Kathrine S. French
Encyclopedia
Kathrine Story French (June 5, 1922-June 14, 2006) was an American
anthropologist born in Illinois
. Educated in California
, she studied ceremonialism and naming practices on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation
in the state of Oregon
. She was married to fellow anthropologist David H. French
.
. In 1942, she received a Bachelor of Arts
in philosophy and anthropology from Pomona College
in California. Her father, Russell M. Story, a political scientist, was President of the Claremont Colleges
and Graduate School. At Pomona she met David H. French
, who was pursuing his own anthropological career. They married in 1943, and they both pursued graduate work in anthropology at Columbia University
in New York, where Americanists such as Franz Boas
and Ruth Benedict
were working.
, monitoring conditions at relocation centers for Japanese-Americans, as part of a program to mitigate abuses.
After David French took a teaching post at his former undergraduate institution, Reed College
, in Portland, Oregon
, in 1947, the couple began a decades-long involvement with the Warm Springs community
. While her husband's research focused on ethnobotany
and language, hers focused on naming practices and ceremonialism, in a community composed of Sahaptins
, Paiutes, and -- the Frenches' specialization -- Wasco
Chinookans. French received her Ph.D. from Columbia in 1955. Her dissertation, though unpublished, is considered an important contribution to the study of ceremonialism in the region and an innovative study in the semiotic analysis of ritual.
The Frenches' fieldwork at Warm Springs often involved mentoring the inaugural fieldwork experiences of budding anthropologists and linguists (many as Reed undergraduates) such as Yvonne Hajda, Dell Hymes
, Gail M. Kelly
, and Michael Silverstein
.
French served on the faculty of Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland from 1959 to 1980, pursuing an interest in the intersection of pediatrics, gerontology, cultural anthropology, and public policy. From 1981 until her death, she was an adjunct member of Reed's anthropology department.
In the 1980s and 1990s French and Yvonne Hajda, a former student of David French's, collaborated in a long-term study of change and continuity in ceremonialism on Warm Springs, with Wenner-Gren Foundation funding. That material still awaits publication.
area. Kathrine French died on June 14, 2006, of pneumonia resulting from complications from cancer.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anthropologist born in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Educated in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, she studied ceremonialism and naming practices on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation
Warm Springs Indian Reservation
The Warm Springs Indian Reservation consists of 1,019.385 sq mi in north central Oregon, in the United States, and is occupied and governed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.-Tribes:...
in the state 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...
. She was married to fellow anthropologist David H. French
David H. French
David Heath French was an American anthropologist and linguist from Bend, Oregon. During his lifetime he was considered the foremost academic authority on the Chinookan people of the middle Columbia River, especially the Wasco-Wishram Chinooks of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon...
.
Early years
Kathrine McCullough Story was born on June 5, 1922, in Champaign, IllinoisChampaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...
. In 1942, she received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in philosophy and anthropology from Pomona College
Pomona College
Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...
in California. Her father, Russell M. Story, a political scientist, was President of the Claremont Colleges
Claremont Colleges
The Claremont Colleges are a prestigious American consortium of five undergraduate and two graduate schools of higher education located in Claremont, California, a city east of downtown Los Angeles...
and Graduate School. At Pomona she met David H. French
David H. French
David Heath French was an American anthropologist and linguist from Bend, Oregon. During his lifetime he was considered the foremost academic authority on the Chinookan people of the middle Columbia River, especially the Wasco-Wishram Chinooks of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon...
, who was pursuing his own anthropological career. They married in 1943, and they both pursued graduate work in anthropology at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York, where Americanists such as Franz Boas
Franz Boas
Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
and Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict was an American anthropologist, cultural relativist, and folklorist....
were working.
Career
From 1943 to 1946, the Frenches served as relocation advisers and community analysts with the War Relocation AuthorityWar Relocation Authority
The War Relocation Authority was a United States government agency established to handle internment of Japanese-, German-, and Italian-Americans during World War II...
, monitoring conditions at relocation centers for Japanese-Americans, as part of a program to mitigate abuses.
After David French took a teaching post at his former undergraduate institution, Reed College
Reed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
, in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, in 1947, the couple began a decades-long involvement with the Warm Springs community
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs is a federally recognized confederation of Native American Tribes who currently live on and govern the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in the U.S...
. While her husband's research focused on ethnobotany
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants....
and language, hers focused on naming practices and ceremonialism, in a community composed of Sahaptins
Sahaptin people
The Sahaptin people are a Native American people that inhabited territory along the Columbia River. The Nez Perce tribe is one of the major Sahaptin groups.-Territory:...
, Paiutes, and -- the Frenches' specialization -- Wasco
Wasco-Wishram
Wasco-Wishram are two closely related Chinook Indian tribes from the Columbia River in Oregon. Today the tribes are part of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation in Washington.-History:...
Chinookans. French received her Ph.D. from Columbia in 1955. Her dissertation, though unpublished, is considered an important contribution to the study of ceremonialism in the region and an innovative study in the semiotic analysis of ritual.
The Frenches' fieldwork at Warm Springs often involved mentoring the inaugural fieldwork experiences of budding anthropologists and linguists (many as Reed undergraduates) such as Yvonne Hajda, Dell Hymes
Dell Hymes
Dell Hathaway Hymes was a sociolinguist, anthropologist, and folklorist whose work dealt primarily with languages of the Pacific Northwest. He was one of the first to call the fourth subfield of anthropology "linguistic anthropology" instead of "anthropological linguistics"...
, Gail M. Kelly
Gail M. Kelly
Gail M. Kelly was an American anthropologist known for training generations of anthropologists at Reed College in Portland, Oregon....
, and Michael Silverstein
Michael Silverstein
Michael Silverstein is a professor of anthropology, linguistics, and psychology at the University of Chicago. He is a theoretician of semiotics and linguistic anthropology. Over the course of his career he has drawn together research on linguistic pragmatics, sociolinguistics, language ideology,...
.
French served on the faculty of Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland from 1959 to 1980, pursuing an interest in the intersection of pediatrics, gerontology, cultural anthropology, and public policy. From 1981 until her death, she was an adjunct member of Reed's anthropology department.
In the 1980s and 1990s French and Yvonne Hajda, a former student of David French's, collaborated in a long-term study of change and continuity in ceremonialism on Warm Springs, with Wenner-Gren Foundation funding. That material still awaits publication.
Later years
She collaborated with her husband on numerous projects and publications, including an important survey of naming practices, which was published after David French's death in 1994. In later years of her life she remained active in anthropology, advising students as well as taking on numerous consulting projects on behalf of tribal groups, including research for Archaeological Investigations Northwest, Inc., throughout the lower Columbia RiverColumbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
area. Kathrine French died on June 14, 2006, of pneumonia resulting from complications from cancer.
Selected works
- (1955) Culture Segments and Variation in Contemporary Social Ceremonialism on the Warm Springs Reservation, Oregon. Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, New York.
- (1996) (with David H. French) "Personal Names." In Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 17: Languages, ed, by Ives Goddard, pp. 200–221. Washington: Smithsonian Institution.