The dynamics of a Dene struggle for self-determination
article 1992 Smith, David Merrill

ChipewyansNorth America > Arctic and Subarctic
In this paper, Smith recounts the drama surrounding attempts by the Dene to control local government. Tensions arise not only between the Dene and Eurocanadians, but also among the Dene themse...

Death of a patriarch
article 1995 Smith, David Merrill

ChipewyansNorth America > Arctic and Subarctic
This is a Chipewyan tale of an 19th century Métis leader, Francois Beaulieu. It tells of his conversion to Christianity after leading a life of debauchery and sin. He lived the rest of his lif...

An Athapaskan way of knowing
article 1998 Smith, David Merrill

ChipewyansNorth America > Arctic and Subarctic
This is a study of Chipewyan ontology and opens with a vivid account of a unusual hunting incident witnessed by the author, in which a coyote appears to display a supernatural intelligence. Sm...

Moose-Deer island house people
Book 1982 Smith, David Merrill

ChipewyansNorth America > Arctic and Subarctic
This a major historical ethnography of the Fort Resolution Chipewyan. Smith reconstructs the Chipewyan's aboriginal way of life and discusses their gradual assimilation during the contact peri...

Big stone foundations
article 1985 Smith, David Merrill

ChipewyansNorth America > Arctic and Subarctic
In this article, Smith examines the cultural significance of Chipewyan myths. He argues that "Myths are not icing on the cake of culture but are integral parts of viable human cultures." Furth...

The Chipewyan medicine fight in cultural and ecological perspective
book chapter 1990 Smith, David Merrill

ChipewyansNorth America > Arctic and Subarctic
In this paper, Smith discusses Chipewyan sorcery, or 'medicine fights' --the term he prefers--in context of a general Chipewyan understanding of power. The Chipewyans see all beings as reposit...