Tony Tillohash
Encyclopedia
Tony Tillohash was a Paiute
Indian
who worked with linguist Edward Sapir
to describe the Southern Paiute language.
In 1910, Tillohash was removed from his home in Utah to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
. There Tillohash began working with Sapir, then employed at the nearby University of Pennsylvania
.
Together they recorded many Paiute songs, and Sapir describes Tillohash's musical memory with some amazement:
The work ultimately led to a book-length description of the language, now considered a classic in linguistics
.
After his studies at Carlisle, Tillohash returned to Utah and married a Shivwits Paiute woman. Together they raised a family and ranch cattle. He was elected chairman of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes. He and Stewart Snow observed the changes that the Great Depression
and the Indian New Deal brought to their tribe, when they wrote in 1940: "For the past six years we have depended largely on the various Federal Relief Agencies. Our farms have been somewhat neglected." He served on the tribal council through the 1940s.
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
who worked with linguist Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir was an American anthropologist-linguist, widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the early development of the discipline of linguistics....
to describe the Southern Paiute language.
In 1910, Tillohash was removed from his home in Utah to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations...
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
. There Tillohash began working with Sapir, then employed at the nearby University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
.
Together they recorded many Paiute songs, and Sapir describes Tillohash's musical memory with some amazement:
Despite his five years' absence from home, Tony's musical memory was quite remarkable. Besides the myth-songs [i.e., the myth recitatives] spoken of here, over two hundred other songs of various kinds (three or four varieties of "cry" or mourning songs, bear-dance songs, round-dance songs, ghost-dance songs, medicine songs, gambling songs, scalp songs, and others less easy to classify) were obtained from him.
The work ultimately led to a book-length description of the language, now considered a classic in linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
.
After his studies at Carlisle, Tillohash returned to Utah and married a Shivwits Paiute woman. Together they raised a family and ranch cattle. He was elected chairman of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes. He and Stewart Snow observed the changes that the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and the Indian New Deal brought to their tribe, when they wrote in 1940: "For the past six years we have depended largely on the various Federal Relief Agencies. Our farms have been somewhat neglected." He served on the tribal council through the 1940s.