Annie Miner Peterson
Encyclopedia
Annie Miner Peterson was a Coos Indian
from the U.S. state
of Oregon
who was a cultural and linguistic consultant to Melville Jacobs
, an anthropologist at the University of Washington
. In 1933 while searching for a suitable consultant in the Hanis Coos
language from among the eight or ten elderly Coos Indians who were still fluent at that time, Jacobs discovered that Peterson was fluent not only in Hanis, but also in Miluk Coos, a Penutian language
thought to have been extinct for at least fifteen years. Through the summers of 1933 and 1934, Jacobs interviewed Peterson in those two languages, collecting 32 Coos myth texts in Miluk, eight in Hanis, and two in both Hanis and Miluk for comparison of the two languages. Wax-cylinder phonograph recordings were also taken of the myths and songs during both years. In addition, Jacobs collected from Peterson a large number of narrative and ethnologic texts in Miluk, a smaller number in Hanis, and eight texts in both Hanis and Miluk. The narrative and ethnologic texts were published in 1939; the myth texts in 1940.
Annie was born in 1860 of a Coos Indian mother and a white father (James Miner, whom she never met) at the native village of Willanch (Wu'leˈ'ntq, the present-day Cooston
), on the east shore of upper Coos Bay
on the southern Oregon Coast
. She was one of the last Coos Indians to grow up in the traditional Coos culture. As an infant she was taken by her mother to the Coastal Indian Reservation at Yaquina Bay
, and later removed to the sub-agency at Yachats
where she grew up and married, first to an abusive older Hanis man, and later to William Jackson, an Alsea Indian her own age. Through their daughter, Nellie (Aason), there are descendants to the present day. Annie married three more times, unhappily, but her last marriage was a happy and compatible relationship with a Swedish logger named Carl Peterson. They both died of tuberculosis
in 1939 at their home on lower Coos Bay.
Annie Miner Peterson was an accomplished basketmaker, storyteller, and repository of indigenous Coos languages and traditional culture. Her full-length biography was published by University of Oklahoma Press in 1997: She's Tricky Like Coyote: Annie Miner Peterson, an Oregon Coast Indian Woman, by Lionel Youst.
Coos (tribe)
The Coos are a Native American tribe from the U.S. state of Oregon and one of the three Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. They live on the southwest Oregon Pacific coast...
from the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
who was a cultural and linguistic consultant to Melville Jacobs
Melville Jacobs
Melville Jacobs was an American anthropologist known for his extensive fieldwork on cultures of the Pacific Northwest. He was born in New York City. After studying with Franz Boas he became a member of the faculty of the University of Washington in 1928 and remained until his death in 1971...
, an anthropologist at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
. In 1933 while searching for a suitable consultant in the Hanis Coos
Coosan languages
The Coosan language family consists of two languages spoken along the southern Oregon coast. Both languages are now extinct.-Classification:* Hanis* Miluk...
language from among the eight or ten elderly Coos Indians who were still fluent at that time, Jacobs discovered that Peterson was fluent not only in Hanis, but also in Miluk Coos, a Penutian language
Oregon Penutian languages
Oregon Penutian is a hypothetical language family in the Penutian language phylum comprising languages spoken at one time by several groups of Native Americans in present-day western Oregon and western Washington in the United States...
thought to have been extinct for at least fifteen years. Through the summers of 1933 and 1934, Jacobs interviewed Peterson in those two languages, collecting 32 Coos myth texts in Miluk, eight in Hanis, and two in both Hanis and Miluk for comparison of the two languages. Wax-cylinder phonograph recordings were also taken of the myths and songs during both years. In addition, Jacobs collected from Peterson a large number of narrative and ethnologic texts in Miluk, a smaller number in Hanis, and eight texts in both Hanis and Miluk. The narrative and ethnologic texts were published in 1939; the myth texts in 1940.
Annie was born in 1860 of a Coos Indian mother and a white father (James Miner, whom she never met) at the native village of Willanch (Wu'leˈ'ntq, the present-day Cooston
Cooston, Oregon
Cooston is an unincorporated community in Coos County, Oregon, United States. It is located on the east shore of Coos Bay across from North Bend, about eight miles from the city of Coos Bay....
), on the east shore of upper Coos Bay
Coos Bay
Coos Bay is an S-shaped inlet where the Coos River enters the Pacific Ocean, approximately 10 miles long and two miles wide, on the Pacific Ocean coast of southwestern Oregon in the United States. The estuary is situated south of the Salmon River. The city of Coos Bay, once named Marshfield, was...
on the southern Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
. She was one of the last Coos Indians to grow up in the traditional Coos culture. As an infant she was taken by her mother to the Coastal Indian Reservation at Yaquina Bay
Yaquina Bay
Yaquina Bay is a small bay partially within Newport, Oregon, United States, located where the Yaquina River flows into the Pacific Ocean. It is traversed by the Yaquina Bay Bridge. The bay's area is about 8 km² .-See also:...
, and later removed to the sub-agency at Yachats
Yachats, Oregon
Yachats is a small coastal city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. According to Oregon Geographic Names, the name comes from the Siletz language, and means "dark water at the foot of the mountain". There is a range of differing etymologies, however. William Bright says the name comes from...
where she grew up and married, first to an abusive older Hanis man, and later to William Jackson, an Alsea Indian her own age. Through their daughter, Nellie (Aason), there are descendants to the present day. Annie married three more times, unhappily, but her last marriage was a happy and compatible relationship with a Swedish logger named Carl Peterson. They both died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in 1939 at their home on lower Coos Bay.
Annie Miner Peterson was an accomplished basketmaker, storyteller, and repository of indigenous Coos languages and traditional culture. Her full-length biography was published by University of Oklahoma Press in 1997: She's Tricky Like Coyote: Annie Miner Peterson, an Oregon Coast Indian Woman, by Lionel Youst.
Further reading
- Jacobs, Melville Coos Myth Texts. Vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 127-260, University of Washington Publications in Anthropology. April, 1940.