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the enemy of every tribe: “bushman” images in Northern Athapaskan narratives
Author(s) -
BASSO ELLEN B.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
american ethnologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.875
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1548-1425
pISSN - 0094-0496
DOI - 10.1525/ae.1978.5.4.02a00040
Subject(s) - narrative , ignorance , tribe , power (physics) , variety (cybernetics) , sociology , history , anthropology , literature , epistemology , philosophy , art , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , computer science
A variety of “bushman” images are found throughout the Northern Athapaskan area. They have been typically characterized as supernatural beliefs arising in response to fears of dangers in the natural and social environments and to ignorance of true causes of events. I argue in this paper that an understanding of the images must also take into account the cultural and social systems that govern their creation and use in personal narratives. In particular, the images within one region, the central Mackenzie River valley, must be understood in terms of the focal concerns of seasonality, supernatural power, social relationships, and technology, as well as the explanatory uses to which the narratives are put.