Greenville Goodwin

Grenville Goodwin, born Greenville Goodwin (1907–1940), is best known for his participant-observer ethnology work among the Western Apache in the 1930s in the American Southwest. Largely self-taught as an anthropologist, he lived among the Apache for nearly a decade, and learned their stories and rituals. His monograph The Social Organization of the Western Apache was considered a major contribution to American ethnology. It was published in 1941 after his death at age 32, when his promising career was cut short.

Based on his studies, Goodwin classified the Western Apache into five groups, but some of these divisions have been disputed by other anthropologists and linguists. Researchers have generally agreed on three major groups: the White Mountain, San Carlos and Tonto Apache peoples (the latter are also known as Dilzhe'e Apache), with sub-groupings of bands below this classification.

Goodwin was born in Southampton, New York to wealthy parents. He contracted tuberculosis when young (when there was no cure) and was sent to the Mesa Ranch School in Arizona for its dry climate, believed to be more healthful. This was the start of his long relationship with and interest in the Southwest. The dean, Byron Cummings, suggested that he study at the University of Arizona.

He attended classes at Arizona, but found that he was not interested in earning a degree. Goodwin moved progressively to live for the next decade near Apache communities at Bylas, Fort Apache, Canyon Day, and Cibecue. He talked extensively to the people, especially the elders, and they began to accept his attention. He studied informally and was largely self-taught, although he did some graduate work at the University of Chicago in 1939, when he completed his monograph on the social organization of the Western Apache.

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