The core of this report consists of a somewhat detailed account of the activities of the Ethnogeographical Council. When this history was first submitted, it covered the activities of the Ethnogeographical Council until June 1945.
THE ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD
BACKGROUND PROBLEMS Wartime Washington
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The results of this increased area emphasis, added to the demands of the armed forces, put a real strain on the supply of area specialists. The more local and immediate problems are taken up in the detailed review of the actual activities of the Council.
FOUNDING OF THE BOARD
Washington in wartime, research versus action, and area versus discipline are three of the background problems the Ethnogeographic Board faced.
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPIIIC BOARD BENNETT 5
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NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 7
At one of the formative meetings of this committee a report was made on the proposed Ethnographic Board of the National Research Council. That William Duncan Strong would be Director of the Ethnographic Board, with offices located in the Smithsonian Institution.
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT II
12 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. IO7 ever, part of the intention of this analysis is to show where sources
ORGANIZATION
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT I3 The Board met twice a year as an advisory and policy-making body
All members of the professional staff assisted in the extension service and many of the reports demonstrate their cooperation. Only in the overview of the area programs did the lack of positive guidelines cause some confusion.
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 1/
The Council was established by the anthropological committees of the National Research Councils and continued to be dominated by one professional group, despite attempts to expand. This overemphasis may have hindered the full potential development of the Ethnogeographical Council.
BUDGET
The director and five experts on his staff, three of the six advisers, the chairman and one member (later two) of the board of directors, and four of these official liaison officers. It is obvious that the Smithsonian Institution has borne the lion's share of the cost.
20 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. IO7
OOOONOOO qqqqqqqq
In the application to the Foundations, for example, the annual budget of $55,000 estimated six Board meetings per year, although no more than two per year were ever held and would not have been practical. An item for five consultants per month at $100 each was not explained in the application, nor was it ever clarified in practice.
TOTAL A EXPEND ITDRES
KSTIMATSD BUDGET
EXPEIOITURES
BUDGET EXPENDITURES
IO7since it took little expenditure to answer questions, spread ma- as it took little expenditure to answer questions, spread ma-.
BOARD ACTIVITIES
The Council received its initial guidance from the cooperating committees which it partially represented. In some respects this current approach may seem overly simple, but little clarity would be gained from a presentation of the Board's busyness in its first year.
AREA ROSTER
Before the Ethnogeographic Council was established, each of the area committees felt the need for specialized area grids. A large volume of the Council's information service relates to personnel data, so it was inevitable that a.
26 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I07 mittees on the Anthropology of Africa and Oceania formed the
In response to special requests, the Board received a list of Scandinavians in this country from the American Scandinavian Foundation; a list of citizens who.
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NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 29
30 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I07 The information cards were filed by major area (Africa) and sub-
This may seem far-fetched, but experience has shown otherwise, especially when the grading is done by the individuals themselves. Some evaluations were made by the collaborative committee that specialized in the relevant field.
32 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I07 eralized judgment of the individual's real knowledge could be obtained
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD — BENNETT 33 the roster definitely overlaps the information service category of
LISTS OF SPECIALIZED PERSONNEL
- SOURCES OF PHOTOGRAPHS
If a war agency had already requested the materials, this fact was noted along with the agency's name. The photo sources for each specific region were indicated by numbers on a large-scale map.
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 35
PERSONNEL INEOKMATION
FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEWS
CIRCULARIZING
Many of the guides were received from members of the Archaeological Institute of America, of whom William B. Many of the individuals had already been contacted by the Office of Strategic Services or another war agency.
INFORMATION FILES
Although the Area List provided some service up to the Council's conclusion, its future value is questionable. Some have seen the inclusion of so many non-professionals as a regrettable situation, but it is equally valid to use this as an indication of the value of recording the experience and organizing the knowledge of 'amateurs'.
