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Culture loss and culture change among the Micmac of the Canadian Maritime Provinces 1912-1950

Kroeber Anthropological Society papers (8)Published In 1953 • Pages: 100-129

By: Wallis, Wilson D. (Wilson Dallam), Wallis, Ruth Sawtell.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This paper was written in an attempt to study the extensiveness of culture loss in Micmac society over a period of thirty-eight years, from the time the author first studied these people in 1911-1912 to his second field trip to the Micmac in 1950. The author further hoped to be able to supplement the description of the old culture and folktales given him in 1911-1912 by his informants by additional material, and to assess some of the changes in material life, general orientation, drives and motivation which have evolved in the society during this period. The field work was carried out at the communities of Burnt Church, New Brunswick and Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. This source provides abundant data on various aspects of acculturation, and shows clearly how some of the elements of the traditional culture which were at least remembered by the author's older informants at the time of his first visit, now have become completely lost (e.g., canoe building, birch bark wigwam construction), or have been modified to a considerable extent through the process of acculturation.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Acculturation and culture contact
Sociocultural trends
Public welfare
Housing
Normal garb
Labor supply and employment
Ethos
Cultural identity and pride
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Mi'kmaq
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2010
RegionThe area the document pertains to
North America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Eastern Woodlands
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
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 ; 1964: John Beierle; 2009
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1911-1912, 1950
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1534-1950
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Maritime Provinces, Eastern Canada
NotesAdditional notes
Wilson D. Wallis and Ruth Sawtell Wallis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 128-129)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
54036266
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Micmac Indians