MY OLD PEOPLE SAY.AN ETHNO- has to say is based upon direct, personal and GRAPHICSURVEY OF SOUTHERN fust-hand information: the observations of TERRITORY. BY CATHARINE MC- early travellers, her own observations, and CLELLAN.Ottawa: National Museums of the comments,explanations, and stories of Canada (Publications in Ethnology, no. 6 her informahts, recorded in the words dgi- (I) and (2) -two volumes) 1975. 9% x 6% nally used. It is this actuality which is so dif- inches, 637 pages including notes, bibliogra- ficult to achieve,and yet is so important. phy, glossary and index of native terms, and McClellan has mastered throughher own index; illustrated. Soft cover, no price indi- “shorthand”and speed the ability to write cated. down the Indians’words as spoken. This exact record, even if not thoroughly under- This impressive publication represents the stood at the time, preserves expressions and results of ethnographic research carried out statementswhich later becomeclear. With- in 1949-51 among three linguistically distinct out it, there wouldbe no reliable guide to groups in the southernYukon Territory, from that “inner world” of the native Yukoner. east to west: (1) theInland in the Each chapter openswith anappropriate area of Lakes Atlin and Teslin and the Nisut- and often moving quotation, such as “People lin River; (2) the , centred at Tagish were starving ahead of me,” and “HOWcan I and , who once spokean Athabascan stop crying? The wholeworld turnedover dialect but adoptedTlingit in the last century; with the death of my son!” (both Inland Tlin- and (3) the ,who speak git). The opening and closing of each chap- anotherAthabascan dialect, andare repre- ter are alsograced by the black-and-white sented by six “bands” spread from the upper illustrations of nativedesigns, prepared by Alsek River and on the south, to the author’s niece,Catherine S. Kernan. Most Lakes Kluane, and Laberge in the interesting and valuable, to this reviewer at north, where they adjointhe linguistically dis- least, are the comparative data which serve tinct of the Lewes River to place southern Yukoncustoms in their and other Yukontributaries. The Northern cultural context, and the exciting theoretical and Southern Tutchone represent, therefore, questions which the author raises. a splitting of Osgood‘s “Tutchone tribe.” The Inthe Introduction we learn how and Indian groups of southern Yukon have been, where this pioneer work wascarried out, and untilnow, neglected ethnologically, and so we marvel at how much information was ob- this work, in preparation for over ten years, taineddespite relatively short fieldseasons is doubly welcome. While it contains a little and the difficulties of dealing with three dif- data from the author’s later extended field- ferent languages, for only one of which (Tlin- work among the Southern Tutchone (1962- git)was any published guide available. Yet 63,1965, 1966, 1968), further detailed we are given maps with place names in all informationabout the oral literature, the three languages, and native names and words ceremonial and religious life of these people are included throughout the text. The writer and their neighbourshas been reserved for modestly admits herlack of professional skill future publication. as a linguist, and her transcriptions have evi- This is a handsome, scholarly and infor- dently sufferedsometimes at the printer’s mative book, which should appeal to anyone hands; but despite errors which linguists may interested in the North, whether white or In- discover, shehas given themmaterial of dian, layman or anthropologist. The author inestimable value, because it can no longer writes with verve, modesty and real concern be obtained, and has exhibited the scholar’s for her subjects; and it is clear that many of respect for the data themselves. After con- the accounts are based on personal experi- sultingNaish and Story1 and Kraussz for ence - experience that demanded courage, Tlingitand Southern Tutchone phonemes, enduranceand scientificdevotion. For ex- the author decided that “rather than tidy up ample, theinformation about the trapline my earlier phonetic rendering in accordance and the habits of wolves has obviously been with these or other schemes[which might written by someonewho has accompanied have introduced new errors], it has seemed a hunter and been chased by wolves. When- only honest to leave them as they stand with everpossible, the Indiansare allowed to all their probable inaccuracies and inconsis- speak for themselves, so that the rich deMs tencies, [hoping that] they myserve as pre- of their lives are illuminated by these insights liminary guides to dialectical variations of into their own thoughts and feelings. This is Tlingit and Tutchone, andsuggest the nature madepossible by the methodologyadopted of remnant Tagish,” by the author. In everyinstance, what she In Chapter I, Southern Yukon and Its Peo- 240 REVIEWS