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 39 The Director's diary records an interview with a Navy representa-
40 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL, I07 ports of stranded aviators practically starving in tropical jungles
The Cross-Cultural Survey staff used the files to prepare a series of "Strategic Bulletins of Oceania" which were widely distributed by the Board. Although the board assisted the government representatives in their consultation of the study, it made little use of the materials themselves.
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PROMOTION TECHNIQUES
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 43 Being an anthropologist, he found colleagues in practically every
LIAISON OFFICERS
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PROPAGANDA
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD — BENNETT 45
46 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I07 Academic Relations
INFORMATION
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 47 nature of some of the questions and partly to the fact that the cate-
SPECIALISTS
- REGIONALISTS
- SPECIALISTS AND REGIONALISTS
48 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I07
EMPLOYMENT
EVALUATION
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 49
COOPERATING COMMITTEES
For example, requests for an ethnic tribal map of Africa and for data on the language distribution in Africa were handled by the Committee on African Anthropology.
INSTITUTIONS
In general, however, there were few requests of a nature to require the services of academic centres. Smithsonian staff answered a variety of questions, such as the distribution of wild hemp; the scientific name of the Australian bandicoot; Baobab tree; vampire bats and rabies in Trinidad.
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 53 answered with the aid of a dictionary or published vocabulary
As a byproduct of the information service, the Board was able to help guide individuals and agencies, an important function in Washington's confusion. A man from the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs was told how to get a permit to allow the Army Engineers to make some maps of Costa Rica.
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 55 on Arctic plants which were being prepared for the Canadian Army
56 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I07 on how to get information on weather conditions in certain remote
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 57 mation shows immediately that the most extensive use of the service
58 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I07 Board offered to find these rather than let it absorb the time of every
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 59 DISTRIBUTIONS
Area (and Language) Notes. This mimeographed statement on area materials was sent to the teachers of area programs in
Partial List of Oceania Experts in Washington. The list was made at the request of one agency and then mimeographed for
Sponsors received copies of everything, and outside of Washington a few individuals and libraries requested or were sent some of the material, but distribution was limited. Members of the cooperative committees naturally received copies of the lists they had prepared, but rarely any of the items prepared by others.
A series of brief statements on plants, molluscs, birds, butterflies, and the like, were brought to the attention of interested agencies by the Board. In total, the Board had 35 separate documents for distribution and was allowed to assist in the distribution of about 35.
MIS Army
BEW (OEW) FEA
OSS OWI
635 III
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 63
REPORTS
STRATEGIC AREAS
- SURVIVAL
Raymond Kennedy of Yale University, one of the few in the country who can handle it. Diseases of trematodes and their intermediate mollusc hosts in the islands of the South West Pacific (Major contribution).
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EDUCATIONAL
PERSONNEL AND SOURCES OF MATERIALS
The board, of course, faced the problem of how many and how many large jobs it could handle without becoming a small branch of the Army or Navy. However, the report's service was to be one of the most effective means of bringing the specialized talents of many scholars into focus in the war effort.
CONFERENCES
Stirling manuscripts provoked a truly enthusiastic response and the letters of acknowledgment show that the other field reports were appreciated. Furthermore, the staff of the Council and the Smithsonian, and a few professionals from Yale, able as all of them may be, do not represent an adequate sample of the scientific resources of the country.
68 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I07 Latin American Studies at each Washington meeting has arranged a
AFRICAN SPECIALISTS (SEPTEMBER 21, I942)
- FAR EASTERN GEOGRAPHERS (OCTOBER 5, I942)
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD — BENNETT 69
- NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES DINNER (OCTOBER 12, I942) Following a preliminary discussion with Cora DuBois and others
- NEAR EAST DINNER (OCTOBER I9, I942)
- ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD DINNER (JANUARY 9, I943)
- LORD HAILEY DINNER (FEBRUARY I3, I943)
- POSTWAR NEEDS IN ANTHROPOLOGY (APRIL 12, I943) The National Research Council asked the Board to call an informal
- LAND TENURE PROBLEMS (APRIL 28, I943)
- COLONIAL QUESTIONS CONFERENCES (aPRIL 20, I943;
A dinner for staff, liaison officers and concerned women served to bring the Washington office organization together. Park, the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, the Social Science Research Board and Council held a dinner for a general discussion of land rights problems, particularly in Latin America.
