Alice Cunningham Fletcher

Alice Fletcher was both an ethnomusicologist and a women's rights activist. She began studying archaeology at the suggestion of Fredric Putman of the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. He suggested it to her while she was lecturing on American history because he wanted her to know more about Native Americans in order to portray them accurately in her lectures. She quickly became interested in anthropology and did fieldwork with the Omaha, and to a lesser extent, with the Sioux, Winnebago, Nez Perce and Alaska. She transcribed hundreds of plains Indians' songs.

Alice Fletcher organized, joined, and presided over numerous professional organizations. She belonged to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Anthropological Association, and the American Folklore Society. She worked with the Peabody Museum of Harvard and was the first woman to be recognized as a fellow at Harvard University. She was also a consultant to the U.S. government and lobbied for Native American rights. She was appointed by Congress to oversee the allotment process of lands to Omaha, Nez Perce, and Winnebago Indians. The land was allotted to people, not to the tribe as she had fought for. Also she worked to make Native Americans citizens, with the right to an education. She also lobbied for protection of Indian ruins. The bill she pushed for was unsuccessful but paved the way for a future bill that protected Indian ruins.

Alice Fletcher influenced the growth of the disciplines of anthropology and archaeology through her efforts to create an American school of study through the Archaeological Institute of America. Her goals were to train students in the profession of archaeology, to engage in anthropological research on the American continent, and to preserve and study the unique cultural heritage of the Southwest.

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