. HCRP grants advance academic experiences outside the classroom and expand opportunities for students to work closely with faculty members.
