Chickasaw Society and Religion

by John Reed Swanton, Greg O'Brien (Foreword by), Smithsonian Institution

Chickasaw Society and Religion brings back into print one of the most important ethnographic sources on Chickasaw Indian society and culture ever produced, making it available to a new generation of students and scholars. The Smithsonian Institution ethnologist John Swanton published his work on the Chickasaws in 1928 as part of the Forty-fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and, like Swanton’s many other works on Southeastern Indians, it has remained one of the primary sources for scholars and students of Chickasaw and Southeastern Indian culture. Swanton combed printed and archival documents in constructing a picture of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Chickasaw life. Swanton’s keen eye for detail and his impressive knowledge of Southeastern Indian cultures make this study the starting point for all Chickasaw scholarship. Swanton broaches topics as diverse as Chickasaw marriage patterns, naming, government, education, gender roles, subsistence, religion, burial customs, and medicine. He also displays an intimate understanding of Chickasaw language throughout the essay that will aid future researchers.

Genres: History

106 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

John Reed Swanton (February 19, 1873 – May 2, 1958) was an American anthropologist, folklorist, and linguist who worked with Native American peoples throughout the United States. Swanton achieved recognition in the fields of ethnology and ethnohistory. He is particularly noted for his work with indigenous peoples of the Southeast and Pacific Northwest.

Swanton married Alice M. Barnard on Dec. 16, 1903, with whom he had three children: Mary Alice Swanton, John Reed Swanton, Jr., and Henry Allen Swanton. He died in Newton, Massachusetts, on May 2, 1958, at the age of 85.

Reviews

[Nashoba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keeping in mind this was written by an ethnologist in 1928 (and based on information recorded by colonial settlers in the 18-19th centuries), this is really good. Probably one of my most favorite resources I've found in my readings on Chickasaw history. In part because it's short, as well as in part that is outlines things I've not seen outlined in many other texts, like the systems for clans, houses, and sides of the fire. Very useful and a surprisingly accessibly written review of colonially recorded information from the 18 and 19th centuries about Chickasaws.

[Masali' · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review echoes Nashoba's - for as old a work this is, especially considering what it sourced, this book is an easy and enjoyable read that offers information I haven't found elsewhere. I could envision a new release of this, however - one with updated terminology and pictures or artist representations of what's discussed in the text would invite much more interest to it...