in 1958 and a Ph.D. in 1962 from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was influenced by two Americanist anthropologists with strong interests in psychology, Anthony F. C. Wallace and A. Irving Hallowell.
In 1965 he moved to the University of Chicago, where he continued to teach in the Department of Anthropology until his death.
He also testified extensively before congressional committees on federal recognition of Indian tribes such as the Lumbee.
In 2006 a volume was published in his honor (New Perspectives on Native North America; see sources), consisting of contributions from many of his former students, including Jeffrey D. Anderson, Mary Druke Becker, Margaret Bender, Robert A. Brightman, Thomas Buckley, Raymond A. Bucko, Raymond J. DeMallie, David Dinwoodie, Frederic W. Gleach, Michael E. Harkin, Joseph C. Jastrzembski, Sergei A. Kan, Robert E. Moore, Larry Nesper, Jean O'Brien, Pauline Turner Strong, Greg Urban, and Barrik Van Winkle.
The volume also contains articles by Regna Darnell, Jennifer S. H. Brown, and Peter Nabokov.