DOCSLIB.ORG

The Algonquian Totem and Totemism: a Distortion of the Semantic Field

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Algonquian Totem and Totemism: a Distortion of the Semantic Field The Algonquian Totem and Totemism: A Distortion of the Semantic Field THERESA M. SCHENCK Rutgers University In 1952 A. R. Radcliffe-Brown asked whether "totemism as a technical term has not outlived its usefulness" (1965:117). The question is rather whether it should ever have been used at all. After more than a century of use and abuse, it is time to re-examine the earliest known use of the word, and to trace the development of the idea of totemism through the historic period. It can be shown that the meaning became distorted in the 19th century, and that this distortion has in rum influenced contemporary usage. The earliest recorded form of the Algonquin word totem is 8ten, translated as 'village' by an unknown Jesuit missionary in his Dictionnaire algonquin (Anonymous 1661:48). Since it was usually spoken as nind otem 'my village', the word was soon heard as totem, or dodem. For the Algonquin, however, the word did not connote a permanent group of houses as the word village did for the French. Rather the 8ten was a group of people tied together by kinship, who moved together seasonally. The village was the people, not the place. In general, all the people of the village were related (except, of course, the wives, who were necessarily of different totems), hence "my village" was "my family". In fact, in his Algonquin dictionary, Jean-Andre Cuoq gave the following explanation for ote- 'village' from the Abbe Thavenet, an early 19th-century missionary at Lac-des-Deux-Montagnes, Quebec: "it signifies family, all the persons who live in the same lodge under the same chief (Cuoq 1886:312). The French called these groups nations, a practice which has given rise to much misunderstanding in modem times. At the time of first contact each upper Great Lakes Algonquian village had a symbol, usually an animal, which it used to designate itself and which was used in turn by other groups to name them. According to Cuoq the name was chosen because of its familiarity: it was the most beautiful, the most friendly, or the most feared, the object of the hunt, or even ordinary food. This animal, then, became the distinctive mark of each family, and was transmitted to posterity as the perpetual symbol of that group (Cuoq 1886:313). 342 THERESA M. SCHENCK Among the Algonquian of the upper Great Lakes many of the earliest recorded village names were derived from animal names: Amikouet (amik), Atchiligouan (name achigan), Outchougai (oshugai), Nikikouec (nikik), Chichigouak (chichik), Malameg (malameg), Nouquet (mak8a) (Thwaites 1896-1901, 18:229-231, 44:247-251, 57:221; Anonymous 1661; Andre 1688:10-11). The totem was the village, the village name, and by extension, the mark or symbol of the village. The relationship between village and symbol was recognized even in the 17th century. Pierre Esprit Radisson, when he was in the vicinity of Hudson Bay around 1660, noted that "all the nations are distinguished by the representation of the beast or animals" (Adams 1961:146). In relating a story about an old Potawatomi man who was of the Hare clan, the Jesuit Allouez stated that "the man and the hare were of the same village" (Thwaites 1896-1901,51:33). Nicolas Perrot, who spent nearly forty years among the Indians of the Great Lakes, wrote that "their villages each bear the name of the animal which has given its people their being — as that of the crane, or the bear, or of other animals" (Blair 1911,1:37). Perrot also reported that, in the ceremony at Sault Ste. Marie in which the French took possession of the upper Great Lakes in 1671, all the chiefs signed with "the insignia of their families; some of them drew a beaver, others an otter, a sturgeon, a deer or an elk" (Blair 1911,1:347). And finally, in 1701, at the ratification of peace with the Iroquois, each chief drew la marque du village 'the mark or sign of his village': the Amikouet, a beaver; the Otag- ami, a fox; the Missisagui, an eagle; and the Sauteurs, a crane (Figure 1). Throughout the early 18th century most of the upper Great Lakes Algonquian groups continued to be known by their totemic, or village, names, even as new totemic groups (villages) were being formed and old ones amalgamated. When Charlevoix