Dusenberry, Verne, 1906-1966

James Verne Dusenberry was born in Corning, Iowa, 7 Apr. 1906, and came to Montana as a small child. He received a bachelor's degree at Montana State College, Bozeman, in 1927; a master's at Missoula in 1956 and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Stockholm in 1962. He encountered the Pend d'Oreille and Flathead Indians as a businessman in 1935 in western Montana and had much personal contact with them. He later moved to Glendive, Mont., where he taught English at Dawson Junior College and where he was dean from 1945 to 1947. He was associated with the university system for fifteen years, first becoming an English instructor at MSC where he introduced courses in western Indian literature. He also served as Indian Specialist with the Cooperative Extension Service at the college. From 1951 to 1953 he was Visiting Professor of English at Northern Montana College in Havre. It was there he began compiling data on the little known Cree and Chippewa people on the nearby Rocky Boy's Reservation. He then returned to MSC but continued active research and efforts for the Association for American Indian Affairs. He was an early officer of the Montana Institute of Arts in Helena, and he taught anthropology at Missoula until securing a position as director of the Indian Studies Institute of the Glenbow Foundation, Calgary, Alta. Dusenberry died on 16 Dec. 1966.

From the description of Verne Dusenberry papers, ca. 1885-1966. (Montana State University Bozeman Library). WorldCat record id: 70924610

English professor and Indian Specialist at Montana State College; early officer of MIA.

From the description of Verne Dusenberry papers, 1927-1966. (Montana State University Bozeman Library). WorldCat record id: 42065518

James Verne Dusenberry was born in Corning, Iowa, April 7, 1906, and came to Montana as a small child. He received a Bachelor's Degree at Montana State College, Bozeman, in 1927; a Master's at Missoula in 1956 and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Stockholm in 1962. He encountered the Pend d'Oreille and Flathead Indians as a businessman in 1935 in western Montana and had much personal contact with them. He later moved to Glendive, Montana where he taught English at Dawson Junior College, where he became dean from 1945-1947. He was associated with the University System for 15 years first becoming an English instructor at MSC where he introduced courses in western Indian literature. He also served as Indian Specialist with the Cooperative Extension Service at the college. From 1951-1953 he was Visiting Professor of English at Northern Montana College in Havre. It was there he began compiling data on the little known Cree and Chippewa people on the nearby Rocky Boy's Reservation. He then returned to MSC but continued active research and efforts for the Association for American Indian Affairs. His master's thesis was based on extensive field work on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and his Ph.D. was devoted to the Montana Cree. He was an early officer of the Montana Institute of Arts in Helena, and he taught anthropology as an associate professor at Missoula until securing a position as director of the Indian Studies Institute of the Glenbow Foundation, Calgary, Alberta. Cancer took his life on December 16, 1966.

Dusenberry has been publicly acclaimed as a scholar of and friend to Northern Rocky Mountain/Plains Indians with a special interest in Indian religion and folklore. He is also recognized for being instrumental in the establishment of the campus museum now known as the Museum of the Rockies and had a keen interest in developing the Indian materials there. He was recognized posthumously in the first Museum of the Rockies Occasional Paper, "Lifeways of Intermontane and Plains Montana Indians." His numerous articles appeared in Ethnos, the Journal of American Folklore, the Christian Century, Nation, and the Montana Magazine of Western History . His doctoral thesis, "The Montana Cree, a Study in Religious Persistence," stands as a major study in Indian culture. It was published in Sweden. He was adopted into the Flathead tribe in 1937 and was named to the Northern Cheyenne Council of Forty circa 1950's.

From the guide to the Verne Dusenberry Papers, circa 1885-1966, (Montana State University-Bozeman Library, Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections)