Beynon, William, 1888-1958

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1888

Death 1958

Biographical notes:

Born to a Welsh father and Niska mother of high status, William Beynon was raised in Victoria, B.C., speaking both Niska and English. A member of the Wolf (Laxgibu) phratry, Beynon was schooled in some of the traditional responsibilities of a hereditary Tsimshian chief, however he later wrote that when he first traveled to Prince Rupert in 1914 to perform rites associated with the funeral of his maternal uncle, a chief of the wolf phratry, he felt that he was insufficiently knowledgeable about the rituals and obligations of being a chief. Only reluctantly was he persuaded to accept the title he inherited from his uncle, adopting his uncle's name, Gusgain. His status was no doubt enhanced among the coastal Tshimshian by his marriage to a niece of Tsibase, chief of Kitkatla.

During C. Marius Barbeau's first season in the field, 1915, Beynon signed on as a field assistant and translator, beginning what would become a forty year association with anthropologists and linguists. Through Barbeau, he became familiar with Viola Garfield and Edward Sapir, and in 1936, began an intense association with Franz Boas. Working for canneries in the summer months, Beynon avidly pursued ethnographic work at other times of the year, often working for more than one client at a time and, according to Barbeau, occasionally selling material more than once. Following in the shoes of Henry W. Tate and George Hunt, Beynon organized expeditions to both coastal and inland Tsimshian villages, soliciting informants and recording, translating, and interpreting (in more than one sense) texts, rituals, and material culture. Speaking both Nass and Gitksan dialects, he was as productive as he was valuable in describing Tsimshian society, describing secret (and illegal) potlatch ceremonies, and, amassing a remarkable trove of narratives, many of which have yet to be published.

From the guide to the William Beynon Papers, Bulk, 1933-1937, 1933-1969, (American Philosophical Society)