made his voyage in 1720, he found several of the totemic groups already mixed, "each of them having a distinct chief in every village" (Charlevoix 1761,2:22). In the enumeration of Indian tribes taken in 1736 the "armorial bearing" or "device" of each group was given. The Mississauga had a crane; the Monsoni, a moose; the Ouace, a catfish; and the Cristinaux, a wild goose. The Sauteurs, whose mark was earlier a crane, had now either been joined by other groups or fissioned into smaller villages: at Sault Ste. Marie were the crane and catfish totems, while at the Keweenaw Peninsula were the crane and stag totems. The totemic device for the Sauteurs of Chagouamegon was not recorded (O'Callaghan and Femow 1853-87, 9:1052-8). THE ALGONQUIAN TOTEM AND TOTEMISM Figure 1. Totemic marks of villages ratifying the Peace Treaty at Mont­ real, 4 August 1701. NAC, Archives des Colonies, MG 1, CllA F-19:43A. The extended concept of totem, which was nothing more than a village or family naming system, had many functions in early Algonquian society. Not only was it the family name, but it also served to regulate exogamy1 and to establish a bond among relatives, however distant. As a symbol or mark it identified a village or the route taken by members of a village, a custom similar to that of the Huron, whose "armorial bearings" Gabriel Sagard described in 1624 as "inscribed not only on a post erected in their village, but also on birch bark along whatever route they took to let others know they had passed by" (Sagard 1939:251-2). One additional, and possibly later, use of the totem was on grave markers (Figure 2); as Alexander Henry (1809:311) noted in the 18th century, it indicated "the family to which the deceased belonged". The basic idea of the totem as village or family continued well into the 19th century. Gradually, however, as the population grew and people of 1 Those who question exogamy should be aware of Andre's observation (1688:3^1) that "quod possunt, ducunt uxores ex alia natione quam ex sua" ('when they can, they take wives from another nation than their own'). 344 THERESA M. SCHENCK 4r*. •a 1; V Ii II M 1' • 1 »• ll II 'Ml II (far ->4 I*-***. Figure 2. Grave post of Waubojig (White Fisher) of the Addick (caribou) totem. Other symbols tell of his leadership and success in battles. Drawn by S. Eastman. Schoolcraft 1851-57, v. 1, plate 50. different totems or families came to live in one village, the totemic mark came to be the sign of the family or clan only. This is reflected in the different words for 'family' and 'village' in the 19th century. Frederick Baraga (1878-80, 1:96, 278) recorded odem as 'family mark', and odena as 'village'. It is likely by this time that the concept of village had taken on another connotation as well, a location. As indicative of the new mixed villages we find that, in numerous land deeds in both the Canadian Archives and the Burton Collection, each group signed the document not with one totem, but with the individual family mark of each chief (Figure 3). It is probable that the Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Mississauga who had been living in adjacent villages in THE ALGONQUIAN TOTEM AND TOTEMISM Figure 3. Chippewa signatures accompanying surrender of land on River Thames near Lake Sinclair, 7 September 1796. NAC, RG 10, v. 1840. the Detroit area since the early 18th century had intermarried, thereby adding new totems to each group. Totems had likewise mixed and new ones had developed in other areas 346 THERESA M. SCHENCK Figure 4. Symbolic petition of Chippewa chiefs presented at Washington, 28 January 1848. Drawn by S. Eastman. Schoolcraft 1851-57, v. 1, plate 60, pictograph A. of the Great Lakes. In January 1849, at the instigation of a Metis inter­ preter, a Chippewa delegation from the headwaters of the Wisconsin River journeyed to Washington, D.C., to try to recuperate some of the land they had ceded in the treaty of 1842. On the letter of credence appear not the individual names of the representatives, but their totems (Figure 4). The group from Monmonceau was led by a chief of the crane totem; there were three warriors from the marten totem, and one each of the bear, the catfish, and the merman totems (Schoolcraft 1851-57, 1:415-7). In a paper read before the Canadian Institute in 1857 the Odawa Francis Assikinack described life in his younger days: the inhabitants were divided into