James Rolfe Murie facts for kids

James Rolfe Murie (1862 – 1921) was an American farmer and ethnographer. He studied the Pawnee Tribe in Nebraska, and he was also a member of this tribe. Murie wrote a very important book called Ceremonies of Pawnee. This book shared many songs from Pawnee ceremonies. It is one of the largest collections of songs from any Native American tribe. Murie also worked with other experts like Alice Fletcher, George Dorsey, and Clark Wissler.

Early Life and Learning

James Rolfe Murie, also known as Sa-Ku-Ru-Ta, was born in 1862. His birthplace was Grand Island, Nebraska. His mother, Anna Murie, was Skiri Pawnee. His father, James Murie, was a Scottish immigrant.

Murie's father was a captain in the U.S. Army Pawnee scout battalion. This group helped protect the building of the transcontinental railroad. They also guarded small towns in the Plains.

When Murie was young, his father became ill. Murie, his mother, and his two siblings went to live with his mother's brother. Murie grew up speaking Pawnee and took part in Pawnee tribal ceremonies.

Moving to Oklahoma

The Pawnee people originally lived in Nebraska. But the United States government moved them to Pawnee County in Oklahoma. This move happened over three years, starting in 1874. The government moved the Pawnee due to diseases and conflicts with other tribes.

Pawnee Indian agencies and a boarding school were set up near Pawnee, Oklahoma.

Murie's Education

In 1879, Murie began attending the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia. There, he learned to read and write English and Arikara. He earned his diploma in 1883.

After graduating, Murie worked as an assistant teacher at the Pawnee Agency boarding school. He hoped to become a full-time teacher. From 1884 to 1886, he worked at the Haskell Institute. He also managed the post office in Pawnee, Oklahoma. By 1890, many Skiri Pawnee lived on their own farms and spoke English.

Working with Experts

Murie became a valuable helper and friend to experts who studied Pawnee culture. These experts included Alice C. Fletcher, George A. Dorsey, and Clark Wissler. Murie helped them by translating the Pawnee language and explaining their culture.

Many experts found Murie's connections to Pawnee tribal members very helpful. His knowledge of English was also a big advantage. Murie once wrote that his "people at this time have full confidence and trust in me."

Alice Fletcher's Work

In the mid-1890s, Murie worked with Alice Fletcher from the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. They wrote down and translated Pawnee cultural materials, including songs.

Fletcher, Murie, and Tahriussawichi (a Pawnee ceremonial leader) described a special ceremony called the Calumet Ceremony. Fletcher later published a book about it called The hako: song, pipe, and unity in a Pawnee Calumet ceremony. She wrote down and translated each song and included its meaning from a Pawnee leader.

Murie also helped share Pawnee culture with others. In 1899, he brought a Pawnee priest to Washington, D.C.. He helped interpret the priest's words during a ceremony for changing a person's name. This ceremony was published in the American Anthropologist magazine.

Working with George Dorsey

George Dorsey was an expert at the Field Museum of Natural History from 1899 to 1915. He studied tribes of the Plains Indians, like the Pawnee, Arapaho, and Cheyenne.

Murie became Dorsey's full-time assistant in 1902. He worked as a community scholar, helping Dorsey understand Pawnee traditions. Murie collected important information and objects from the Pawnee and Arapaho tribes. He also wrote down Pawnee ceremonial stories from a Pawnee priest named Roaming Scout. These writings were very important for creating A Dictionary of Skiri Pawnee in 2008.

Murie also told Dorsey when Pawnee ceremonies were happening. He shared his own experiences with Pawnee language, stories, and symbols. Their work together ended in 1907. Dorsey published a book called The Pawnee: Mythology in 1906, listing both himself and Murie as authors. Much of Murie's work for the Field Museum was never published.

After working with Dorsey, Murie continued to work for the Bureau of American Ethnology and the American Museum of Natural History. In 1915, Murie himself performed the Morning Star ceremony. He also helped explain a Pawnee star chart. This chart showed 24 stars and 15 groups of stars important to the Skidi Pawnee.

Ceremonies of the Pawnee

Murie also described Pawnee culture in a book he created with expert Clark Wissler. This book was called Ceremonies of Pawnee. It has two volumes and took ten years to create.

The first volume was finished in 1921 by Murie and Wissler. It describes the Skiri band of the Pawnee. Murie explained the Skiri ceremonies that happened over time and the role of sacred bundles in their culture. This volume shows how a Pawnee person and an expert worked together to record culture.

The second volume focuses on other Pawnee groups, like the Pitahawirata, Chawi, and Kitkahahki. In this volume, Murie describes three important rituals: the White Beaver Ceremony, the Bear Dance, and the Buffalo Dance. The songs from these ceremonies are written in both Pawnee and English. Murie also explained the meaning of Pawnee songs, including those from sacred bundle ceremonies. He also created a Pawnee star chart that explained their ideas about the universe.

This two-volume work was meant to be published in 1921 by the Smithsonian. But it was very long, so it wasn't published until 60 years later, in 1981.

Later Life and Legacy

James Murie passed away on November 18, 1921. Even though he did important work, his contributions were not always fully recognized. Some publications used his descriptions of Pawnee ceremonies without mentioning his name.

However, Murie was included in a book called American Indian Intellectuals. An article about his life also appeared on the front page of the Pawnee Democrat newspaper in Oklahoma.

Today, many of Murie's writings and letters are kept in important archives. These include the National Anthropological Archives and the Field Museum Anthropological Archives. His work continues to help us understand Pawnee culture and history.