The Native Game, by Evelyn Plaice

The Native Game purportedly addresses how a small Labradorian community’s past (and present) has influenced contemporary Indidse t t le r relations. The author also seeks to analyze the role that individual family histories have played in the formation of contemporary settler perceptions of these relations. Utilizing the above two central themes, Plaice focuses her research on ethnic identity. Her stated objective is to confirm that ethnic identity is self-referential, that a changing social environment produces a fractured self-identity, and that ethnicity is a resource that can be manipulated. Plaice is an outsider to the community, and although she speaks the language of the Settlers, she does not have facility in a Native dialect. The author encountered North West River, Labrador, when she first spent a year as a volunteer for the International Grenfell Association in 1974. She returned in 1976 and 1979, collecting more information that allowed her to complete her undergraduate honour’s degree. In 1983 she returned for a six-month research stint, which led to her M.A. in anthropology. The data collected in this latter period is the basis of this book. Plaice immersed herself into this community, living six months in the community. Using participant observation, supplemented with unstructured interviews, the author collected data utilizing an extended case study methodology. The book begins with a brief historical survey of outside influences upon the settlement and development of the central Labrador region. This chapter makes up nearly half of this small book and relies mainly on archival records and existing histories written about the region and the community. Twelve photographs depicting the period 1875-1958 complete the first section. The remaining seven chapters in part two are short (approximately 10 pages each) and provide attenuated overviews of a number of issues, e.g., physical layout of the community, analysis of kinship patterns in the community, occupational change in the community. The second half of the book ends with eleven photos covering the 1930-80s era. Although this book considers the effects of macro-level conditions on the behaviour and attitudes of individuals and, as best one can tell, tries to integrate a macro-perspective with an action-oriented one, the author fails to achieve her goal. Two shortcomings lead to such a result. First, the author does not identify the mechanism by which macro-level conditions affect individuals. There is no systematic attempt to build a model or identify how these mechanisms work over time. Second, in positing micro-level action, no information is presented about variables influencing the behaviour of interest in a particular historical setting and information about the macro-level conditions. If a model had been set forth, it would have enabled the author to identify the mechanisms by which macro-level conditions affect individuals. This in turn would have allowed her to collect data on those mechanisms as well as assess how they changed over time. A lack of detailed specification, operationalization of concepts and a lack of research design have all contributed to the inability of the author to systematically test her model. In the end, the reader is treated to a brief, superficial discussion of a number of issues related (some tangential) to the central thesis of the book. Unfortunately, little descriptive data is presented that could be of use for ethnographers. For example, precious little demographic data is presented to document the changing structure of the community a key assumption posited by the author. Furthermore, little genealogy data is presented to assess the kith and kinship patterns established over time. Finally, the issue of reliability and validity of data go undiscussed. The book raises many more issues than it resolves. Its overall contribution lies in its synthesis of historical material. Unfortunately, the lack of methodological rigour raises serious questions about the conclusions drawn by the author. While this research effort may be viewed as sensitizing the reader to a number of issues about how communities influence the life of its residents, a new effort will have to be undertaken in order to answer them.