tribes; and... a tribe was again subdi­ vided into sections or families according to then "Ododams;" that is their devices, signs, or what may be called according to the usage of civilised communities, "Coats of Arms." The members of a particular family kept themselves distinct, at least nominally, from the other members of the tribe; and in then large villages, all people claiming to belong to the same Ododam or sign, were required to dwell in that section of the village set apart for them specially... [Assikinack 1858:119] In the 19th century the concept of the totem seems to have taken on greater importance, as the native people lost their separate village identity and much of their land base.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Native Milwaukee Bryan C
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette History Faculty Research and Publications History, Department of 1-1-2016 Native Milwaukee Bryan C. Rindfleisch Marquette University, [email protected] Published version. Encyclopedia of Milwaukee Publisher link. © 2016 Encyclopedia of Milwaukee. Used with permission. Search Site... Menu Log In or Register Native Milwaukee Click the image to learn more. The Indigenous Peoples of North America have always claimed Milwaukee as their own. Known as the “gathering place by the waters,” the “good earth” (or good land), or simply the “gathering place,” Indigenous groups such as the Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Odawa (Ottawa), Fox, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sauk, and Oneida have all called Milwaukee their home at some point in the last three centuries. This does not include the many other Native populations in Milwaukee today, ranging from Wisconsin groups like the Stockbridge-Munsee and Brothertown Nation, to outer-Wisconsin peoples like the Lakota and Dakota (Sioux), First Nations, Creek, Chickasaw, Sac, Meskwaki, Miami, Kickapoo, Micmac, and Cherokee, among others. According to the 2010 census, over 7,000 people in Milwaukee County identified as American Indian or Alaska Native, making Milwaukee the largest concentration of Native Peoples statewide. Milwaukee, then, is—and has always been—a Native place, home to a diverse number of Indigenous Americans. Native Milwaukee’s Creation Story is thousands of years old, when the Mound Builders civilizations, also known as the Adena, Hopewell, Woodlands, and Mississippian cultures, flourished in the Great Lakes, Ohio River Valley, and Mississippi River Valley between 500 BCE to 1200 CE (some scholars even suggest 1500 CE). It is estimated the Mound-Builder civilization spread to southeastern Wisconsin in the Early Woodland Era, sometime between 800 and 500 BCE, and flourished during the Middle Woodland Era (100 BCE to 500 CE).
    [Show full text]
  • Identifying the Ojibwa
    Identifying the Ojibwa THERESA SCHENCK Rutgers University The Ojibwa are generally recognized as one of the largest groups of native peoples of North America. It has long been argued, however, just who should be considered Ojibwa, and how far they extended at the time of first contact (Bishop and Smith 1975; Greenberg and Morrison 1982). Most studies of the Ojibwa have proceded from two premises: first, that all groups now known as Ojibwa were originally Ojibwa, and second, that native cultures were essentially static. Thus it is assumed that those who are considered Ojibwa today were always Ojibwa, but that they were misnamed in early French records. I have found, on the contrary, that the name Ojibwa has been extended far beyond the original boundaries of the 17th-century people. Using historical documents and records of Ojibwa tradition, I propose to identify the Ojibwa in the 17th century, to trace them throughout the early period after contact, and to explain how so many people who were not originally Ojibwa came to be called Ojibwa. The Ojibwa, located in the summer at the rapids or falls between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, were mentioned for the first time in Du Peron's letter of 1639 as the nation of the Sault (Thwaites 1959(15):155). The following year Le Jeune referred to them as Saulteurs, the people who reside at the rapids, and it is as such that they were known throughout much of the French period (Thwaites 1959(18):231). Before identifying these Saulteurs I wish to suggest several principles of naming Amerindian groups.
