Myron Eells 1843-1907


The son of pioneer missionaries Cushing and Myra Eells, Myron Eells was a Congregationalist minister and noted early ethnographer. Born at the Tshimakain Mission, he was one of the first white children born in the region. He spent much of his adult life working as a missionary on the Skokomish Reservation near Hood Canal, where he extensively documented the languages, customs, and folklore of the Twana and Klallam peoples. He amassed a massive collection of Indigenous artifacts for the Smithsonian Institution and Whitman College, and authored numerous foundational texts that permanently shaped the anthropological record of the Coast Salish tribes.

 

Biographical Overview

  • Lived from 1843 to 1907
  • Born: Oct 25, 1843, Tshimakain, Washington Territory
  • Died: Jan 4, 1907, Skokomish Reservation, Washington

 

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Bibliography for Myron Eells

A listing of books related by subject

The Indians of Puget Sound the notebooks of Myron Eells by Myron Eells, George Pierre Castile

The Indians of Puget Sound: The Notebooks of Myron Eells by late 19th-century missionary Myron Eells, edited and contextualized by anthropologist George Pierre Castile, is a major 1985 ethnographic and historical volume published by the University of Washington Press in cooperation with Whitman College. The book rescues from obscurity the massive, previously unpublished manuscripts compiled by Eells during his three decades (1874–1907) living and working on the Skokomish Reservation. It provides an exhaustive record of the material culture, social organization, folklore, and daily realities of the Coast Salish peoples, particularly the Twana (Skokomish) and Klallam tribes. While the original observations are inevitably colored by Eells's paternalistic and assimilationist worldview, Castile's careful editing frames the work as a vital historical artifact. Ultimately, it serves as an indispensable, primary-source resource for anthropologists, regional historians, and tribal descendants seeking a deeply detailed window into Puget Sound Indigenous life during an era of profound cultural disruption and transition.

xix, 470 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 27 cm

Non-circulating [ 1 ]

 

 

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Last updated: 2026-10-28