La Mont West

He attended Indiana University as a PhD candidate, majoring in anthropology, and became a protégé of Charles F. Voegelin, his doctoral supervisor, and Alfred L. Kroeber,[3] who were concerned with the neglect suffered by the topic since the late 19th century.

[8] Far from dying out, he discovered that the sign language had expanded its geographic horizons by spreading up into Canada from British Columbia through Manitoba, into areas where it had formerly been unknown.

He spun out the grant to enable him to conduct research for a full two years, by leading a spartan life, skipping meals and living rough as he traveled virtually everywhere over the Australian continent.

[12] He spent time at the Lockhart River Mission, Queensland, where he managed to film the local initiation ceremony (bora).

[13] West is reputedly reclusive, though most of the materials and artifacts he collected were, after he was contacted by Bruce Rigsby, donated to the National Museum of Australia Canberra.