Anthropologica (Old Series) 1963
Balikci, Asen & Ronald Cohen. Community Patterning in Two Northern Trading Posts. Anthropologica, 1963. V(1):33-46.
This article examines the concept of community patterning in the context of how two northern societies are socially, politically and economically organized. This article discusses community patterning between two northern trading posts, namely Povungnituk Eskimo and Athapascan speaking “Indian” societies. Balikci and Cohen discuss the organization of social, economic and political interrelationships within the areas of Hudson’s Bay (Povungnituk) and Fort Good Hope (Athapascan), based on fieldwork experience. The trading post, specifically, is what led to the development of community patterning, prior to the introduction of soapstone carving by the Povungnituk Eskimos and the establishment of the wage earning process at Fort Good Hope.
In 1953, the art of carving soapstone was introduced in the region of Povurniturmiut. Balikci and Cohen discuss how carving not only became the primary activity and served as a substantial source of income to the community but also carving provided a vast increase in one’s income that would later benefit the society through the development of camp accounts at the trading post. The camp account system permitted all of the earnings to go back to the trading post where the authoritative leader would disperse the money for community use.
In the early twentieth century of Fort Good Hope existed subdivisions of groups in relevance to employment, which in turn created population scattering. However, as Balikci and Cohen note, these community decisions were, although unplanned, weighted heavily by white local residents. In turn, it was compulsory that the “Indians” preserve a low level of integration. Therefore, with no input or participation from the Athapascan Indians, the society would remain a trading center or trading post.
CLARITY: 3
ALANA MORAN York University (Maggie MacDonald).
Chance, Norman A. and John Trudeau. Social Organization, Acculturation, and Integration Among the Eskimo and the Cree: A Comparative Study. Anthropologica, 1963. V(1):47-56.
This article discusses the dramatic affects that Line radar sites had on two Indian and Eskimo groups as they took over their settlements. The two indigenous units examined were the North Alaskan Eskimo village of the Kaktovik, and the Northern Ontario Settlement of the Winisk. In the summer of 1958 Chance and Trudeau began their analysis by first looking at the traditional forms of communication and order the two groups presented before the radar sites. Secondly, they researched the sort and degree of intercultural associations that occurred between the site workforce and the local residents. They examined both native groups, analysing in great detail their culture and traditions and how the each handled the effects of the radar sites. Through the detailed study of both native groups they completed a comparative analysis that explained the different affects each group experienced as a result of their vast life transformation.
Chance and Trudeau found four main aspects that resulted in different experiences both entailed. Primarily, the first distinction was how the Eskimos were very self sufficient with more of an intra-family notion, in which resulted very little preparation for the emergence of community. The Cree on the other hand, were more of an inter-family, which represented cohesion and efficient leadership that lead to a better adjustment to a new community. The second difference among the native units was how they interacted with the white people. The Eskimo-white contacts were positive connections that consisted of mutual respect for one another, in which apparent boundaries were abided by. The Cree then again, experienced more of a discriminatory atmosphere that resulted in a loss of respect for each other. The third discrepancy was the issue of waged-waged labour. The Eskimo people were introduced to a new economic system that paid them very well, and therefore benefited significantly. The Cree’s economic situation was inhibited in 1957 when the radar sites were completed. This led to a decrease in jobs, which affected their income dramatically. The last factor that involved both indigenous groups was age. The Eskimo people were given the opportunity for men eighteen and older to continue to participate in maintenance jobs after the radar sites were completed. In contrast, the Cree people experienced many elder native members losing their jobs, in which younger members took over against their parent’s wishes. This led to conflicts between the groups and further more, separation within the Cree unit.
Overall, this article is a well organized and framed study of two native groups and the dominant impacts following the radar lines over taking their settlements. It demonstrates a clear comparative study of the “Cree” and the “Eskimo” groups, whereby a distinct conclusion revealed. Chance and Trudeau concluded that the Eskimo people adapted better to the traumatic change in their culture, political, and economic systems, while the Cree suffered from many negative disturbances within their society.
