Erminnie A. Smith (1836–1886)

In this paper I discuss the varied contributions of Erminnie Adele Smith (1836–1886), a linguist, ethnologist, and geologist, who has a significant but underestimated place in the history of the study of North American languages. Among others, Smith was among the first scholars to collaborate extensively with Indigenous consultants and the first woman in the history of Western linguistics who published works on grammatical gender. Such achievements point to the need to reconsider her life and work in the context of the reception of the first generation of women in American anthropology as well as the study of gender in Iroquoian languages since the mid-19th century.