    [Show full text]
  • Proposed Finding for Federal Acknowledgment of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Peshawbestown, Michigan Pursuant to 25 CFR 54
    Tribal Government Services OCT 3 1979 MEMORP.NDUM To: Assistant Secretary From: Acting Deputy Commissioner Subject: Recommendation and summary of evidence for proposed finding for Federal acknowledgment of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Peshawbestown, Michigan pursuant to 25 CFR 54. I. RECOMMENDATION: We recommend the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians be acknowledged as an Indian Tribe with a government-to-government relationship with the United States and entitled to the same privileges and immunities available to other Federally recognized tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes. II. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS: The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians is the modern successor of several bands of Ottawas and Chippewas which have a documented continuous existence in the Grand Traverse Bay area of Michigan since as early as 1675. Evidence indicates these bands, and the subsequent combined band, have existed autonomously since first contact, with a series of leaders who representl~d the band in its dealings with outside organizations, and who both responded to and influenced the band in matters of importance. The membership is unques·:jonably Indian, of Ottawa and Chippewa descent. No evidence was found tha t the members of the band are members of any other Indian tribes, or that the band or its members have been terminated or forbidden the Federal relationship by an Act of Congress. III. BRIEF HISTORY: The Ottawa and Chippewa are two closely related Algonquian peoples who originally occupied an area bordering on Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron. They were initially encountered by French explorers in the mid-1600's.
    [Show full text]
  • Facts for Kids: Algonquian People (
    Facts for Kids: Algonquian People (http://www.native-languages.org/languages.htm) How do you pronounce "Algonquian?" What does it mean? It's pronounced "al-GON-kee-un." It doesn't actually mean anything. Anthropologists invented this term to refer to tribes who spoke a related group of languages. What is the right way to spell "Algonquian"? It can be spelled either "Algonquian" or "Algonkian." Either spelling is correct. Are the Algonquians extinct? Certainly not! There are more than half a million Native American people today belonging to Algonquian tribes. But you may not be able to find online information about modern Algonquian people if you do a search for “Algonquian” -- because they rarely call themselves by this name. Try looking them up by their real tribal names. There are a few extinct Algonquian tribes, including the Beothuk and Wappinger tribes, but most Algonquian tribes still survive today. Which tribes are Algonquian? The many Algonquian tribes include the Abenakis, Algonquins, Arapahos, Attikameks, Blackfeet, Cheyennes, Crees, Gros Ventre, Illini, Kickapoo, Lenni Lenape/Delawares, Lumbees (Croatan Indians), Mahicans (including Mohicans, Stockbridge Indians, and Wappingers), Maliseets, Menominees, Sac and Fox, Miamis, Métis/Michif, Mi'kmaq/Micmacs, Mohegans (including Pequots, Montauks, Niantics, and Shinnecocks), Montagnais/Innu, Munsees, Nanticokes, Narragansetts, Naskapis, Ojibways/Chippewas, Ottawas, Passamaquoddy, Penobscots, Potawatomis, Powhatans, Shawnees, Wampanoags (including the Massachusett, Natick, and Mashpee), Wiyot, and Yurok. Where do the Algonquian Indians live? Algonquian people live throughout the United States, from California to Maine, and throughout southern Canada, from Alberta to Labrador. On the right is a map showing the original homelands of various Algonquian peoples.
    [Show full text]
  • Does Where You Live Matter?
