William N. Fenton
Scholar of Haudenosaunee history, culture, and anthropology.
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William Nelson Fenton, an American scholar and writer, dedicated much of his career to studying Haudenosaunee history and culture, beginning his research in the 1930s. Over the decades, he published many important works, with his last appearing in 2002. Fenton also served as director of the New York State Museum and as a professor of anthropology at the State University of New York.
Early career (1908–1955)
William Nelson Fenton was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1908. His family had been in contact with the Seneca people since the 1860s, and he spent his childhood in western New York, the traditional homeland of the Seneca. After local schooling, he graduated from Dartmouth College in 1931 and earned a doctorate in anthropology from Yale University in 1937. From 1935 until completing his PhD, he also worked as a community worker for the New York Indian Service, primarily on the Tonawanda Reservation.
In the 1930s, Fenton lived among the Seneca in western New York, learning their language fluently and conducting fieldwork. On January 26, 1934, the Seneca Nation adopted him into the Hawk clan, the same clan that had previously adopted Lewis Morgan. Fenton quickly became a leading figure in Haudenosaunee studies. During the 1940s and 1950s, he wrote several position papers identifying key problems and areas needing further research in the field.
He organized meetings for other Haudenosaunee scholars, notably at Red House in New York, and highlighted topics like cultural diversity and connections between northern and southern tribes. As an ethnologist with the Smithsonian Institution’s Bureau of American Ethnology, he emphasized the value of existing historical and ethnographic records. In the 1930s and 1940s, he conducted extensive research on Haudenosaunee music and dance at the Smithsonian.
His career spanned a period of major shifts in anthropological methods and research ethics. The traditional patron-client relationship between anthropologists and informants came under growing suspicion from younger Haudenosaunee after the 1950s. At the same time, Fenton’s most important work took place when Iroquois ceremonialists, concerned about losing their knowledge, were eager to have someone willing to listen and record it.
Later career (1956–2005)
After becoming senior ethnologist at the Smithsonian Institution in the 1950s, and then serving as executive secretary for anthropology and psychology at the National Research Council, he went to work at the New York State Museum at Albany in 1954. Becoming director, he developed an extensive collection of Haudenosaunee materials. Some tribal representatives criticized Fenton for failing to return artifacts. He regarded museums as necessary safeguards for cultural heritage.
Some tribal leaders also criticized him for revealing too much material about sacred rituals. Fenton chaired the Committee on Anthropological Research in Museums (CARM) from 1965 to 1973, during the majority of its life. CARM, a subcommittee of the American Anthropological Association, encouraged scholarly use of museums and museum collections in anthropological research. CARM also encouraged the early use of computers in documenting and inventorying museums collections across North America.
In 1965, Fenton was awarded the Cornplanter Medal. Fenton left the New York State Museum to become Professor of Anthropology at the State University of New York at Albany. He worked there until his retirement in 1979. He remained active in continued research and writing about the Haudenosaunee.
He published The Great Law and the Longhouse: A Political History of the Iroquois in 1998 when he was nearly 90. He died on June 17, 2005, in Cooperstown, New York, at the age of 96, on the way to the hospital.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was William N. Fenton born?
William N. Fenton was born on 15 December 1908 in New Rochelle, New York, United States.
When did William N. Fenton die?
William N. Fenton died on 17 June 2005 in Cooperstown, New York, United States.
Where did William N. Fenton study?
William N. Fenton studied at Yale University (PhD).
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: William N. Fenton (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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