2 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I07 taurant facilities made it impossible to continue the dinner conferences
A blanket invitation to meet again on another date blocks the possibility of excluding participants and makes it difficult to add new guests without overwhelming the practical size of the group.
PROJECTS
The special interest of the Board in the problem of survival is noted in the description of the survival library, the survival reports, and the many questions about this subject. As a result, the Office of Naval Intelligence asked the Board to prepare a series of short articles on survival in the Pacific area.
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD — BENNETT 75
76 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I07 agency, this was not a vital necessity in that anticipation of needs was
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 'JJ
78 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. IO7 at a 2-day conference in Pittsburgh at which the Provost Marshal
This work, begun at the end of 1945, is one of the continuing engagements of the Board. If the formulation and direction of the projects had been the function of the Board as a whole, more could have been accomplished.
DEAD ENDS
IN ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT bl project depends to a large extent on the competence and integrity of the person or group who undertakes it. The few projects sponsored by the Ethnogeographical Council have been handled competently and have resulted in contributions of long-term value.
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The committee continues to struggle, virtually independent of the Council, and some work on Earth and. The sincerity and energy of the executive secretary cannot be questioned, and the Council also contributed considerable time and thought to the project.
84 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I07 survey was completed as a factual appraisal of the programs them-
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 85
SURVEY OF NATIVE ECONOMIC AREAS IN NORTH AFRICA Walter Cline, of the University of Minnesota and the Office of
- AFRICA COMMITTEE PROJECTS
- DIRECTORY OF ORGANIZATIONS IN AMERICA CONCERNED WITH OCEANIA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
- THE STUDY OF MODERN CHINESE CIVILIZATION
- MAP OF INDIA
- THE ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC PROBLEMS OF THE WEST COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA
- THE EFFECT OF THE CASTE SYSTEM IN INDIA UPON CURRENT POLITICAL PROBLEMS
- CHECK LIST OF JAPANESE JOURNALS
- BIOLOGY OF THE JAPANESE
- RACE PROBLEMS
The Executive Committee approved project sponsorship only if it could be directed to secure orders, advance payments from one or more government agencies, such as B.E.W., O.S.S., or the State Department. The request was denied due to the Board's non-grant policy.
CONFERENCE ON INSTRUCTION FOR POSTWAR ADMINISTRATION The Chairman of the Board urged the calling of a conference of
- TRAINING OF ASIATIC GEOGRAPHERS
CONFERENCE ON INSTRUCTION FOR THE POST-WAR ADMINISTRATION The Chairman of the Board requested the convening of a conference of. The research promotion of the Etnogeographical Board remained in a dormant state, despite various attempts to wake it up.
PERSONNEL LIMITATIONS
- FRAMEWORK LIMITATIONS
- POLICY RESTRICTIONS
In one sense, service grants in small amounts would have made many reports possible, but Board policy was against this. For example, at the same meeting, a discussion of the Distribution Service brought up the policy that although the Board cannot undertake the preparation of these materials for distribution, it can make small grants-in-aid.
NO, I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD — BENNETT 9I
4, EVALUATION
ATTITUDES
ACADEMIC RELATIONS
EXTRA-WASHINGTON PROMOTION
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD — BENNETT 93
INTERVIEW
I07technique was related to area reports, and since other factors technique was related to area reports, and since other factors blocked the production of these, there was Httle opportunity for interviews.
FOREIGN SCHOLARS
APPRAISAL
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPIIIC BOARD BENNETT 95 on all academic resources, those most conveniently at hand were
The board had good local sources of information, primarily the Smithsonian Institution and its staff, and could theoretically tap into the country's academic resources. The few researchers who used the Board were already closely involved in the organization.
