Recordings are restricted. Contact ethnoarc@uw.edu for details.
Melville Jacobs (1902-1971) was an anthropologist and teacher from New York City who is known for his work with the indigenous populations of the Pacific Northwest. He graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1922 with his BA, from Columbia University in 1923 with his MA in American history, and from Columbia again in 1931 with his PhD in anthropology. He taught at the University of Washington from 1928 to 1971 while he studied the music, languages, cultures, and traditions of the indigenous peoples of Oregon State. During his studies, Jacobs worked with the Clackamas Chinook, Tillamook Salish, Alsea, Hanis and Miluk Coos, Upper Umpqua and Galice, Creek Athabaskan, Sahaptin, Molale, and Kalapuya peoples. His work focused on music, traditional stories, and grammatical paradigms. He collected various materials during his field studies, including sound recordings, baskets, and dolls.
The Melville Jacobs Collection is located in the University of Washington Libraries, Special collections; a set of the Jacobs recordings (on analog reel) to be stored in the Ethnomusicology Archives was made in 1973; several other manifestations exist.
Most of the Jacobs recordings (and recordings made by others that are included in the Jacobs Collection) have been digitized.
Documentation: contents listed in "Guide to Pacific Northwest Native American materials in the Jacobs collection..." held in UW Special Collections. The numbering system of the Ethnomusicology Archives set is not the same as that used in the Guide.