Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
Loading
MO![]()
author
Morris Edward Opler
Morris Edward Opler (1907-1996) was an American anthropologist and advocate of Japanese American civil rights. His chief anthropological contribution was in the ethnography of Sout...view moreMorris Edward Opler (1907-1996) was an American anthropologist and advocate of Japanese American civil rights. His chief anthropological contribution was in the ethnography of Southern Athabaskan peoples, i.e. the Navajo and Apache, such as the Chiricahua, Mescalero, Lipan, and Jicarilla.
Born on May 3, 1907 in Buffalo, New York, Opler earned his Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree from the University of Buffalo, and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1933. He simultaneously began a path of impactful anthropological fieldwork and research among the Apache people, and worked actively in his field for almost 50 years.
His anthropological fieldwork began in 1931, when he began doing fieldwork in New Mexico among the Mescalero Apache tribe. He had a lifelong interest in the indigenous people of western America, specifically the Apache, and consistently focused his studies on their lifestyles and practices. In addition to his anthropological studies, Opler entered the world of academia, working as a professor for many years, beginning in 1937, when he was employed at Reed College. This was followed by positions at Claremont College, Harvard University, Cornell University, and finally, at the University of Oklahoma, after he had retired from Cornell University in 1969. Interspersed between these academic positions, Opler also worked for the Office of War Information (1943-1946) and at the Manzanar War Relocation Center during WWII. After retiring a second time, this time from the University of Oklahoma in 1977, he dedicated his time to writing and publishing articles relating to the conditions of Apache life.
Opler died on May 13, 1996, aged 89.view less
Books by Morris Edward Opler
Myths and Tales of the Chiricahua Apache Indians An Apache Life-Way: The Economic, Social, and Religious Institutions of the Chiricahua Indians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMyths and Legends of the Lipan Apache Indians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings