Frances Densmore

Frances Densmore (1867-1957) came from a moderately well-to-do family in the small town of Red Wing, Minnesota. She attended Oberlin Conservatory and later pursued further musical training in Boston with the Harvard Professor and composer, John Knowles Paine. In 1893, Densmore read the newly published A Study of Omaha Music, by Alice Cunningham Fletcher. The work inspired Densmore. Later that year, she had her first encounter with Indian music at the 1893 Chicago world's fair. In 1895, Densmore began lecturing about Native American music. Like many scholars of the time, her lectures were based almost entirely on her reading of existing sources rather than first-hand experience with the music. It wasn't until 1903 (at the age of 36) that Densmore, along with her sister Margaret, organized her first field excursion to make notes on Dakota songs. After two failed attempts to gain financial support for her research, Densmore received a grant from the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) which helped her to purchase an Edison Phonograph machine for recording wax cylinders. Densmore was formally employed by the BAE beginning in 1907. By the time of her death, Densmore had embarked on 79 field trips to some 54 locations. Her last field trip (collecting songs of the Seminole) was carried out at the age of 87. Over her entire career, Densmore made roughly 3,500 recordings, transcribed 2,500 songs, took hundreds of photographs, collected innumerable artifacts, wrote 15 major monographs, and published 170 articles.

Densmore lacked formal training as an anthropologist. She began her research as a Victorian-era amateur who composed Western harmonies to accompany the Indian songs she collected. By modern standards her attitude toward her Indian informants was at times prudish and patronizing. But over the years, Densmore matured as a researcher: her observations became increasingly focused and her views became less influenced by Western preconceptions.

Densmore's lack of training in anthropology haunted her throughout her career; she never received the acclaim or respect that she craved from the professional community. Nevertheless, Frances Densmore assembled a cultural resource that is remarkable in both scope and volume. No other individual has contributed as much to the preservation and understanding of the music of Native Americans.

Further information regarding Frances Theresa Densmore.