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David H. and Kathrine S. French papers, 1916-2006

Overview of the Collection

Creator
French, David H. (David Heath), 1918-
Title
David H. and Kathrine S. French papers
Dates
1916-2006 (inclusive)
Quantity
100.78 cubic feet (110 boxes)
Collection Number
5496
Summary
Papers of David H. French and Kathrine S. French, mainly covering their lives' work with the Warm Springs Indian Reservation
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Access to portions of the collection is restricted. Contact University of Washington Libraries Special Collections for details

Request at UW

Records are stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities
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Biographical Note

Anthropologists David Heath and Kathrine Story French were well-known for their decades-long fieldwork with the Warm Springs Indian Reservation community in Central Oregon. David was born in Bend, Oregon, on May 21, 1918, to parents Delbert and Evelyn Fatland French. He attended Reed College for three years before transferring to complete his B.A. at Pomona College. He received his M.A. one year later from the Claremont Graduate School, and his Ph.D. from Columbia after conducting his fieldwork at Isleta Pueblo in the Southwest.

Kathrine Story French was born in Champaign, Illinois, to parents Russell and Gertrude Story on June 5, 1922. She first met David at Pomona College, where she received her B.A. in philosophy and anthropology in 1942. She also earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University. Following their marriage in 1943, both David and Kathrine worked as relocation advisors and community analysts with the War Relocation Authority at Colorado River Relocation Center in Poston, Arizona, from 1943 to 1946. David then joined the faculty at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where he worked from 1947 until his retirement in 1988. He also held visiting appointments at Columbia, the University of Washington, and Harvard. Kathrine served on the faculty of Oregon Health Sciences University from 1959 to 1980, and was an adjunct member of the Reed College anthropology department from 1980 until her death.

Throughout their time working with the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, the Frenches’ work developed separate, although overlapping, foci. David concentrated on linguistics and ethnobotany, particularly of the Warm Springs Sahaptin and Wasco Chinookan groups. Kathrine focused on the social ceremonialism and social organization of the two groups. Although their most intensive fieldwork was conducted between 1949 and 1956 (and with the help of many of their Reed College anthropology students), they both continued their research and writing about the peoples of Warm Springs throughout their careers, and maintained frequent contact with a number of families in the community.

In 1988, David received the American Anthropological Association’s Distinguished Service Award. He died of a heart attack on February 12, 1994. Kathrine died of pneumonia on June 14, 2006.

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Content Description

The French Papers consist primarily of correspondence, manuscripts, field notes, research files, teaching materials, reports, subject files, census data, publications, a bibliography, lantern slides and card files.

These papers contain a large body of personal and professional correspondence and published and unpublished manuscripts (as well as related notes and drafts) on topics spanning the linguistics, ethnobotany, contact history, social organization, and ceremonialism (to name only a few) of Wasco-Wishram and Sahaptin people.

The papers of David H. French also contain data and correspondence related to botany and, to some extent, ethnobotany. These focus on the plant family Umbelliferae (now named Apiaceae), in which he had special expertise: a new species of the genus Lomatium, whose members were important food and medicinal plants for Northwest Native peoples, bears his name (Lomatium frenchii).

Some of David French's long career at Reed College is also documented in this collection, including teaching materials, correspondence, and memoranda with Reed students and administration.

David and Kathrine French's years working for the War Relocation Authority (WRA) at the Colorado River Relocation Center in Poston, Arizona, generated an interesting collection of correspondence, reports, census data, subject files and other materials documenting the experience of Japanese-American internees in the camp.

The papers of Kathrine S. French include a rich body of materials from her undergraduate and graduate education at Pomona College and Columbia University, respectively. Some highlights are lecture notes from courses with Morris Opler, Ralph Linton, Ruth Benedict, and others; material from her work on race relations in Portland in 1948-1950 for the League of Women Voters and for the State of Oregon Fair Employment Practices Division; and materials from her work in medical anthropology at Oregon Health Sciences University.

Also included are the primary field data (including audiotape recordings) from Kathrine French's 1984-1988 research on Warm Springs ceremonialism, and the records of her contract ethnography work with Archaeological Investigations Northwest, Inc. (AINW) during the 1990s-2000s. Included also is a body of personal correspondence, most of it dating from the years after David's death (1994-2006).

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Some restrictions exist on copying, quotation or publication. Contact Repository for details.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Organized into 3 accessions.

  • Accession No. 5496-001, David H. and Kathrine S. French papers, 1943-2006
  • Accession No. 5496-002, David H. and Kathrine S. French papers, 1916, 1942-1946, 1980s-1990s
  • Accession No. 5496-003, David H. and Kathrine S. French papers, circa 1943-1956

Preservation Note

Records are stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Acquisition Information

Source: Kathrine Story French Trust, 2007-2008

Processing Note

Minimally processed.

Separated Materials

A nearly complete run of Spilyay Tymoo (1976-2006), a publication from Warm Springs, Oregon, was removed from accession 5496-002 and transferred to Serials for separate cataloging.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

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Subject Terms

  • Anthropology--Washington (State)
  • Ethnology--Washington (State)
  • Indians of North America--Washington (State)
  • Lomatium--Sources
  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
  • Shahaptian Indians
  • Shahaptian Indians--Ethnobotany
  • Shahaptian Indians--Languages
  • Shahaptian Indians--Rites and ceremonies
  • Shahaptian Indians--Social life and customs
  • Tlakluit Indians
  • Tlakluit Indians--Languages
  • Tlakluit Indians--Rites and ceremonies
  • Tlakluit Indians--Social life and customs
  • Umbelliferae--Sources
  • Wasco Indians
  • Wasco Indians--Ethnobotany
  • Wasco Indians--Languages
  • Wasco Indians--Rites and ceremonies
  • Wasco Indians--Social life and customs

Personal Names

  • French, David H. (David Heath), 1918---Archives
  • French, Kathrine S. (Kathrine Story), 1922-2006--Archives

Corporate Names

  • Archaeological Investigations Northwest--Archives
  • Columbia University--Students
  • Pomona College (Claremont, Calif.)--Students
  • Reed College (Portland, Or.)--Faculty
  • United States. War Relocation Authority

Geographical Names

  • Warm Springs Indian Reservation (Or.)--Archives

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • French, Kathrine S. (Kathrine Story), 1922-2006 (creator)


2008 (Last modified: 5/23/2025)

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