ples: The Ethnographer’s View, theauthor are cumulative. Most valuable here isthe dis- straightens out the confusions created by mis- cussion of the moral dilemna in which the leading tribal designationsgiven by earlier Indians find themselves, because to live they writers, through ameticulous processof iden- must kill animal beings which they consider tifyingplaces, social groups and their rem- have souls like their own. Is it to relieve this nants, movements, and mixtures. No one who guilt that the Southern Tutchone tell of the readsthese discussions canremain content mythicaltime when animals killed and ate with static ethnographies presented in terms men? of fixed “tribes, bands, and boundaries.” In Chapter 111, TheYearly Round, the The rest of the book presents the ethno- three groups are presentedseparately, al- graphic information asmuch as possible from though differences between them are not as the “inside.“ It is substantive,meaty and pronounced as those caused by environmen- founded on solidconcrete evidence; and while tal peculiarities. The long personal accounts, theoretical problems that arise from the data here as elsewhere, are employed most effec- are discussed, the author is not playing with tively for vivid detail and emotional tone. “model-building.” Rather, she has repeatedly In Chapter IV, A Yukon Bestiary, Chapter to face the problem of whether to organize V, Fish and Fishing, Chapter VI, Some Use- the materials primarily by major topic or by ful Plants, ChapterVII, A YukonCook “tribal”group, the choice often depending Book, and Chapter VIII, A Yukon Medicine upon whether there is enough ethnographic Chest, are presented careful biological identi- detail to distinguish cultural differencesbe- fications of theanimal and plant species, tween groups. In such cases she moves regu- their ranges, and habits, etc., and, more im- larly from Southern Tutchone, to Tagish, to portant,the common attitudes of all three Inland Tlingit - an order which is not only groupstoward these natural sources of na- geographical,but proceeds fromthe less tive subsistence, and how they are obtained structured sociocultural world of the South- and used.But to the Indian, allthese, and ern Tutchone to the more highly organized animalsin particular, mustbe treated with hierarchicalone of theInland Tlingit, be- scrupulous ritual, many being considered to tweenwhich stand the Tagish.While all have powers greater than man’s, or to be un- three groups are founded on matrilineal moi- derthe protection of powerfulbeings. The eties, Wolf and Crow (Raven), with similar author is careful to avoid imposing the West- reciprocalrelationships, only thesouthern- ern dichotomybetween naturaland super- most“band” of theSouthern Tutchone, in natural upon the native world, which instead contact with theChilkat Tlingit,have distinguishes between ordinary human power adopted sibs and house names from the lat- andpowers which are superhuman.En- ter. The Inland Tlingit, however, have fully counters with animals, birds, and even insects developed“houses” (lineages), sibs, and sib are often more important to the Indian than traditions, like their coastal relatives, as well meeting other humans, for they may be the asclearly defined chiefs, in contrast to the supreme occasions on which he secures the individualism and unfocused authority char- help of animal spirits, when man and animal acteristic of the Southern Tutchone. become close, as they were “in the beginning It is impossible to give an adequateidea of of time, when the gap between the two kinds the wide scope of this survey or of the rich- of beings wasnot as great as it is today.” Ah ness of theethnographic detail within the of interest is the emphasis on fresh meat as limits of a review, although somesamples the essential part of the diet, the social im- may be indicated. In Chapter II, The Uni- portance of food (feasts, gifts, sharing), and verse and Zts Inhabitants: The Native View, the severe food taboos imposed during life the author attempts thealmost impossible task crises. Why should there be such restrictions of presenting the whole cultural Lebenswelt amongpeoples who face real scarcity and of the natives,including notions of power, starvation? ideas of timeand space, weather control, InChapter IX, SettlementPatterns and and the occupants of the human world and Housing, Chapter X, Southern Yukon Tech- the other-than-human worlds. If this chapter nology, andChapter XI, A YukonStyle seems less successful than later ones, because Book, theauthor contrasts modem villages the topics themselves are not obviously con- with the aboriginal dwellings of people who nected, it maywell be because the Indians once had to move constantly for subsistance, havenever formulated a logically coherent and whose lives were transformed by the in- system. An understanding of their ideas, how- troduction of steeltools andmanufactured ever, grows as we read further, for the effects goods after the GoldRush of 1898. Native REVIEWS 241

artefacts include tools, weapons, aidsto trans- bers of other tribes, and even to animals, thus portation, utensils,clothing, ornaments, etc. determining how these are to be addressed. The author has obviously helped in the ar- Again theauthor demonstrates her respect duous task of tanning moose hides, and has for databy presenting her Southern Tutchone run on snowshoes, and so knows the trick of and Tagish kin terminologies untampered,de stepping into the bindings, and how to judge spite phonetic uncertainties. We should note a well-made pair. She evaluates Yukon mate- the emphasis upon “father’s people” among rial culture as being ingenious and efficient, all three matrilineal groups, and how relief but not rich. Among many other topics are from the tensions between superior and infe- discussed the Indians’ intense interest in fine rior are afforded by adroit manipulation of clothes, prudishness in keeping themselves al- the institutionalized avoidance or joking be- ways covered (except for youths in training), tween certain relatives. Especially important use of garments as status markers, and iden- wasMcClellan’s discovery of avoidance be- tification of the “self” with its covering. One tween older and younger brother among the isimpressed by the author’s careful tracing Inland Tlingit. In the interior, sibs, at least of times, sources, trade routes, and sequences as corporate bodiescontrolling ceremonial of various kinds of imported goods, such as rights and tangible property, seem to date glassbeads, or of aboriginal materials like from the late nineteenth century, when sur- dentalia, obtained fromother natives or pluswealth made possible big potlatches. white people. Documentation fromtraveller’s While a simple moiety system may have pre- reports, museum collections, and archaeolog- cededsuch sibs of Tlingitderivation, the ical finds, supplements what native memories problem of the original priority of moiety or can provide, and gives a dynamic picture. sib remains moot. Chapter MI, The Human Being, and Chap- Although territories were formerly owned ter XIII, The Round of Life, concern the In- by sibs (where these existed), and there were dians’ views of themselves as human, which everywhere strong emotional attachments to includewhat would correspond to Western such lands, kin relationships could be invoked notions of “soul”, “mind” and “ghost”, and or invented to give anyone access to the re- the personalitytypes recognized by the In- sourcesin any area. Theinstitution of the dians. For each group is traced the life cycle modern registered traplke has broken down of men and women from conception andbirth the aboriginal relationship to the land, and to old age and death, a cycle structured by with it, the symbolic importance of sib-owed belief in reincarnation and fearof contamina- mountains or rivers.Whereas chieftainship tion from menstruation and childbirth. The among the Tagish and Inland Tliigit was a rituals of the life crises, especially the long function of rank, with one chief for each sib ordeals of girls at puberty, repeated in magical in any community, among the Southern Tut- detail to some extent at childbirth and widow- chone the two moiety chiefs in each group hood, are especiallyimpressive, and made owed their position to wealth and personal- vivid by personal accounts. Repeated empha- ity, while still farthernorth, character was sis in ritual situations is placedon industrious- decisiveand a sonin the oppositemoiety ness,generous sharing of food, respect for couldsucceed his father. Intertribal trade the aged, and care to avoid cutting the “life was largely in the hands of such leaders or line” ofoneself or of others. TheInland chiefs. A comparison of interior and coast- Tlingit repeat the puberty ritual in shortened al Tlingitaccounts, corroborated by the format the menopause,when the woman Krause3 brothers (ethnologists) and by Mrs. “becomes a hunter again,” and “changes back Willard4(the missionary’s wife), all writing to a man.” The description of the relationship in 1881-82, and by earlier reports from Rob- between the livingand the dead,especially ert Campbella, Hudson’s BayCompany agent among the Tagish