The two men developed a working relationship in which Parker provided Morgan with access to Haudenosaunee ceremonies, introduced him to community members, explained kinship systems and governance structures, and translated and contextualized information that Parker could access and Morgan could not.

The result was Morgan’s 1851 book, League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois, which remains one of the foundational texts in the history of American anthropology.

The book was widely read and highly influential, establishing Morgan’s reputation as a serious student of Native American social organization and launching a scholarly career that would eventually produce his more famous 1877 work, Ancient Society.

Parker is acknowledged in League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee — Morgan referred to him as a collaborator and as someone without whose help the book could not have been written.