Born: 15 March 1838, Cuba
Died: 6 April 1923
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
From Famous Women: An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women. Written by Joseph Adelman, published 1926 by Ellis M Lonow Company:
Alice Cunningham Fletcher, an American ethnologist, born at Boston, Mass. She has become widely known in scientific circles as a worker for the American Indians, having originated the plan whereby small loans there are encouraged to buy land and build houses.
In 1883 Miss Fletcher served as United States Special Agent to allot the Omaha tribes their lands in severalty, and in 1887 she acted in the same capacity for the Winnebago and Nez Percé tribes.
Tact, sympathy, and just appreciation of the Indians enabled her to discharge all these missions successfully, and incidentally endeared her to the tribes for whom she worked.
Among her writings are: Indian Ceremonies, A Study of Omaha Indian Music, A Report on Indian Civilization and Education, published by the United States Senate, and Indian Story and Song from North America (1900), a unique collection of native music gathered from Omaha, Pawnee, and other Western tribes, and accompanied by translations and explanatory texts, which has already borne fruit by suggestion American compositions.