andInland Tlingit,pro- at , provides a striking picture of vides us witheven greater insight intothe strong, aggressive coastal Tlingitexploiting nature of the powers firstreferred to in Chap- the submissive “Stick Indians” of the interior, ter 11. while the latter tried to exploit their neigh- Chapter XIV, Kinship and Kinship Be- bours further inland. Some tribes were tradi- havior, Chapter XV, Moiety and Sib, and tional enemies, warfare being particularly Chapter XVI, Authority and the Control of welldeveloped between theInland Tlingit Resources, provide a sketch of the social and the . worlds of the three “tribes.” Kin include the In Chapter XVIII, Those Who Deal with dead,whose names are given to their rein- Power, theauthor studies the phenomena carnations, and kinship is extended to mem- characterized by superhuman powermani- 242 REVIEWS

festedby personalized spirits. Those who adds that “even if the data in this volume are tapped or used such sources ofpower were often meagre and disjointed, [she hopes] they the shamans.They were individualists, sur- willprovide a framework into which[she] prisingly open to innovations in ideology and and others can fit richer and fuller accounts practice. The shaman was most often a man, of northern peoples and so begin to formulate although a woman past menopause was the further questions.” She againchallenges us strongest, because she “fully understood both byposing some of these. For example,in- sexes.” Powerswere often inherited inthe stead of attempting to define and locate “tri- matriline, but could pass from father to son; bal groups” on our maps, we should try to they might be sought, or come unbidden and discover what criteria the Indians use in clas- unwanted, for the regimen of a shaman was sifyingindividuals and groups, and what arduous, and the novitiate a terrifying ordeal. groupings they recognize. In so doingwe Shamanscured illness by recovering a lost must remain constantly aware of the impor- soul, extracting a “disease object,” or forcing tance which the Indians place on individual the confession of a guilty witch. They con- self-reliance and distinctiveness.While we trolled the weather,brought game tothe are impressedby thefact that the Yukon hunter, and gave public exhibitions of their Indians created a culture which has endured powers.Some shamans “died” and visited for a very long time, despite a harsh and de- “heaven.” While such stories now incorporate manding natural environment, wesee that obviously Christian elements, visits to other modern contacts have strained it badly. But worlds were part of pre-contact beliefs. The the Indians’ great sensitivity to other peoples shaman always returned with new songs (the and theirown extraordinary adaptibility to mediumof power), new rules and amulets new technologies and ideologies suggest that for thepeople, thus starting a modest “prophet they will achieve a new integration in the fu- movement.”McClellan suggests that these ture. These volumes will serve to help them influences were more widespread inthe north- maintain their ties with the past and remem- west than is usually supposed, and that they ber what their old people say. are not so much associated with times of de- Frederica de Laguna privation as periods of prosperity,a thesis she plans to develop in a future publication. REFERENCES Witches,fortune-tellers, “animal” intrud- INaish, C., and Story, G. 1963. English-Tlin- ersinto the human body,“Bushmen” who git dictionary. Fairbanks, Alaska: Summer stealgirls, “Wealth-Woman” who confers Institute of Linguistics. fortunes, and the “Invisible Night-Time Spir- 2Personalconsultation of author with Dr. its” (objectified terrors of abnormal persons), M. E. Krauss, Department of Linguistics, characterize the worldof wonder. While University of Alaska. probably no Yukon Indian has consciously SKrause, A. and A. 1882. Die Expedition der systematized all thesebeliefs, “much of his Bremergeographischen Gesellschaft nach energywent into learning to copewith the der Tschukutsschen-Halbinsel und Alaska, fact [thathe] constantly confronted various 1881-1882, II. Deutsche geograpkische manifestations of superhuman power.” Bfatter 5 (2): 111-53. In Chapter XIX, Conclusion, theauthor sWillard, Mrs. Eugene S. 1884. Life in Ah- modestlydisavows any attempt to make a ka. Philadelphia:Presbyterian Board of final summary for this book which is “offered Publications. as one of the many necessary steps that [she sTodd, J. W., Jr. (ed.). 1958. Two journals of hopes1 will lead us to a better understanding Robert Campbell, 1808-53.Seattle, Wash- of the history of both the coast and the inte- ington: J. W. Todd, Jr. Ltd. riorof northwestern North America.” She