Illustration of the Method of Recording Indian Languages From the First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution

"Illustration of the Method of Recording Indian Languages" by James Owen Dorsey documents the techniques used to record Native American languages in the late 1800s, giving special attention to the Omaha and Dakota languages by presenting myths, descriptive accounts, translations, and linguistic analyses; for example, the Omaha myth "How the Rabbit Caught the Sun in a Trap" tells of bravery, caution, and intelligence as the Rabbit interacts with the Sun, and the Dakota fable “A Dog’s Revenge” deals with retribution and unity among animals, both of which provide cultural context.

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