CLARITY: 5
JENNIFER VAN BARNEVELD York University (Maggie MacDonald).
Freilich, Morris. Scientific Possibilities in Iroquoian Studies: An example of Mohawks Past and Present. Anthropologica, 1963. 5(2): 171-186.
Morris Freilich has attempted to place anthropology in the same field as the physical sciences, by using the scientific method and mathematical equations to explain changes in culture. He believes this is necessary, in order to create general principles in anthropology, which are currently absent within the discipline. By establishing a hypothesis, followed by observation and controlling variables, he believes he can determine the specific reasons why culture changes. Freilich uses Mohawk culture for his experiment. He creates a framework for testing which he refers to as cultural ecology. He defines cultural ecology as “the extent to which the behavior patterns entailed in exploiting the environment affect other aspects of culture”.
Freilich’s hypothesis states that “cultural ecology is functionally related to culture, and a change in the cultural ecology of a group tends to lead to a culture change”. After studying the modern Mohawk in New York City and comparing their present lifestyle to that of two hundred years ago, he realizes that not all changes in culture were due to changes in the natural environment. While some aspects of culture did change, such as gender roles and modes of agriculture, most did not. For this reason, the experiment failed. Many changes in Mohawk culture were the result of social relations, not the environment. Freilich refers to these changes as “inter-cultural adjustment”. Changes in the social environment included political organization, acknowledgement of kinship blood lines and other factors.
Freilich accomplished his goal of creating general principles for anthropology, which remain ambiguous and unspecific. (The principle states, “Cultural ecology and intercultural adjustment are functionally related to culture.”) He argues that any changes in the cultural ecology or intercultural adjustment will result in a parallel change in culture. Societies with similar cultural ecology and cultural adjustment will undergo similar changes in culture.
Freilich’s basic concern is that anthropology must develop general principles similar to those of the physical sciences. He believes that cross-cultural examination would profit from an experimental method within a specific framework as described above. As the experiment concluded, general principles arose, yet a new concern was born: The need for more precise terminology.
CLARITY: 1
SCOTT CLARKE York University (Maggie MacDonald).
Fried, Jacob. White-Dominant Settlements in the Canadian Northwest Territories. Anthropologica, 1963. 5(1): 57-68.
Fried’s objective was to look at the communities that were emerging in the Canadian North as a result of the latest development program. This new program brought a large government and military presence, as well as construction and transportation companies. Where the agencies have moved into older settlements they have “overrun” them, bringing a large presence of professionals from southern Canada, complicating the existing demographic of northern whites, Métis, and Natives. New settlements became sites of large Native influx. Thus there was no longer a “typical” northern community. The major theme of the article was the resulting “complex problems of community integration”, and the social stratification that is developing as a result.
Settlements in the northern frontier are characterized by variety, ranging from modern hi-tech stations with southern style suburbias, to tent cities. Social organization is similarly varied, from highly organized to amorphous. The dominant political force in each settlement was a government agency or private business, with the existing population politically inert. A similar dichotomy is found in housing.
Fried divides the population into 3 heterogeneous groups and analyzes each: (1) civil servants and private company-sponsored southern Canadians, (2) non-government whites, and (3) Native groups. He then analyzes inter-group relations, specifically (1) civil servants and local white residents, (2) married and single people, (3) white and Native groups, and (4) more and less acculturated Natives.
Fried’s analysis leads him to a number of conclusions. (1) All northern settlements are composites of the three population groups; (2) the community structure is a balance of modern highly organized society, and traditional amorphous frontier society; (3) integration between the population segments is problematic because of marked disparities in material resources between them. He also points to the formation of a new kind of Métis as a result of Natives being exposed to new cultural influences. He suggests that to avoid the (continued) marginalization of Natives two conditions must change: (1) social structures which make static divisions between populations groups, and (2) economic structures which fill peripheral roles with Natives, in an economy based on government aid rather than local resources.
