The Far North

Frederica De Laguna, October 3, 1906 - Frederica Annis Lopez de Leo de Laguna was born on October 3, 1906, the daughter of two philosophy professors. Though she was sickly as a child, her tastes were for the academic and so she was never hindered in her pursuit of knowledge. Her father, who had a strong influence in her life, regaled her with stories of his many travels and instilled in a young Frederica a thirst for different cultures. She first attended the progressive Phoebe Thorne Smith School, but was also privately tutored to supplement her schooling and to teach her French. On a family sabbatical to France, De Laguna attended the Lycee de Jeune Filles at Versailles. She received a scholarship to Bryn Mawr College and went there to study both economics and psychology, but had to drop the latter after she fell ill. At her graduation, she was awarded the prestigious Bryn Mawr European Fellowship which would allow her to continue her education abroad, travelling through Europe. But before she left for Europe, De Laguna took a year of Anthropology at Columbia University. Through that course, she discovered a career where all of her talents would be utilized, as well as an interest in all things eskimo.

In 1928, De Laguna left for Europe. She went first to England to study prehistory and then to France to join a field school at the Dordogne area. There she met other anthropologists, but returned again to London for a seminar with Bronislaw Malinowski. From there, De Laguna traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark and met the great Arctic archaeologist, Therkel Mathiassen. She took a six month trip with him to Greenland where the two discovered the unknown Inugsuk culture, which dated back to Norse times. In 1932, De Laguna returned to Columbia and wrote her dissertation on the relation of Paleolithic and Eskimo Art. She began Alaskan research in 1930 with Dr. Kaj Birket-Smith and in 1934 published "Archaeology of Cook Inlet Alaska" which was so thoroug