James Mooney
James Mooney was an influential American ethnographer born in February 1861 in Richmond, Indiana, to Irish immigrant parents. He developed an early interest in storytelling and American Indian cultures, largely inspired by his mother's traditional Irish tales. Mooney worked for the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of Ethnology, where he dedicated his life to researching and documenting the histories, myths, and religions of various American Indian tribes from 1887 to 1890. His notable work, "The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890," provides a detailed account of the Ghost Dance, a religious movement among American Indians seeking to restore their cultural autonomy in response to colonization.
Mooney's writings emphasized the detrimental impacts of U.S. government policies on Native American populations, particularly highlighting events like the Wounded Knee Massacre. He advocated for the rights of American Indians, including their use of peyote in religious practices, which led to controversy and ostracism within academic circles. His contributions to ethnography and sociology remain significant, as he illustrated the complexities of American Indian religions and their parallels with other world faiths. Mooney passed away in December 1921, leaving behind an important legacy in the understanding of Native American cultures.
James Mooney
Ethnographer
- Born: February 10, 1861
- Birthplace: Richmond, Indiana
- Died: December 22, 1921
- Place of death: Washington, DC
Significance: James Mooney was an American ethnographer who lived with and wrote about American Indians, including the Cherokee and Kiowa, in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His work was critical in preserving information about native cultures and religions of the nineteenth century. Mooney supported American Indians and documented the struggles they faced because of the harsh treatment of the American government.
Background
Mooney was born in February of 1861 in Richmond, Indiana. His parents—James Mooney and Ellen Devlin—were Irish immigrants. His father died when he was young. Mooney's mother inspired his interest in storytelling by telling traditional Irish tales. She also raised him in the Catholic religion. Mooney graduated from high school but had no additional formal education. He taught himself about American Indian tribes and even compiled a list of tribe names. Mooney was a schoolteacher for a brief time, but he soon left that job. He was interested in getting a job with the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of Ethnology, which documented information about American Indian tribes in the United States. In 1884, the mayor of Richmond introduced Mooney to the organization's director, Major John Wesley Powell. Powell did not have a job for Mooney at the time, but the next year Mooney traveled to Washington, DC. While there, he impressed Powell with his knowledge of American Indians and his writing abilities. Mooney got a job with the bureau, where he would work for the rest of his life.
Life's Work
During his first two years at the Bureau of Ethnology, Mooney worked in an office and learned a great deal from other ethnographers. He then had the opportunity to conduct research in the field, which is the main goal of ethnology. From 1887 to 1890, Mooney spent time immersed with various American Indian tribes. He collected information about their religions, myths, and histories. Mooney wanted to tell complete stories about various American Indian tribes' cultures. As he spent time with and became friends with the people he was studying, he learned a great deal about how the American government had affected American Indians. In one of his books, Mooney noted that the forced resettlement of the Cherokees had done more to erase their cultural traditions than any other event in history. He made similar observations for all the tribes he lived and worked with. Mooney published a number of papers detailing his findings.
In 1896, Mooney published the book The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890. The Ghost Dance was a relatively new aspect of American Indian religion that developed as tribes were forced from their lands. American Indians took part in the dance in the hopes of ending European Americans' colonialism and restoring American Indian culture and ways of life. The Ghost Dance had spread to many groups of American Indians living in the West. US government officials wanted ethnographers to study the dance and religion, not for academic purposes but in the hopes of quelling any potential American Indian uprising. Mooney's work about the dance was groundbreaking in that it detailed an American Indian religion. He drew parallels between American Indian religions and other world religions, such as Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. He also transcribed the Ghost Dances he witnessed from the various tribes. His work reiterated the negative affect of the American government's actions on American Indian populations. It focused specifically on the Wounded Knee Massacre, during which American troops murdered more than 150 Lakota Indians. Mooney, who supported the Irish struggle for independence from Great Britain, identified with American Indians' urge for independence, freedom, and autonomy. The Ghost Dances, Mooney believed, were a product of the European Americans' harmful actions toward American Indians.
Mooney stirred controversy when he showed support for allowing American Indians to use peyote in their religious practices. Peyote is a hallucinogenic drug that comes from a small cactus that grows in the West. The American government tried to stop American Indians from using peyote, but Mooney realized it was a vital part of their religion and advocated for their right to use it. He even helped American Indians when they started the American Indian Church of Oklahoma, where they could use peyote in their religious ceremonies. Some in the academic community ostracized Mooney because of his support for the American Indians' rights. The secretary of the interior even issued a ban on his research.
While Mooney was studying the Ghost Dance and other important native practices, he also helped curate a number of exhibitions about American Indians. In 1892, he helped curate an exhibit at the Spanish-Columbian Exposition in Madrid, Spain. In the following years, he helped curate exhibits in Chicago, Illinois; Nashville, Tennessee; Omaha, Nebraska; and St. Louis, Missouri. He also published a number of important works, such as Calendar History of the Kiowa Indians (1898), in which he documented information about the Kiowa calendar. In his later years, Mooney suffered from a heart condition, and he became gravely ill in December of 1921. On December 22, he died of heart failure.
Impact
Mooney's work was very important for American ethnography and sociology. The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890 was one of the first works to describe an American Indian religion in detail. In his work, Mooney showed similarities between American Indian religions and other religions from around the world, helping people to understand native faith practices better. He pointed out that American Indians' lives, just like Christians' lives, were influenced each day by their religion. He believed that American Indians' actions were no more "superstitious" than Christians' actions were. Mooney continues to be an important resource about American Indians of the nineteenth century. A number of his works are located in the National Archives and at the Smithsonian.
Personal Life
Mooney married Ione Lee Gaut in 1897. The couple had six children.
Principal Works
Nonfiction
Funeral Customs in Ireland, 1888
Holiday Customs in Ireland, 1889
Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee, 1891
The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890, 1896
Calendar History of the Kiowa Indians, 1898
Myths of the Cherokee, 1902
Bibliography
Bass, Althea. "James Mooney in Oklahoma." Chronicles of Oklahoma, vol. 32, no. 3, 1954. pp. 149–59.
"James Mooney." American Anthropologist. vol. 24, no. 2, 1922. pp. 209–214.
"James Mooney, U.S. Ethnologist: A Biography." Smithsonian Institution Archives, siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris‗sic‗3355. Accessed 26 Sept. 2017.
Mooney, James. Myths of the Cherokee. Government Printing Office, 1902.
Moses, L. The Indian Man: A Biography of James Mooney. University of Illinois Press, 1984.
Moses, L. G. "Biography – James Mooney (February 10, 1861–December 22, 1921)." American National Biography Online, Feb. 2000, nativeamericanchurches.org/biography-james-mooney-february-10-1861-december-22-1921/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2017.
Vincent, Joan. "Ghost Dance." The Routledge Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology, edited by Alan Barnard, Jonathan Spencer. Routledge, 2009.
Walcot, Charles D. Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the Year Ending in June 30, 1922. Washington Government Printing Office, 1922.