Between 1930-1933, anthropologist George Edward Woodbury, Curator of the State Historical Society of Colorado, was researching potential connections between Indigenous communities to study human variation and support early anthropological theories around the peopling of North America. To build this collection of hair samples, Woodbury reached out to other anthropologists and archaeologists, as well as administrators at a wide variety of U.S. Indian reservations, U.S. Indian boarding schools, and Canadian hospitals as well as missionaries worldwide. He collected approximately 1,500 samples from Asia, Central America, North America, Oceania, and South America. The Colorado State Museum published a short paper by Woodbury and his wife, Edna Woodbury, about this work in 1932. In 1935, Woodbury came to Harvard University to serve as a lecturer and research fellow in anthropology. Woodbury brought the collection with him. In 1938, Woodbury left Harvard and the discipline of anthropology. The collection of hair samples remained at the Peabody.
As part of the Peabody's commitment to ethical stewardship, we strive to fulfill our responsibility to Indigenous communities around the world. Addressing the Woodbury Collection, and all aspects of its traumatic history at Indian boarding schools and in the collection at the museum, is part of that responsibility.
As one of the oldest museums of anthropology, the history of the Peabody Museum is intricately linked to legacies of settler colonialism and imperialism both in the United States and around the globe. The Peabody was founded on the practice of collecting the cultural heritage of diverse communities in ways that were tied directly to nation-building: Harvard-funded exploration and research in the name of anthropological practice was the mechanism by which cultural heritage was removed from origin communities.
We must now undertake the critical work of interrogating the Peabody's complex history, honestly reflecting on past practices, so that we may better partner with origin and stakeholder communities openly and transparently. As an institution, the Peabody must recognize the far-ranging and long-term nature of this work, which has impacted nearly every aspect of our practice from field collection and documentation to museum display and interpretation.
If you are a representative of a Tribal Nation or potentially a lineal descendant looking for the historical documentation about this collection, please email us at pmreturns@fas.harvard.edu.
With permission from History Colorado, we are sharing the PDF of Woodburys' 1932 article