CLARITY: 5
IAN MOORES York University (Maggie MacDonald).
Helm, June and David Damas. The Contact-Traditional All-Native Community of the Canadian North: The Upper Mackenzie “Bush” Athapaskans and the Igluligmiut. Anthropologica, 1963. V(1):9-22.
The article examines the all-native community of the contact-traditional horizon in the Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic, specifically the Upper Mackenzie Dene (Slavey and Dogrib), and the Igluligmiut of Melville Peninsula and Baffin Island. The particular focus of the paper is to determine the effects of contact with the broader Euro-Canadian culture at present and to extrapolate what the future might hold for these communities.
The authors define “all-native community” as having no white persons or institutions within them but points out that many such communities are focused around white institutions in the area, commonly a “Point of Trade”. “Contact-traditional horizon” is defined as that period in which permanent dwellings became a characteristic of all-native communities.
The authors state that at the time of fieldwork government and religious institutions of Euro-Canadian society had little impact on these communities, although religion had some influence. The government had imposed a “chief” and “council” system on the Athapaskan community but this system had not in reality replaced consensus decision making.
The article compares social and political systems and kinship structures of the two communities and determines that kinship in particular will continue to be important as the communities come into further contact with Euro-Canadian society. Some comparisons are drawn with other “Eskimo” and native communities to make ethnographic inferences about the possible future of these communities.
The article suggests that contact with white technologies have impacted negatively on the communities’ ability to subsist and this may result in movement to areas that can support a sea mammal based economy or increased reliance on government funding and wage labour which will be driven by the interest of Euro-Canadian society rather than those of the communities themselves.
CLARITY: 4
MARTHA FRANCIS York University (Margaret MacDonald).
Hughes, Charles C. Observations on Community Change in the North: An Attempt at Summary. Anthropologica, 1963. V(1): 69-80.
What Hughes suggests is that underlying both control strategies is the desire to become more in control of one’s surroundings. Man is in constant struggle to advance, and it is this struggle, this desire that has enabled change in the Northern Native communities. Through this article Charles Hughes attempts to summarize Northern Native community change within the behavioural environment, focusing mainly on the transition towards permanent and stable settlement patterns. With examples, he outlines reasons for this change, drawing much attention to motivational and adaptive pressures leading to a need or desire for more permanent residency.
In terms of motivation, population concentration has many underlying factors stemming from contact with an outside or reference culture. Such contact stimulates appraisal of one’s own culture and triggers inquiry of the reference culture. Money, Hughes proposes is the main motivational factor leading to community change. With the depletion of natural resources, Northern Native populations found it necessary to move to population centres where, schools, medicine, general assistance and the prospect of selling one’s labour could be acquired.
Hughes also takes an adaptive approach when looking at community change by exemplifying the difference between control techniques of the Northern Native and of the outside culture. The technique of the north, Hughes names reactive control strategies that are marked by the response to situations the environment creates. This technique entails a lack of control over one’s surroundings and depends highly on the quantity and type of resources the environment provides. The outside culture uses pre-active control strategies exemplifying power and control over one’s surroundings bringing about a desired environmental setting.
Through contact with the outside culture, the Northern Native populations have attempted to adapt to this technique. The technology of the outside culture has allowed a movement away from the basic problem of survival to that of more complex goal selection. However, the inexperience of the Northern Natives with such technology has resulted in its misuse.
CLARITY: 3
TERESA WHALEY York University (Maggie MacDonald).
Hughes, Everett C. The Natural History of a Research Project: French Canada. Anthropologica, 1963. 5(2): 225-240.
Hughes examines the cause and effect of urbanization and industrialization in the diverse regions of Quebec. The Natural History of a Research Project: French Canada discusses the struggles both French and English Canadian faces in order to adapt to the process of industrialization.
