Jesup North Pacific Expedition facts for kids
The Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1897–1902) was a big scientific trip that explored Siberia, Alaska, and the northwest coast of Canada. Its main goal was to study how the people living on both sides of the Bering Strait were connected. Scientists wanted to learn about their history, cultures, and even their physical features.
This long expedition was paid for by Morris Jesup, a rich American businessman who was also the president of the American Museum of Natural History. The whole project was planned and led by a famous American anthropologist named Franz Boas. Many important scientists from America and Russia joined the team. Local people, like George Hunt from the Tlingit tribe, also helped as guides and interpreters.
The expedition gathered tons of information, including many valuable collections of artifacts and photographs. It also led to the publishing of many important books about different cultures, called ethnographies, from 1905 into the 1930s.
Contents
Exploring Different Cultures: Who Did They Study?
The Jesup Expedition studied many different groups of people. They wanted to understand their unique ways of life. Here are some of the groups they focused on:
- Ainu
- Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin, British Columbia)
- Chukchi (Chukchee)
- Evens (Lamut)
- Evenk (Tungus)
- Haida
- Heiltsuk (Bella Bella)
- Itel'men (Kamchadal)
- Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl)
- St'at'imc (Lillooet) (British Columbia)
- Nlaka'pamux (Thompson) (British Columbia)
- Syilx (Okanagan) (British Columbia)
Important Discoveries: Books and Research
The expedition produced many scientific books and reports. These publications shared all the amazing things the researchers learned. They covered a huge range of topics, showing how much the expedition discovered.
For example, some books focused on the art of different tribes, like The decorative art of the Amur tribes by Berthold Laufer. Others explored the stories and myths of groups like the Bella Coola Indians, written by Franz Boas. There were also detailed studies on the history and culture of specific groups, such as The Koryaks by Waldemar Jochelson and The Chukchee by Waldemar Bogoras.
These books helped people around the world learn about the rich cultures of the North Pacific.
Leading the Expedition: Key People
The success of the Jesup Expedition was thanks to a few very important people who planned and funded it.
Franz Boas: The Scientific Leader
Franz Boas is known as one of the founders of modern anthropology. He was the main scientific director of the expedition. At that time, he worked at the American Museum of Natural History. Boas designed the research to answer three big questions:
- Where did the first people in America come from?
- How were the people of America and Asia related biologically?
- What were the connections between the cultures of people in America and Asia?
Boas himself was very active in the field, especially on the northwest coast of America.
Morris Jesup: The Generous Sponsor
Morris Ketchum Jesup was a very wealthy businessman. He was also a director at the American Museum of Natural History. He first asked others to help pay for the expedition. But in the end, he paid for the entire huge project himself!
Fieldwork in Russia: Exploring Siberia
The fieldwork in Siberia started a year after the American part. There were three main teams. One team worked in the southern parts of Siberia, and two teams worked in the north.
Berthold Laufer: Studying Amur and Sakhalin
Berthold Laufer was an ethnologist, a scientist who studies cultures. He spent 16 months in 1898-1899 working near the Amur River and on Sakhalin Island. He studied the Nivkhi, Evenk, and Ainu peoples. He later published a book about the decorative art of the Amur tribes.
Waldemar Bogoras: Documenting Chukchi Life
Waldemar Bogoras was a Russian revolutionary who had been exiled. He did important work studying the cultures and languages of the Chukchi and Siberian Yupik peoples on the western side of the Bering Strait. His wife, Sofia Bogoraz, joined him and took many photographs during their journey.
Dina Brodsky: A Medic and Photographer
Dina Brodsky (also known as Jochelson-Brodskaya) was a trained medic. She worked with her husband, Waldemar Jochelson, to create a detailed record of Koryak and Itelmen communities. She took most of the expedition's 1,200 pictures! Her work was unpaid, but her detailed measurements of people helped her earn a doctorate degree.
Waldemar Jochelson: Exploring Remote Rivers
Vladimir Jochelson worked alongside his wife, Dina Jochelson-Brodskaya. He explored and documented the lives of people in remote areas.
Fieldwork in North America: Canada and the United States
The expedition also had teams working in Canada and the United States, focusing on the Pacific Northwest.
George Hunt: Recording Kwakiutl Stories
George Hunt was a very important helper. He recorded many texts and stories from the Kwakiutl people. His work helped preserve their language and traditions.
Harlan I. Smith: Uncovering Ancient History
Harlan I. Smith was an archaeologist. He started digging in the Thompson River area of British Columbia in 1897. Over the next few years, he explored areas further east, around Puget Sound, and down the coast of Washington. He was interested in the people who lived in these regions long, long ago.
Smith found traces of ancient people, some with very advanced tools for their time. He discovered that different ancient tribes seemed to have lived in their own areas, like a specific coast or river valley, for thousands of years. They developed their own unique cultures based on where they lived.
He found huge piles of discarded shellfish shells, miles long! Some of these shell heaps had tree stumps over six feet wide growing on top of layers that were only an inch or two thick. This showed that it took many generations for these piles to grow. One tree stump, a Douglas fir, was over six feet wide and grew on a shell heap eight feet below the surface. This meant the top layers of the shell heap were more than 500 years old!
The items Smith brought back included carved pipes, stone tools, bone needles, and shell ornaments. He also photographed many ancient paintings and sculptures on rock walls. These discoveries helped scientists understand how ancient people lived and adapted to their environments.