    NEW YORK STATE SOCIAL STUDIES RESOURCE TOOLKIT 4th Grade Geography Inquiry Does Where You Live Matter? Created for the New York State K–12 Social Studies Toolkit by Binghamton University, 2015 Supporting Questions 1. What physical features make New York State’s geography diverse? 2. Where in New York State did early Native American groups settle and how did physical features affect their settlements? 3. How did the early Native Americans in New York State interact with their physical environment to meet their needs? THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION- NONCOMMERCIAL- SHAREALIKE 4.0 INTERNATIONAL LICENSE. 1 NEW YORK STATE SOCIAL STUDIES RESOURCE TOOLKIT 4th Grade Geography Inquiry How Does Where You Live Matter? 4.1 GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK STATE: New York State has a diverse geography. Various maps can be used to represent and examine the geography of New York State. New York State Social Studies 4.2 NATIVE AMERICAN GROUPS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: Native American groups, chiefly the Iroquois Framework Key (Haudenosaunee) and Algonquian-speaking groups, inhabited the region that became New York State. Ideas & PraCtices Native American Indians interacted with the environment and developed unique cultures. Gathering, Using, and Interpreting EvidenCe Comparison and Contextualization Economics and Economic Systems GeographiC Reasoning Staging the Brainstorm the relationship between humans and the physical environment through the concepts of Question opportunities and constraints. Supporting Question 1 Supporting Question 2
    [Show full text]
  • Algonquian Mastery of the Great Lakes
    Inland Sea Navigators: Algonquian Mastery of the Great Lakes VICTOR P. LYTWYN Acton, Ontario Few if any European newcomers failed to be impressed with the water- craft used by Aboriginal people in North America. They were particularly enamoured with the birch bark canoes used by Algonquian-speaking peo­ ples in the Great Lakes region. Early writers agreed that these canoes were well suited to travel from the white water of rushing rivers to the vast expanse of the Great Lakes. In 1724, for example, Joseph Francois Lafitau described the construction of birch-bark canoes as "masterpieces of native art" (1977:124). He continued: "Nothing is prettier and more admirable than these fragile craft in which people can carry heavy loads and go everywhere very rapidly." Edwin Tappan Adney and Howard Chapelle's seminal study of the canoe in North America commented (1964:3), "Indian bark canoes were most efficient water craft for use in forest travel" and "open water in lakes." Algonquian-speaking peoples in the Great Lakes region were espe­ cially noted for their skill in building and navigating birch bark canoes. The Jesuit missionary Francesco Gioseppe Bressani noted that Aboriginal people in the region around Lake Huron were expert navigators. He wrote in 1654 (JR 38:247): The somewhat long and dangerous navigation which they conduct, on rivers and enormous lakes, with very distant nations for the beaver trade, is effected within little boats of bark, no thicker than a testone - holding at the most 8 or 10 persons, but commonly not more than three or four; they manoeuver these dexterously, and almost without danger.
    [Show full text]
  • Bison, Slavery, and the Rise and Fall of the Grand Village of the Kaskaskia
    The Power of the Ecotone: Bison, Slavery, and the Rise and Fall of the Grand Village of the Kaskaskia Robert Michael Morrissey Downloaded from Among the largest population centers in North America toward the end of the seventeenth century was the Grand Village of the Kaskaskia, which, combined with surrounding set- tlements, enveloped as many as twenty thousand people for approximately two decades. http://jah.oxfordjournals.org/ Located at the top of the Illinois River valley, the village is not normally considered a significant part of American history, so it has remained relatively unknown. In many ac- counts, the location is discussed merely as a refugee center to which desperate, beleaguered Algonquians fled ahead of a series of mid-seventeenth-century Iroquois conquests that were part of the violence known as the Beaver Wars. Reeling from violence and constrained by necessity, the Illinois speakers who predominated in the place belonged to a “fragile, dis- ordered world,” “made of fragments” and dependent on French support. The size of the settlement did not reflect a particular level of native power but was simply proportional to at Indiana University Libraries on July 12, 2016 the devastation, suffering, and urgency felt by the people of the pays d’en haut (the Great Lakes area)—and particularly by the Illinois—at the start of the colonial period.1 Robert Michael Morrissey is an assistant professor of history at the University of Illinois. He wishes to thank Aaron Sachs, Gerry Cadava, John White, Jake Lundberg, Fred Hoxie, Antoinette Burton, Kathleen DuVal, Ben Irwin, John Hoffman, the University of Illinois Department of History, members of the History Workshop at the Univer- sity of Illinois; Edward T.
