Underhill, Ruth, 1883-1984

Anthropologist Ruth Murray Underhill served as Supervisor of Indian Education with the U.S. Indian Service from 1942-1948 and was professor of Anthropology at the University of Denver from 1948-1952. She was born in Ossining, New York on August 22, 1884 and graduated from Vassar College in 1905 with a B.A. in comparative literature. She earned a Ph. D. in Anthropology from Columbia University in 1934 and worked for the U.S. Indian Service (later the Bureau of Indian Affairs). Underhill was involved in the Indian Visiting Program of the American Friends Service Committee, a peace and service organization affiliated with the Quaker Church. Her publications that have manuscripts in this collection include Earth people: the story of the Navaho; First came the family; Red Man's religion; Red Man's America; and Southwest Indians.

Internationally known anthropologist and expert on Native American culture. Author, teacher, lecturer. Worked with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affair. Lived with the Papago and Mohave tribes. Professor at University of Denver (Colo.) from 1948-1952.

Ruth Murray Underhill was born in Ossining, New York, an wealthy suburb outside of New York City, on August 22, 1884. She was the oldest of four children born to Abram Sutton Underhill and Anna Taber Murray. At age sixteen, she traveled with her family across Europe, which sparked her interest in languages and human culture. After graduating from Vassar College in 1905, with a degree in English, Underhill taught Latin at a boys military academy in Ossining.

Underhill became interested in social issues and became a social worker in Boston, working for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Shortly after, she worked at a settlement house in Brooklyn, where she decided that social work did not change society as much as she would have liked. Taking a break for two years, she traveled Europe, returning to New York City where she continued social work. After World War I, Underhill worked for the Red Cross in Italy, helping Italian orphans.

For a brief time, Underhill was married, but quickly divorced. By 1930, Underhill began attending Columbia University, taking various classes until she found an interest in anthropology. Under the direction of Franz Boas, the head of the department, and Ruth Benedict, a professor, Underhill studied the Papago tribe of Southern Arizona. At the same time, she assisted at the anthropology department at Barnard College. In 1934, Underhill received her PhD from Columbia.

While studying the Papago, Ruth Underhill learned their language. She was adept at learning languages, as she learned French, German, Spanish and Italian before studying the Native American tribal language of the Papago. The tribe did not have a written language, so Underhill wrote each word phonetically, and also translated the writings to English. She wrote several books from the information gathered on the tribe, which were published a few years later. After three summers studying the Papago, her fellowship funding ended and she decided to work for the federal government.

Working first as a soil conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Underhill soon began work at the Bureau of Indian Affairs as an anthropological consultant. From 1942 to 1948, she supervised Indian education. Her work at the department focused on a study of the Mohave tribe, but later included brief studies of almost every tribe in the United States. Underhill wrote pamphlets for the Bureau, as well as continuing her professional writing.

In the late 1940s, Underhill accepted a position as an anthropology professor at the University of Denver. She wrote many books, articles and other publications while teaching. After retirement in 1952, Underhill continued to write and lecture across the country. Ruth Murray Underhill died on August 15, 1984.

Source: Paton, Pat. "Ruth Underhill Remembered: A Backwards Glance into the Life of a Noted Anthropologist." Colorado Heritage, 1985 (1): 14-21.

Ruth Murray Underhill, University of Denver professor of anthropology and world-renowned anthropologist, was born in Ossining-on-the-Hudson, New York, on August 22, 1884, to an upper-middle class Quaker family. She graduated from Vassar College in 1905 with a bachelor's degree in comparative literature. After graduating she traveled to Europe, and studied at the London School of Economics. She worked for the Red Cross in Italy during World War I. After the war she found work in New York as a social worker in poor Italian communities. Fascinated by different cultures and societies, she decided to pursue graduate studies at Columbia University. There she met Ruth Benedict, and studied with Franz Boas, the father of American anthropology.

In the early 1930s, Underhill traveled to Arizona to conduct fieldwork for her doctoral program. There she met Chona, an elderly Papago woman, whose biography she wrote in 1936 -- the first biography of an American Indian woman. During this work Underhill developed a life-long affection for the Papago people and other southwestern tribes, including the Mohave and the Navajo.

After receiving her Ph.D. from Columbia in 1934, she went to work for the U.S. Indian Service (later the Bureau of Indian Affairs). She was Assistant Supervisor of Indian Education from 1934-1942, and was Supervisor from 1942-1948. Upon her retirement, at the age of 65, she moved to Denver and taught at the University of Denver until 1952. She remained active with the University and the Department of Anthropology until two years before her death, in 1984, a week before her 100th anniversary.

She was accorded many honors during her lifetime. In 1962 she received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Denver. The University of Colorado awarded her an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1965. The American Anthropological Association honored her with a Special Recognition citation in 1984. She also received a Friendship Award from the White Buffalo Council of American Indians.