The seventeen papers on Northern Athapaskan research in ethnology, linguistics, and archaeology published in these two volumes were presented at the National Museum of Man Northern Athapaskan Conference in March 1971. The papers are prefaced by a short introduction that outlines the rationale and accomplishments of the Conference.
The seventeen papers on Northern Athapaskan research in ethnology, linguistics, and archaeology published in these two volumes were presented at the National Museum of Man Northern Athapaskan Conference in March 1971. The papers are prefaced by a short introduction that outlines the rationale and accomplishments of the Conference.
This book explores the conceptual basis for the events and processes in the prehistory of the Athapaskans, one of the most wide-spread peoples in western North America. The author bases his research on the premise that social structure is not passively dependent on the technological and economic bases of society, and argues that, ultimately, kinshi
The Northern Athabascan peoples of the Alaskan interior and the Yukon have survived centuries of contact and attempted domination by outsiders. Their lives today are rich in meaning and tradition yet are also complicated by numerous challenges such as poverty, alcoholism, domestic violence, suicide, and troubled leadership. Combining scholarly analysis, first-person accounts, and her own experiences and insights as a Koyukon Athabascan artist and anthropologist, Phyllis Ann Fast illuminates the modern Athabascan world. Her conversations with Athabascan women offer revealing glimpses of their personal lives and a probing assessment of their professional opportunities and limitations. Also showcased is the crucial but ambiguous role of Athabascan leaders, who are needed to champion reform and social healing but are often undermined by conflicting notions of decision making, personhood, and leadership in Athabascan society. A troubling observation of this study is the vast extent to which addiction—manifested as both substance abuse and economic dependency—pervades Northern Athabascan society and threatens to curtail its cohesion and aspirations. But Northern Athabascans are far from victims. As Fast discovers, Northern Athabascan men and women are well aware of these widespread social problems, and many have undertaken initiatives to deal with and heal them. Rigorous and compassionate, Northern Athabascan Survival provides an uncompromising view of a remarkable and troubled world.
This monograph consists of word and affix-lists, as well as grammatical observations, concerning the language of the Southern Labrador Inuit from 1694 to 1785. They were collected from written texts of this period and show that the language of these eighteenth century Inuit is almost identical with that of their contemporaries in the Eastern Canadian Arctic./Ce travail présente sous forme de listes de mots et d’affixes ainsi que de remarques grammaticales les données linguistiques continues dans les textes d’époque portant sur les Inuits du Labrador méridional, de 1694 à 1785. Il nous permet de constater que la langue inuit du18e siècle était, à peu de choses près, semblable à celle qui est parlée aujourd’hui dans l’Arctique oriental canadien.
First Peoples in Canada provides an overview of all the Aboriginal groups in Canada. Incorporating the latest research in anthropology, archaeology, ethnography and history, this new edition describes traditional ways of life, traces cultural changes that resulted from contacts with the Europeans, and examines the controversial issues of land claims and self-government that now affect Aboriginal societies. Most importantly, this generously illustrated edition incorporates a Nativist perspective in the analysis of Aboriginal cultures.
What is it like living among and learning about the cultural realities of other people for the first time? Northern Passage uses the motif of apprenticeship to reveal the humbling, childlike quest of the novice ethnographer, on the one hand, and the trials of an active participant learning the intricacies of bush life and livelihood from subarctic Indian hunting partners and teachers, on the other hand. In the process, Jarvenpas reflexive narrative presents a compelling vision of northern Dene or Athapaskan society. The Han people of the Yukon Territory and eastern Alaska and the Chipewyan of northern Saskatchewan emerge as vividly drawn actors in a cultural landscape distinctly influenced by gold miners, fur traders, missionaries, conservation officers, and other post-colonial agents. This candid but sensitive treatment deals with issues such as trapping economies, knowledge of the environment, dreaming and hunting power, permission and informed consent, language learning, accusations of spying, alcohol use, economic development, partnerships, note-taking, and the pros and cons of active participation. Jarvenpas early field experiences unfold as a primer on false leads, setbacks and revealing discoveries building to a suspenseful aftershock.
Often remembered for its humanitarian platform and its pioneering social programs, Saskatchewan’s Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) wrought a much less scrutinized legacy in the northern regions of the province during the twenty years it governed. Until the 1940s churches, fur traders, and other wealthy outsiders held uncontested control over Saskatchewan’s northern region. Following its rise to power in 1944, the CCF undertook aggressive efforts to unseat these traditional powers and to install a new socialist economy and society in largely Aboriginal northern communities. The next two decades brought major changes to the region as well-meaning government planners grossly misjudged the challenges that confronted the north and failed to implement programs that would meet northern needs. As the CCF’s efforts to modernize and assimilate northern people met with frustration, it was the northern people themselves that inevitably suffered from the fallout of this failure. In an elegantly written history that documents the colonial relationship between the CCF and the Saskatchewan north, David M. Quiring draws on extensive archival research and oral history to offer a fresh look at the CCF era. This examination will find a welcome audience among historians of the north, Aboriginal scholars, and general readers.
An examination of the influence of bilateral kinship principles on the social organization of the Sahtúgot’ine (Bear Lake People), a Northeastern Athapaskan group. The recognition that factors other than kinship and marriage are also pertinent to an understanding of Sahtúgot’ine social organization has ramifications with respect to traditional Northeastern Athapaskan bands.
This volume makes available the full range of the American/Canadian musical experience, covering-for the first time in print-all major regions, ethnic groups, and traditional and popular contexts. From musical comedy to world beat, from the songs of the Arctic to rap and house music, from Hispanic Texas to the Chinese communities of Vancouver, the coverage captures the rich diversity and continuities of the vibrant music we hear around us. Special attention is paid to recent immigrant groups, to Native American traditions, and to such socio-musical topics as class, race, gender, religion, government policy, media, and technology.
