Bertha “Birdie” Parker was born to be an archeologist — she was literally born in a tent on an archeological dig. But the self-taught scientist didn’t always get the credit she deserved.
Parker’s father was a folklorist, archaeologist and historian from the Seneca tribe, and her mother was a stunning actress from the Abenaki Nation who appeared in early films like D. W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation.” Parker dabbled in acting and modeling after her parents divorced and she moved with her mother to Los Angeles, but she found her way back to her first love, archaeology.
Parker’s uncle by marriage was Mark Raymond Harrington, director of the Southwest Museum in LA. He hired Parker as a secretary and cook for the museum’s excavations of Pueblo Indian sites, but Parker wasn’t satisfied with “women’s work.” She learned quickly on the job and was willing to go where other scientists feared.
In 1930, Parker made a groundbreaking discovery when she squeezed through a tight crevice at Gypsum Cave in Nevada. She found the skull of a giant sloth next to early human tools: proof that ancient Indigenous peoples had existed alongside the extinct animal.
Parker published several important papers, including ethnographic explorations of California tribes like the Maidu, Yurok, Pomo and Paiute, always careful to include the names of the Native men and women she interviewed, an unusual practice at the time. Sadly, Parker herself was often only credited as the daughter, niece or wife of her male archeologist relatives.
Later in life, Parker married “Iron Eyes Cody,” the Italian American actor who made a career playing Native American roles. Cody is (in)famous for his appearance in the 1974 “Crying Indian” ad.
