Long answers Flashcards
List and describe the four different types of political/societal structures that we examined in class
Band: Least complex, family groups, self-sufficient, nomadic, disperse on a seasonal basis
Simple band: 25-50, single extended family, egalitarian, leadership with elders
Composite band: 50-200, several extended families, egalitarian
Tribe: Several bands, 1,000 - 20,000 members, similar languages and lifestyles, occupy different territories, sodalities, leadership invested in headman, egalitarian (greater authority with headman), foraging, horticulture, pastoralism
Chiefdom: several residence groups under one leader, 1,000-30,000 similar to tribe but difference in leadership, authority with a hereditary chief (familial), centralized leadership, social stratification, inequality of wealth, pastoralism and agriculture
State: Wide spread territory, millions, centralized political power, bureaucracy, powers of state
List and describe the five tenets of Native science as described by Leroy Little Bear
Space/land: land is central to Indigenous identity, connection has led to extensive and intimate knowledge of creation, reference for history
Constant Motion/Flux: The world is in constant flux and change that can be addressed through accessing the knowledge associated with landscapes
Animation and Spirit: Everything is alive, all things are connected, all things are equal, responsibilities between everyone
Relationship: Reciprocal relationships are a central tenet to the whole of Creation. Relationships must be proactively renewed. accessed through dreaming
Renewal: All beings must maintain relationships with each other, regular ceremony to affirm relationships.
What three major areas of Indigenous culture did the Indian Act impact? How did these colonial policies act to erode Indigenous culture in Canada?
Ending traditional governance practices (Chiefs replaced with council system), Enfranchisement (Process of renouncing your Indigenous status and joining Settler society and a citizen of Canada), criminalization of religion (banned traditional practices), Residential schools (changed children culture)
Indigenous identity, culture practices, and spiritual beliefs
Define Evolutionism and describe the major ideas that it proposes. How did it (and does it) influence perceptions of Indigenous groups in North America?
Belief that evolution in linear, cultures must pass through prgressive stages. First stage is savagery characterized by fire, bow and arrow, pottery, hunter/gatherer.
Second stage is Barbarism characterized by agriculture, animal domestication, and metalworking.
Third stage is civilization characterized alphabet, writing, state society.
It made individuals believe that Indigenous societies were extremely primitive and it rationalized their justifications for colonialism and assimilation
What is the Solutrian Hypothesis and what does it propose? What are the major points that argue against this hypothesis, and why is this idea an issue today?
Solutrian hypothesis is a hypothesis for how the first humans migrated in to North America. It proposes that European populations from the Solutre region in France crossed over to eastern North America on Atlantic pack ice 21,000 years ago.
The major points for this hypothesis are based on the similarity in design between Clovis points in North America and Solutrean points. The issue is that the there is a long period of time between the two styles as Solutrian points appeared 21, 000 years ago while clovis was only about 11,500
What is Appropriation? What forms does it take, and how does it impact Indigenous culture?
Appropriation is the unacknowledged or inapproriate adoption of cultural customs, practices, or ideas of one culture by another. Adopting the culture in a society who does not have the cultural or historical context. It can happen through items in the style of certain cultures, written works, possession of Indigenous items, representation of yourself as Indigenous. It is a further extension of colonialism taking over cultural aspects for personal reason
Who were the Thule? Where and when did they live, and how did they differ technologically from previous groups? Which modern group is believed to be descended from them?
Culture developed in the Bering Strait region of Alaska 2,200-2,000 BP. They differed technologically because of watercrafts, harpoon line floats, bows and arrows, dogsled, tools, pottery, Inuksuk.
Inuit developed from them
Describe the Iroquois Confederacy and the Great Law of Peace. How were agreements decided upon within the Confederacy?
Confederacy was made between the Haudenosaunee nations. Consisted of the Haudenosaunee nations. The Great law of peace was a peace accord between these groups that governed the constitution of the confederacy and the role of each nation in the accord. Decisions made upon consensus of the group members.
What are the four major subdisciplines within anthropology? Which unique aspect of humanity does each study?
Physical anthropology: Examination of human biology to contribute information on the life and death of an individual
Linguistics: Study of human communication across time and space.
archaeology: Study of the physical history of a culture past and present
Cultural Anthropology: Examines current and recent past of a cultural groups. Examining customs, practices, and daily life
Contrast the concepts of time as it is viewed by Indigenous cultures and Western science. How is time culturally perceived by both communities?
Indigenous view time as non-linear, eventns are stressed over chronology. Time is cyclic and interwoven with no differences between past, present, and future. Connecting individuals with ancestors and descendents.
Western view time as linear. Everything is a set sequence and chronology is stressed.
