Charles C. Hughes was born on 26 January 1929 in Salmon, Idaho. He entered Harvard on a national scholarship in September 1947 and graduated A.B., magna cum laude, in Anthropology in June 1951. That same year he married Jane Murphy and entered Cornell University's graduate school. Accompanied by his wife, he spent August, 1954, through September, 1955, living with the Sivuokakhmeit Eskimos, gathering field research for his dissertation. After completing his dissertation, he received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1958. He also completed postgraduate research in Nigeria and Nova Scotia. After serving as director of the African Studies Center at Michigan State University, he accepted positions in the departments of Anthropology and Family and Community Medicine at the University of Utah in 1973. Before his death in 1997, he was the director of several graduate programs in the department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah Medical Center.
The Charles C. Hughes papers (1946-1957) consist of diaries, field and research notes, and a dissertation relating to the time that Charles C. Hughes (1929-1997) spent living with the Sivuokakhmeit Eskimos on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. The diaries typically consist of typed interviews with Eskimos in Gambell, a village on St. Lawrence Island. They also contain his personal sentiments and opinions regarding the island and its people. The field notes are often exact duplicates of the diaries. However, there are some differences between the two. The field notes tend to have more research-related information, while the diaries are more personal in nature. The collection has two notebooks of older, government documents regarding the island, Gambell in particular. Two notebooks containing research questions and surveys Hughes wished to answer are also included in the collection.
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Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Gift of Leslie Hughes in 2001.
Processed by Michelle Neves in 2001.
Contains information on the arrival of Charles and Jane Hughes in Alaska, a history of Gambell since 1940, an account of a walrus hunt, and the organization of the village store.
Eskimo interviews on worship rituals, marriage practices, and suicide.
An account of a seal hunt and diagrams depicting the Eskimo kinship system.
The management of the village store by the Alaska Native Arts and Crafts Organization, Eskimo interviews on cousin teasing, preparation of animal skins, suicide, punishment for murder, and diagrams of a walrus trap, sled, and boat.
An account of a walrus hunt, Eskimo interviews on rules concerning marriage into other "ramkas" (clans), kinship terms, and how to harpoon a walrus.
An account of a fox trapping trip to the Southwest cape, the starvation of the island's sled dogs, and Eskimo interviews concerning witchcraft, kinship terminology, time periods, and natural features.
List of research questions, Eskimos living outside of Gambell, and kinship terminology.
Contains a list of teachers at Gambell since 1940, excerpt from a letter from a zoologist regarding the decline of the walrus and reindeer herds, an account of a walrus hunt, a list of kinship terminology, and Eskimo interviews on shamanism, ramkas, the ritual of naming babies, kinship behavior, life stories, ceremonies, marriage, and traditional whale hunting techniques.
Kinship charts, an account of Gambell's first whale catch in two years, and Eskimo interviews on kinship behavior and life stories.
Drawings of sea-life, notes and drawings on the method of cutting up a whale, Eskimo interviews on life stories, the division of a whale, boat crew organization, ramkas, and an account of a walrus hunt.
An account of a U.S. Air Force plane shot down on St. Lawrence Island by Russian MIGs, food journals of Eskimo families, Eskimo interviews concerning the old ceremony of curing the ill, changes in eating habits and economy, kinship terminology, and whale hunting.
Eskimo interviews on life histories, terminology for sicknesses, an Eskimo's hospitalization diary, and a copy of a 1921 report about Gambell.
Rorschach test answers, an Eskimo's hospitalization diary, census records from 1914, school records from 1916, food journals for Eskimo families, Charles and Jane Hughes' departure from the village, and Eskimo interviews on life histories, ramkas, and ceremonies.
Charles and Jane Hughes' arrival in Alaska, background and history of Gambell since 1940, and traditional hunting practices. Also contains duplicates of August's notes.
Notes on the Hughes' first week in Gambell. Also contains duplicates of September's notes.
An account of a seal hunting trip, kinship charts, Eskimo interviews on cousin teasing, changes in the village way of life, the past reindeer herd, a local myth, marriage rituals, and Eskimo customs.
Excerpt from a letter from Henry Collins concerning suicide, the Welfare Council, an account of a walrus hunt, a meeting of the Alaska Native Arts and Crafts Organization, Eskimo interviews on kinship behavior and terminology, the division of a caught whale, the four ramkas of the village, and the process of naming newborn babies.
Eskimo interviews on kinship terminology and life histories.
Notes on the dog starvation situation, account of a fox trapping trip, Eskimo interviews on the kinship system, terminology, dog sledding, and life stories.
The arrival of Dr. Alexander Leighton and journalist Gary Daitz, Eskimo interviews on witchcraft, geography, the naming of the different ramkas on the island, and terminology for kinship, months, and natural features.
A chart showing weekly attendance and offerings collected at the Presbyterian church from 1936-1955, a list of Eskimos living outside of Gambell, Eskimos who have lived outside of Gambell at some point, births in 1954, and an Eskimo interview on kinship terminology and behavior.
Tribal and kinship terminology, a list of teachers in Gambell since 1940, excerpt from a letter from a zoologist regarding the decline of the walrus and reindeer herds, two accounts of walrus hunting trips, Eskimo interviews on shamanism, ceremonies, the different tribes on the island, ramkas, life stories, and change in Gambell since 1940.
Kinship terminology chart, Eskimo interviews concerning traditional whale hunting techniques, changes in Eskimo life, kinship behavior, and life stories.
Kinship terminology charts, an account of the first whale caught in Gambell in two years, drawings of sea-life, an account of a walrus hunt, Eskimo interviews on kinship behavior, life stories, the organization of a whale crew, and the histories of the Puwowalagamet and the Sevuokakmett people.
Eskimo interviews on ramkas, life stories, ceremonies, and various changes in Gambell.
An account of a U.S. Air Force plane shot down on St. Lawrence Island by Russian MIG's, Eskimo interviews on change in Gambell, ceremonies, life stories, health, illness, ramkas, and whale hunting.
An Eskimo's hospitalization diary, Eskimo interviews on life stories, change in Gambell, terminology for sickness, and shamanism.
Rorschach test answers, ramkas, an Eskimo's hospitalization diary, census records from 1914, school records from 1916, food journals for Eskimo families, and Eskimo interviews on life histories and ceremonies.
Rorschach test results, Charles and Jane Hughes' departure from the village, Eskimo interviews on religion, retained Native beliefs, and change in Gambell
Contains checklists on houses in Gambell rated on items such as cleanliness, number of appliances, and overall "whiteness" of the home.
Research methods of selecting Eskimos for interviews and food journals, reviews of monthly notes, and lists of high priority research questions to be answered.
Copies of records, including the articles and bylaws of the Alaska Native Industries Cooperative Association, statistical reports on Gambell, government correspondence regarding Gambell, economic reports, and minutes of council meetings.
Contains an analysis of change in Gambell since 1940 on topics including health, economics, and kinship of the Sivuokakhmeit Eskimos.