Hughes uncovers community that is industrialized by the “outsider” faces changes not only in the labor force but also in institutions, such as local government, religious organizations, charities and family. He also speaks of changes in leadership, and for instance the introduction of secular and technological leaders. He stressed these changes is shown in the unemployment rate and the type of occupations French and English Canadian has. For example, Hughes learns that French (and Jewish) lawyers practice in small firms, while the majority English lawyers would assemble together in few, but large, firms. To this finding Hughes stated that, “… to say French preferred certain occupation and the English preferred others…” would undoubtedly be wrong. The introduction of industrialization to a region that has “clearly marked off from each other” has forced French Canadian and English Canadian to reexamined their identities as part of an ethnic group.
Hughes also draws example from the Rhine case, emphasizing that forced adaptation on one ethnic minority, sometimes with resistance, by the majority population is not uncommon. Regrettably Hughes felt that he did not gather enough case material that may have helped him better understand the situation. Hughes believed that his presence as an outsider, may have contribute to some of the difficulties he faced will researching in Montreal. For instance drawing little attention by from English students in the region and thus argues that the study should be pick up by French Canada, those who he felt will genuinely be effect by these changes bought by industrialization.
CLARITY: 3
SOPHATH MAO York University (Maggie MacDonald).
Kupferer, Harriet J. Cherokee Change: A Departure from Lineal Models of Acculturation. Anthropologica, 1963. 5 (2): 186-198.
Harriet J. Kupferers article Cherokee Change: A Departure from Lineal Models of Acculturation deals with social differences among the North American Cherokee. The general assumptions of the article are that the homogenous “white” culture is slowly changing and influencing the native Cherokee people. This article shows three different types of assimilations: The ‘Traditional Conservative’, the ‘Modern Indian’ and the ‘Progressive White Indian’. All 3 variations of how the Indians view themselves are dealt with in depth and all interact with each other. The author is trying to show us that values and orientations of a culture do change based upon environment.
The ‘Traditional Conservative” Indian model of identity tries to maintain a close kinship with fellow Cherokees, doing so results in following the Harmony Ethic. They contend with a more traditional way of life, using Cherokee curers and the traditional language of their ancestors. Conservative Cherokees are usually of full-blood status. With very little contact with Caucasians, the Conservative Indians never use direct requests with people outside of their tribe. Instead there is use of a go-between; this removes the friction from any tense direct circumstances.
The Progressive Cherokee is thought of as a “white Indian” by the Traditional Conservative Indian. Most often they are of mixed heritage, and do not follow the traditional teachings of the Cherokee lifestyle. The Progressive Cherokee adapts bourgeoisie values, has a successful job and usually owns property. They enjoy direct encounters and look upon interaction with Caucasians as a symbol of status. They embrace the self reliance and discipline of the status that they have established in the corporate world. In the realm between Conservative and Progressive there is a class called the “Modern Cherokee” also known as the ‘Rural Whites”. This class of Cherokee is economically depressed. They usually have had no education or economic resources to support the progressive lifestyle. They tend to still be accepted by the Conservative Cherokee, but are usually looking for acceptance and recognition of the Progressive Cherokee. It is shown in this article that acculturation will involve a shift from the Traditional Indian culture to a White economically money driven socially stratified class system. Eventually, this results in a drastic change in so called “traditional” cultures with an eventually extinction of anything conservative. Instead a white dominated society envelopes and infiltrates a traditional lifestyle and distinct past in North American Cherokee societies.
CLARITY: 3
SUZANNE GRONDIN York University (Maggie MacDonald).
Langston, Wann & Lawrence, Oschinksky. Notes on Taber “Early Man” Site Anthropologica, 1963. 5(2):147-150.
This article investigates the possible ‘early man’ site near Taber Alberta. Authors Langston and Oschinsky investigate the archaeological significance of the Taber site by examining the remains of a newborn human skeleton found sixty-five feet below the prairie surface. They conclude, after site analysis, that the specimen was not intentionally buried. It was also found without a corresponding cultural context (settlement) and due to its poor condition unable to yield racial designation.
