Indians of the North Pacific Coast Cover Image

Book

Indians of the North Pacific Coast / edited and with an introduction by Tom McFeat.

McFeat, Tom, (author of the introduction,, editor.).

Summary:

"The essays in this book deal with the life and society of the Indians of the North Pacific Coast of North America. These Indians represent a unique and fascinating culture featuring a highly accentuated system of social ranking. The interpretation of the behaviour and institutions of the British Columbia Indians has long engaged the attention of some of the world's most eminent anthropologists. This volume brings together writings on the subject by such authorities as Franz Boas, Philip Drucker, and Edward Sapir. Conflicting interpretations of behaviour, especially arising from attempts to explain that unique custom of the North Pacific Coast Indians the Potlatch - are clearly revealed in the selections. Thus the reader is given a rare opportunity to understand the culture of one of the most interesting groups among the Indian peoples of Canada."-- back cover.

Record details

ISBN: 9780771097256
ISBN: 0771097255
Physical Description: xv, 268 pages ; 18 cm.
Publisher: Toronto, Ontario : McCelland and Stewart, 1966.
Copyright: ©1966.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Bibliography: pages [267]-268. Bibliographical footnotes.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction -- Part One, An Introduction to the Area : The Indian Tribes of the North Pacific Coast / Franz Boas -- Primary Forms of Material Culture: Living and Eating / John R. Jewitt -- Boatmanship / Gilbert Malcolm Sproat -- Nootka Whaling / Philip Drucker. Part Two, Social Organization : The Social Organization of the West Coast Tribes / Edward Sapir -- Social Organization of the Haida / John R. Swanton -- The Ancestral Family of the Bella Coola / T. F. McIlwraith. Part Three, The Potlatch : The Potlatch / Franz Boas -- The Nature of the Potlatch / H. G. Barnett -- Fighting with Property / Helen Codere -- Some Variations on the Potlatch / Philip Drucker -- Black Market in Prerogatives Among the Northern Kwakiutl / Ronald L. Olson -- Git-la'n Chief's Potlatch / Viola Garfield -- Daniel Cranmer's Potlatch / Helen Codere -- Lagius Gives Me a Copper / Clellan S. Ford. Part Four, Rank And Class: Viewpoints : Rank, Wealth, and Kinship in Northwest Coast Society / Philip Drucker -- Kwakiutl Society: Rank Without Class / Helen Codere -- Boas and the Neglect of Commoners - Critique / Verne F. Ray -- Comment / Robert H. Lowie -- Rejoinder / Verne F. Ray -- Private Knowledge, Morality, and Social Classes Among the Coast Salish / Wayne Suttles. Part Five, Ceremonialism : The Winter Ceremonial / Franz Boas -- Charlie Nowell Recalls the Winter Ceremonies / Clellan S. Ford. Part Six, Deviance and Normality : Crime and Punishment in Tlingit Society / Kalervo Oberg -- The Patterns of the Culture / Philip Drucker -- The Amiable Side of Kwakiutl Life: The Potlatch and the Play Potlatch / Helen Codere -- The Amiable Side of Patterns of Culture / Victor Barnouw. Appendix : Culture Element Distributions / Philip Drucker -- Suggestions for Further Reading -- Note on the Editor -- The Contributors.