Robert Lowie was born in Vienna in 1883, but came to the United States at a young age in 1893. He graduated from the College of the City of New York (A.B.) in 1901, and from Columbia University (Ph.D.) in 1908, where he studied under Franz Boas. In 1909, he became assistant curator at the American Museum of Natural History, New York. Influenced by Clark Wissler, Franz Boas, and others, Lowie became a specialist in American Indians. In 1917, he became assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley. From 1925 until his retirement in 1950, he was professor of anthropology at Berkeley, where, along with Alfred Louis Kroeber, he was a central figure in anthropological scholarship on American Indians.

This book contains the complete The Sun Dance of the Crow Indians (1915) and The Religion of the Crow Indians (1922), two important primary sources on the Apsáalooke (Crow) people. As Paul Radin wrote in his obituary, "He was one of the best ethnographers of his day, and wherever time permitted, as in the case of the Crow, every aspect of culture was studied in detail. His Crow work and his investigation of the Plains societies are in a class by themselves. The latter study, for its completeness, its clear-cut recognition of the problems involved, and its admirable solution, has never been excelled."

Primary Sources In Native North America

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Bauu Institute's Primary Sources in Native North America Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting important sources on Native North America.