Northern Passage: Ethnography and Apprenticeship Among the Subarctic Dene - Softcover

Robert Jarvenpa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0881339903 ISBN 13: 9780881339901

Publisher: Waveland Pr Inc, 1998

Synopsis

What is it like living among and learning about the cultural realities of other people for the first time? Northern Passage uses the motif of apprenticeship to reveal the humbling, childlike quest of the novice ethnographer, on the one hand, and the trials of an active participant learning the intricacies of bush life and livelihood from subarctic Indian hunting partners and teachers, on the other hand. In the process, Jarvenpa's reflexive narrative presents a compelling vision of northern Dene or Athapaskan society. The Han people of the Yukon Territory and eastern Alaska, and the Chipewyan of northern Saskatchewan, emerge as vividly drawn actors in a cultural landscape distinctly influenced by gold miners, fur traders, missionaries, conservation officers, and other post-colonial agents. This candid but sensitive treatment deals with issues such as trapping economies, knowledge of the environment, dreaming and hunting power, permission and informed consent, language learning, accusations of spying, alcohol use, economic development, partnerships, note-taking, and the pros and cons of active participation. Jarvenpa's early field experiences unfold as a primer on false leads, setbacks and revealing discoveries building to a suspenseful aftershock.

Titles of related interest also available from Waveland Press: Balicki, The Netsilik Eskimo (ISBN 9780881334357); Brody, Maps and Dreams: Indians of the British Columbia Frontier (ISBN 9780881339659); Kawagley, A Yupiaq Worldview: A Pathway to Ecology and Spirit, Second Edition (ISBN 9781577663843); and Ziker, Peoples of the Tundra: Northern Siberians in the Post-Communist Transition (ISBN 9781577662129).

About this title

About the Author

Robert Jarvenpa is Professor of Anthropology and currently Chair of the Department of Anthropology at University of Albany, State University of New York. In addition to more than two decades of work with subarctic Dene, Dr. Jarvenpa has conducted extensive field research in Finland and Costa Rica. He is the author of The Trappers of Patuanak and Ethnoarchaeological and Cultural Frontiers (with Hetty Jo Brumbach) as well as numerous publications concerning social change, ecology, interethnic relations, political economy, gender, and ethnoarchaeology.

From the Back Cover

“Jarvenpa presents a moving, sometimes tragic portrayal of people who live in an environment known for its demanding conditions, and in so doing captures an essence rarely found in ethnographic writing. This aspect of the book will appeal to anyone interested in the Subarctic, in particular how people have adapted and continue to adapt to its demanding and changing conditions. Personal accounts of fieldwork from the Subarctic are rare, and as such this book helps fill a gap. (Arctic: Journal of the Arctic Institute of North America, Vol. 51, No. 4, December 1998)

“This marvelous book does a wonderful job of explaining the hunter-fisher subsistence strategy. Very well written. Hard to put down.”  — Brian Siegel, Furman University

From the Inside Flap

"Jarvenpa presents a moving, sometimes tragic portrayal of people who live in an environment known for its demanding conditions, and in so doing captures an essence rarely found in ethnographic writing. This aspect of the book will appeal to anyone interested in the Subarctic, in particular how people have adapted and continue to adapt to its demanding and changing conditions. Personal accounts of fieldwork from the Subarctic are rare, and as such this book helps fill a gap. (Arctic: Journal of the Arctic Institute of North America, Vol. 51, No. 4, December 1998)

Edition details

• Publisher: Waveland Pr Inc
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0881339903
• ISBN 13: 9780881339901
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 210