Frank Gouldsmith Speck (1881–1950) was an influential American anthropologist and educator who dedicated his career to the study of Indigenous cultures in North America. Serving as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Speck established himself as a key academic figure in the documentation and preservation of Native American and First Nations histories, languages, and traditions.
Speck's scholarly specialization lay primarily with the Algonquian and Iroquoian peoples. His extensive research focused on the Eastern Woodland Native Americans within the United States, as well as the First Nations peoples inhabiting the eastern boreal regions of Canada. Through his academic position and fieldwork, he sought to understand and record the complex cultural landscapes of these diverse communities.
As an author and researcher, Speck's contributions to the field of anthropology helped shape the academic understanding of northeastern Indigenous populations. His work remains a significant point of reference for studies concerning the cultural heritage and historical geography of the Algonquian and Iroquoian linguistic families across North America.
