Book
The transformation of Bigfoot: maleness, power, and belief among the Chipewyan
Smithsonian Institution Press • Washington, D.c. • Published In 1988 • Pages:
By: Sharp, Henry S..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Sharp presents a microsociological study of power in interpersonal relations within a single kin group of Chipewyan Indians living in a bush camp in the Northwest Territories of Canada. This study is based primarily on the author's field work during the spring and summer of 1975, further supplemented by data which he gathered on this subject group during brief earlier contacts with them in the period of 1968-1974, and again in 1977 and 1983. The theoretical issues under discussion in this work deal with the general nature of power in Chipewyan society, the relationship between symbolic forms -- INKOZE (supernatural knowledge and/or power), and beliefs about the 'bushman' (frequently referred to as 'Bigfoot' or 'Sasquatch) -- as a means of gender regulation, and finally the effects of Western concepts of 'belief' and 'rationality' as confounding variables in the analysis of Chipewyan thought and action (p. xii). In the exposition of these issues Sharp provides some supplemental information on various economic activities, particularly hunting and fishing, the rigors of travel in the region, family relationships, food preservation techniques, the preparation of animal skins, and biographical information on various members of his study group. The author fully participated in many aspects of the native economy, and much of the source deals with his travels and his personal relationship to the Chipewyan population.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Culture summary
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Hunting and trapping
- Fishing
- Travel services
- Literature
- General character of religion
- Spirits and gods
- Sacred objects and places
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Chipewyans
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Arctic and Subarctic
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 1989-1991
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1968-1983
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- early contact period - 1983
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Northwest Territories, Canada
- NotesAdditional notes
- [by] Henry S. Sharp
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 175-182)
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Chipewyan Indians--Hunting/Indians of North Americ