    [Show full text]
  • Baring the Windigo's Teeth: the Fearsome Figure in Native
    Baring the Windigo’s Teeth: The Fearsome Figure in Native American Narratives Carol Edelman Warrior A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Docrtor of Philosophy University of Washington 2015 Reading Committee: 1 Brian M. Reed, Chair Dian Million Christopher Teuton Luana Ross Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Department of English © Copyright 2015 Carol Edelman Warrior University of Washington Abstract Baring the Windigo’s Teeth: Fearsome Figures in Native American Narratives Carol Edelman Warrior Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Brian M. Reed Department of English Whereas non-Native American fictional fearsome figures tend to produce anxiety from their resistance to categorization, their unpredictable movement, and their Otherness, many contemporary Native American writers re-imagine fearsome figures and monstrous systems as modeled after, and emergent from settler-colonial transgressions against Indigenous values and relationships: these behaviors spread to tribal people/s through incorporation or assimilation into the “body” of the fearsome figure. Such violations can be represented by, and better understood, through an exploration of the behavioral traits of the Algonquian figure of the 2 Windigo, or wétiko, even when the text in question would not be classified as horror. In the Indigenous works of fiction that this dissertation explores, villainy is depicted as behavior that destroys balance, and disrupts the ability for life to reproduce itself without human mediation or technological intervention. In this dissertation, I develop and apply “Windigo Theory”: an Indigenous literary approach to reading Indigenous fiction, especially intended to aid recognition and comprehension of cultural critiques represented by the fearsome figures.
    [Show full text]
  • WE HAVE a STORY to TELL the Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region
    A GUIDE FOR TEACHERS GRADES 9-12 I-AR T!PLESI PEACE Onwun The Mull S..1M• ...i Migb<y PIUNC,'11. 8'*'C,,...fllc:-..I. ltJosolf oclW,S."'-', fr-•U>d lrti..I. n.<.odnJll>. f.O,ctr. l11iiiJ11 lCingJ... and - Queens, c!re. ("', L l.r.Jdic t~'ll~~ti.flf-9, 16-'"'. DEDICATION Group of Chickahominy Indians at the Chickahominy River, Virginia, 1918. Photo by Frank G. Speck. For the Native Americans of the Chesapeake region—past, present, and future. We honor your strength and endurance. Thank you for welcoming us to your Native place. Education Office of the National Museum of the American Indian Acknowledgments Coauthors, Researchers: Gabrielle Tayac, Ph.D. (Piscataway), Edwin Schupman (Muscogee) Contributing Writer: Genevieve Simermeyer (Osage) Editor: Mark Hirsch Reviewers: Leslie Logan (Seneca), Clare Cuddy, Kakwireiosta Hall (Cherokee/Mohawk), Benjamin Norman (Pamunkey) Additional Research: Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, Ph.D., Buck Woodard (Lower Muscogee Creek), Angela Daniel, Andy Boyd Design: Groff Creative Inc. Special Thanks: Helen Scheirbeck, Ph.D. (Lumbee); Sequoyah Simermeyer (Coharie), National Congress of American Indians; NMAI Photo Services All illustrations and text © 2006 NMAI, Smithsonian Institution, unless otherwise noted. TABLE OF CONTENTS WE HAVE A STORY TO TELL The Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region Introduction for Teachers Overview/Background, Acknowledgments, Pronunciation of Tribal Names . 2 Lesson Plan. 3 Lesson Questions . 5 Reading Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region and the Enduring Effects of Colonialism . 6 SMALL GROUP PROJECT AND CLASS PRESENTATION Issues of Survival for Native Communities of the Chesapeake Region Instructions for Small Group Project . 15 Readings, Study Questions, Primary Resources, and Secondary Resources Issue 1: The Effects of Treaty Making .