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 99
The handbook would also be useful to the many scientists and travelers, especially if a separate edition could be issued which eliminated some of the articles on the dangers of war and added further travel information. The War Document Survey addressed the problem of intelligent disposal of valuable materials collected by government agencies during the war.
NEXT EAIERGENCY
A BOARD SHOULD BE NON-GOVERNMENTAL
The Inter-American Training Centers for language and basic training of government employees working in the Latin American field were funded by the Office of the Coordinator for Inter-American Affairs, although they are independently administered by the American Council of Educated Nations. COOPERATIVE COMMITTEES ARE MORE THAN SUB-COMMITTEES Relationship of the Ethnogeographical Committee to its affiliates.
COOPERATJNG COMMITTEES ARE BirPTER THAN SUBCOMMITTEES The relationship of the Ethnogeographic Board to its affiliated
However, regardless of the source of funds, the operation of the Board must be completely free from government controls. Finally, if scientific research and government action programs are not to be kept well separated, it is a legitimate function of academic institutions and their representatives to anticipate and stimulate the needs of government.
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT IO3 operation with independent committees is a better arrangement than
A BOARD SHOULD HAVE WELL-DEFINED FUNCTIONS As in the case of the present Board, one of these would be to guide
THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD SHOULD BE IN TERMS OF ITS FUNCTIONS
The board's primary purpose is to link academic research and government programs.
AN INSTITUTIONAL SETTING FOR THE WASHINGTON OFFICE
IS DESIRABLE
THE WASHINGTON OFFICE SHOULD ESTABLISH LIAISON RELATIONSHIPS WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
THE PRINCIPAL FUNCTION OF THE WASHINGTON OFFICE SHOULD BE TO ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS
WITH GOVERNMENT
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 10$
THE STAFF OF THE WASHINGTON OFFICE SHOULD BE SELECTED FOR THE SERVICE FUNCTION
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FUTURE PROBLEMS
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD — BENNETT IO7
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NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPIIIC BOARD BENNETT IO9
It is therefore logical that this story ends with a plea for the creation of some organization that will face the problems raised by the experience of the Ethnic Council. It in no way detracts from the organization's overall benefits and its truly important results.
APPENDIX A
SAMPLES OF LETTERS OF COMMENDATION
AI. THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
COPY
A2. THE SECRETARY OF WAR
COPY War Department
A3. THE SECRETARY OF THE CONFERENCE BOARD OF ASSOCIATED RESEARCH COUNCILS
APPENDIX B
SAMPLES OF PERSONNEL QUESTIONNAIRES
BI, QUESTIONNAIRE OF THE COMMITTEE ON LATIN AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGY
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD — BENNETT II7
B2. QUESTIONNAIRE OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF OCEANIA
I,j, (cross out one) am willing to complete a follow-up questionnaire. two pages about islands about which government agencies want more information. The following are names and addresses of reliable individuals who could provide first-hand information of interest to certain Pacific Island countries.
B3. FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONNAIRE OF THE OCEANIA COMMITTEE CONFIDENTIAL AND URGENT
NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD — BENNETT 121
It must be applied for land use, for transport use, for a labor supply.
B4. QUESTIONNAIRE OF THE ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD (Use separate sheets for each Major Area)
ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD
124 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL, I07 Sub Area
APPENDIX C
SAMPLES OF THE ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD'S CIRCULAR LETTER REQUESTS
CI. SPECIFIC INFORMATION REQUEST LETTER
WDS F
C2. REQUEST FOR PHOTOGRAPHS
CONFIDENTIAL
C^. ARMY AND NAVY INSTRUCTIONS
NAVY REQUEST
ARMY REQUEST
C4. REQUEST FOR BAEDEKER S GUIDES
APPENDIX D
SAMPLES OF ARAIY AND NAVY OUTLINES FOR AREA REPORTS
DI. OUTLINE SUBMITTED BY THE MILITARY INTELLIGENCE SECTION General Outline
D2. OUTLINE SUBMITTED BY THE BUREAU OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS
APPENDIX E CONTRIBUTORS TO
34;SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA"
