In March, 1950, the University of California assumed custodianship of
an extensive collection of original and secondary data referring to
California Indian ethnology, made by Dr. C. Hart Merriam and originally
deposited with the Smithsonian Institution. Since that time the Merriam
collection has been consulted by qualified persons interested in
linguistics, ethnogeography, and other specialized subjects. Some of
the data have been published, the most substantial publication being a
book, Studies of California Indians (1955), which comprises essays and
original records written or collected by Dr. Merriam.
The selection and editing of the material for the Studies volume made
us aware of the extent of the detailed information on ethnogeography
which a thorough survey of the Merriam data would provide. We therefore
approached Dr. Leonard Carmichael, Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution, with the proposal that a qualified graduate student be
appointed as research assistant to study and prepare for publication
a discrete amount of Merriam record material, remuneration for this
work to be paid from the E. H. Harriman fund, administered by the
Smithsonian Institution for preparation and publication of Dr. Merriam's
ethnological data. This proposal was approved, and Mr. Martin Baumhoff
began his one year of investigation on September 15, 1955.
After discussion, we agreed that the area where tribal distributions,
village locations, and aboriginal population numbers were least
certainly known--and also a field where the Merriam data were fairly
abundant--was the territory of the several Athabascan tribes of
Northwestern California. Under our direction, Baumhoff patiently
assembled all the available material on these tribes, producing what is
certainly the most definitive study yet made of their distribution and
numbers.
In this monograph the importance of the Merriam data is central,
although they are compounded with information collected by other
students of the California Athabascans. We believe that the maps showing
group distribution represent the closest possible approximation to the
aboriginal situation that can now be arrived at.
The Department of Anthropology hopes to be able to continue the work of
studying and publishing the Merriam data on tribal distributions. It
takes this opportunity to express its appreciation of the coöperation of
the Smithsonian Institution in this undertaking.