This article is separated into two parts, the first a geologic background by Langston, and the second a list of skeletal remains by Oschinsky. Although the exact location of the specimen was lost, matching carbonaceous deposits of the specimen with similar deposits in one stratum rediscovered the general area. Langston next explains that the burial was non-intrusive due to the undisturbed layers of the site and the lack of ‘fissure filling’ or any other instances of disturbance, aside from faulting. Langston then states that the specimen’s skull was crushed prior to burial. He backs this claim by explaining that the overlying layers do not have the sufficient weight or movement to account for the damage done to the skull. It is then suggests that the body may have been inserted from the side of the river bank, however the rapid erosion and difficulty in excavating loose sand prevented further development of his proposal. Langston believes this specimen is very old. This claim is backed by analyzing the carbonaceous concrete shell of the skeleton, admitting this isn’t flawless evidence of antiquity, he still suggests it is reliable evidence of extreme age explaining it is most certain in this context as it is unlikely the shell would form in the time that erosion was reaching the burial had it been effected out by horizontal tunneling. Dating tribulations are discussed by stressing the high contamination probability within the site. Considering everything, they conclude that the burial was unintentional; instead they propose the body washed ashore, and after partial decomposition was buried. Based on this suggestion they conclude that there should be no reason to expect further finds at this site. Willow twigs extracted from a similar till 4 miles away were carbon dated to 10,000 years BCE.
The second part of the article lists the skeletal remains excavated, as well as the problems with racial identification due to extreme fragmentation and immaturity of the specimen. Finally, designating its cultural affinity is highly improbable due to the authors’ isolation theory.
Much of the fieldwork information provided by the authors is partial, their evidence is mainly derived from the geology of an approximate location. Their inferences should be based on fact rather than assumption to avoid obscurity.
CLARITY: 2.5
LUKE ASPLAND York University (Maggie MacDonald).
Oswalt, Wendell H. and James A. Vanstone. Partially Acculturated Communities: Canadian Athapaskans and West Alaskan Eskimos. Anthropologica, 1963. 5(1): 23-32.
In this article, Oswalt and Vanstone examine leadership and community organization within two Aboriginal communities. The communities are Napaskiak, situated on the Kuskokwin River in southwestern Alaska and the Chipewyan village of Snowdrift, which is located on the eastern shore of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories. The two communities have different settlement and leadership histories, are situated in different counties, have had contact with different Western religions and as a result have developed different structures of leadership and community organization.
Of the two, the village of Napaskiak has a greater sense of community and leadership. This is probably because the village has been a permanent settlement for many generations. Prior to Western contact this group viewed the village shaman and dance leader as influential within the community. Eskimos living in Napaskiak were quite comfortable forming village councils and other structured authority assemblies. The Chipewyan people were highly nomadic until ten years before the research was conducted. Since they traveled in small bands that were dependent on the skills of the hunters, there was no need to establish a formal leadership arrangement. Given that the Chipewyan had never needed to appoint a leader, it was difficult for them to adopt and understand the government system of chiefs and councilors.
The two communities developed different leadership systems because of the different influences they were exposed to. To chart the development of the two communities in terms of community organization, the authors examined the past and present ways that the society organized in terms of leadership and power. Treaties and government information exposing the relationship between the Canadian and United States governments and the respective communities is presented along with ethnographic information. When the authors present ethnographic information they fail to reference their sources including passages about the Aboriginal people interpretation of their involvement with the government and its representatives. Data such as treaty area restructuring are introduced to illustrate the effect that government statutes had on the Aboriginals communities.
CLARITY: 4
HEATHER SHUMAN York University (Maggie MacDonald).
Shinen, Marilene. Notes on Marriage Customs of the St. Lawrence Island Eskimos. Anthropoligica, 1963. V(2): 199-208.