    [Show full text]
  • Research Bibliography for American Indian Studies
    Research Bibliography for American Indian Studies Compiled by American Indian Studies Program Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Note: The inclusion of any resource on this list should not be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the compiler or the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Teachers are encouraged to preview all books and to use their own judgment about appropriateness depending on grade level and/or class preparedness. There are several websites that include reviews or suggestions for conducting your own review, including Oyate (www.oyate.org), American Indians in Children’s Literature (americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com), and the American Indian Library Association (http://aila.library.sd.gov). The Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/) is another outstanding source for locating children’s’ books. I. Introductory Resources A. Reference B. American Indian History in the United States C. Research Methods/Historiography D. Key Periodicals and Journals E. Wisconsin and the Great Lakes F. 20th Century Contemporary American Indians II. Selected Resources by Nation A. Ho-Chunk B. Menominee C. Ojibwe D. Oneida E. Potawatomi F. Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans III. Bibliography by Topic A. Archaeology and Anthropology B. Biography and Autobiography C. Cross-Cultural Encounters and Exchanges D. Demography E. Economics and Economic Development F. Education 44 G. Environmental Issues H. Federal Indian Policy I. Food and Clothing J. Gaming K. Language and Linguistics L. Law, Treaties and Tribal Sovereignty M. Literature - Traditional Literature; Poetry and Prose; Literary Criticism N. Math and Science O. Music, Dance and Games P.
    [Show full text]
  • "A Little Flesh We Offer You": the Origins of Indian Slavery in New France Author(S): Brett Rushforth Source: the William and Mary Quarterly, Vol
    "A Little Flesh We Offer You": The Origins of Indian Slavery in New France Author(s): Brett Rushforth Source: The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 60, No. 4 (Oct., 2003), pp. 777-808 Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3491699 Accessed: 28-12-2018 20:47 UTC REFERENCES Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3491699?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The William and Mary Quarterly This content downloaded from 141.217.20.120 on Fri, 28 Dec 2018 20:47:44 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms "A Little Flesh We Offer You": The Origins of Indian Slavery in New France Brett Rushforth It is well known the advantage this colony would gain if its inhabitants could securely purchase and import the Indians called Panis, whose country is far dis- tant from this one.
    [Show full text]
  • The Algonquian Migration from Plateau to Midwest: Linguistics and Archaeology
    The Algonquian Migration from Plateau to Midwest: Linguistics and Archaeology J. PETER DENNY University of Western Ontario By means of linguistic research, hypotheses have been developed about the history of the Algonquian languages, which assert the times and places in which these languages and their ancestor languages were spoken. This historical geography of Algonquian needs to be connected to the archaeology of the same times and places, as has been done, most impressively, for the California languages (Moratto 1984: Chapter 11) and for African languages (Ehret and Posnansky 1982). In this paper,1 I offer a hypothesis linking archaeology and linguistics for one crucial phase of Algonquian history, the entry into the Midwest. The Algonquian languages are widely distributed in the northeast quar­ ter of the North American continent, yet linguistic evidence and oral tra­ dition suggests that Proto-Algonquian, the ancestor language of the group, was spoken in the Columbia Plateau. (All places named are shown in Fig­ ure 1.) In the present study I argue that the Proto-Algonquians moved east as one culture, and then their language spread and diversified into the daughter languages in the Northeast. I propose an archaeological identity for the starting-point of the Proto-Algonquian migration in the Plateau, and another archaeological identity for its end-point in the Midwest. This study of Algonquian culture history is a part of my research in cross-cultural differences in thinking processes. It is recognized that the habitual cognitive styles which characterize a culture arise at particular 'Thanks are due to Michael Spence and Christopher Ellis for their guidance concerning archaeology and to Chet Creider for advice on historical linguistics.
    [Show full text]