In this article, Marilene Shinen examines the changing customs, rules and norms of marriage within the indigenous communities of the St. Lawrence Island. As a cultural anthropologist, she points out that indigenous marriage customs are adopting Euro-American cultural traits and patterns. Shinen also suggests that the acculturation of marriage customs of the St. Lawrence Island indigenous community is attenuating the significance of the indigenous gift-ceremony, Groom work and matri-patrilocal customs of marriage. She emphasizes that indigenous marriage customs are changing in ways that break old traditions and undermine the important indigenous principle of respecting elders.
Shinen has divided her article into three sections. The first section is titled “Betrothal”. She illustrates customs such as the gift-ceremony and Groom work, and eventually explains that they are changing due to the Euro-American influences of Christianity. In this section, she introduces the traditions of marriage arrangement made by the parents and elders of the families, specifically explaining that the parents and elders arrange the marriage with very little or no consultation with the prospective couple. Shinen also identifies the gift-giving ceremonies as prominent features of engagement. The custom of the prospective groom’s parents bringing gifts to the prospective bride’s parents is a ceremony that reflects the amount of respect the young man’s family carries for the young woman. Next, Shinen focuses attention onto the custom of Groom work. She describes Groom work as a period of engagement when the young man lives with the woman’s family and undertakes subservient tasks for her family. Most importantly, Shinen describes Groom work as a custom that indicates the man’s worthiness and respect for the woman’s family. Further, Shinen explains that Euro-American society and Christianity have influenced the young indigenous adults to choose the partner that they desire, marry in Churches and pursue the Groom work after the wedding ceremony.
In the second section of Shinen’s article ” Marriage”, this section begins to examine the indigenous matri-patrilocal custom. The matrilocal residence is described as the first phase of Marriage and patrilocal residence is described as the second phase of marriage. Matrilocal residence is accounted as a temporary period that allows the married couple to gradually grow intimate with each other. Shinen suggests that the betrothal and marriage customs of the St.Lawrence Island indigenous community are significant because they establish solid and compatible marriage partnerships. Nevertheless, she also notes that marriage customs are changing, by explaining that young couples are adopting the Euro-American model of living as a nuclear family, rather than continuing the collective matri-patrilocal living conditions of the indigenous community.
The last section, “Irregularities”, examines the marital changes as a consequence of young indigenous adults challenging the established rules and customs of their communities. Shinen targets Euro-American contact, such as a nearby army base, with the communities as a major source for the acculturation of the indigenous youth. Included is a brief exploration of issues on promiscuity before marriage, separation, and divorce in the communities. Shinen closes the article by asserting that since Euro-American contact, indigenous cultural traditions have been changing. Values on marriage, divorce, family orientation and sex have altered in ways that undervalue the St.Lawrence Island indigenous principle of honouring the elders.
CLARITY: 5
DANIELLE COGHLAN York University (Maggie MacDonald).
Townsend, Joan B. Ethnographic Notes on the Pedro Bay Tanaina. Anthropologica, 1963. 5(2): 209-223.
The article presents ethnographic research, on the social, and folklore aspects of the Pedro Bay Tanaina Indians that contributes to the physical anthropological or archaeological archive on the material. These notes are a collection of first-hand accounts from four members of the Tanaina clan obtained in Pedro Bay, Alaska during the summer of 1960. These notes were published even though they were deemed incomplete by the author because she did not know when she would return to Pedro Bay to continue her ethnographic study. Also, the notes address and contribute to the limited amount of information on the Tanaina Indians [1] available at the time of publication though they are incomplete.
The ethnographic notes are basically broken up into three parts: technology, customs, and folklore. The first section on technology focuses on housing and temporary shelters, tools and manufactures, food preparation and hunting implements. The second section on customs focuses on dress and ornamentation, use of stimulants and intoxicants, games and amusement, medical aids, social organization, puberty seclusion and war. The last section on folklore is a compilation of folk tales dealing with the Russians, taboos, various omens, luck and offerings, giants, mountain whistlers, woods people, ghosts, shamans, and various animals.
CLARITY: 4
SAMANTHA THERRIEN York University (Maggie MacDonald).
Trigger, Bruce G. Order and Freedom in Huron Society. Anthropologica, 1963. 5: (151-160).
Bruce Triggers’ article begins with addressing the issue of cooperation between a person’s will to do what they wish, and to do what is needed for social cohesion. This paper then focuses this subject on the Huron Society, which consisted of four tribes and 25,000 inhabits in the seventeenth century. He examines their economic conditions and their political structure =, as well as the nature of authority. In analyzing their law system, which is really his main focus, Trigger notes how their lack of formal physical sanctions on the individual was seen as impressive. He then comments on the seriousness of the offence of sorcery and witchcraft. In his conclusion he states that the Huron’s lack of direct punishments to the wrongdoer, would not be so impressive if one examined the linkage of accusations of witchcraft, the Chiefs authority of executions of witches, and how often those who regularly broke the law were labeled ‘witch’ and killed. The fear of witch accusation replaced the need to hand out sanctions to unlawful citizens.
Trigger’s main evidence comes from the work of individuals who lived with the Huron’s like the Jesuits, and the work of other anthropologists who wrote on witchcraft, like Evans-Pritchard. His argument is constructed around written interpretations. Trigger portrays the structure of the Huron’s politics, family life, and rule of authority and goes into further explanations of how conflicts were resolved. He leaves his main argument of the accusation of witchcraft being a crime deterrent, to the very end. By not stressing his importance on witchcraft in his introduction, Trigger catches the reader unaware when he ends on this significant point. However, by illustrating how serious offences like that of murder violence and theft were not resolved by direct physical punishment to the wrongdoer, but by psychological penalties and family penalties, and how authorities in the village held the power of retribution of witches, was vital to having to a peaceful Huron society, Trigger forms his argument in a logical fashion that is very interesting to read.
CLARITY: 4
CHRISTINE MINNERY York University (Maggie MacDonald).
Zentner, Henry. Factors in the Social Pathology of a North American Indian Society. Anthropologica, 1963. 5(2):119-130.
Taking a look at a reservation with unidentified North American Indians, Henry Zentner takes on the task of illustrating that the social pathologies of this society will not be understood unless acknowledgement is given to the critical combination of historical factors with present day urgency. Through description and analysis, Zentner discusses specific variables that have been operating historically in the social structure of this society, impacting noted rates and types of social pathologies.
Categorizing the variables for discussion into two separate categories (1) historical and (2) current, the author subdivides each category further when examining each variable. The historic variable is examined from the reservations existence in the middle of the nineteenth century to the present. Zentner points out that the legal formation of the reservation under the dominant society, as the time Indians experienced the totality of contact with the non-Indians. Zentner illustrates this point by looking at the sub-divisions within the historic variable: `The Long House Ethic’, Vertical Mobility, and Voluntary Sub-groupings that have allowed for this impact of change- namely high rates of social pathology. The current variables: The Loss of Political Power and Control, Contact and Communication with the Culture of the Development, Geographic Mobility, Population Numbers and Residential Propinquity, are evaluated in order to demonstrate how they function in the current situation. This is followed by Zentner linking the historic and current variables to current types and rates of social pathologies and listing the dysfunctions that stem as a result of these affairs.
Zenter summarizes by bringing into question the degree these historic variables discussed function for non-Indian communities in the case of lower status levels. Citing the descriptive behavior of the lower stratum of anthropologist’s Warner and Hallingshead among others, Zenter finds parallels with the behavior and motivational tendencies viewed within the Indian community. These parallels allow Zentner to conclude that non- Indian societies are characterized by the same variables, for which they must adapt.
CLARITY: 2.5
CLEO WALTERS York University (Maggie MacDonald).