Module 10 - Culture, Space, and Place Flashcards
Oral traditions
he means by which knowledge is reproduced, preserved and
conveyed from generation to generation. Oral traditions form the
foundation of Indigenous societies, connecting speaker
and listener in communal experience and uniting past and present
in memory”
What do oral traditions do?
oral-based knowledge systems
* Work to keep the social order intact
* Work to maintain historical record
* Work to sustain cultures and identities
* Relies upon knowledge holders
* Provide space for interacting with environment
* performative practices done collectively
* can present variation
provide space for interacting with environments, heavily dependant on place + place making - often heavily informed by peoples engagement with place
Indigenous place names
ortals to a society’s culture, history, use, and perception of the
environment (Basso 1988)
* express indigenous ways of interacting with the landscape
§ Markers of cultural knowledge, societal, climate changes etc
§ As far back as boas
§ 1980s Keith Basso also started writing about place, noted that place can be seen as intrinsic to understanding culture more than being labels as identifying points in space
□ Connotes a soc culture, perception of environment, ontologies, places of being, etc
□ Express ways of interacting with the environment
Mapping
universal process, shared by
all societies
§ Like speaking, is a universal process, shared by all societies, all cultures - like writing, a specific expression of mapping characteristics of societies
□ Indig place names - provide a basis of mental and cognitive maps through which knowledge of cultural landscapes are then expressed
Sami - Sampi
place names provide the basis of oral mapping, embedded in narrative + storytelling - designate to spec landmarks - trad reindeer herders
§ Meaningful info about places + explain routes + itineraries -> integral part of environmental knowledge - dev and continue intimate relations with their land
§ Basis for transmission of cult landscape through oral mapping
Cogos Article
§ Article based on study based on semi-structured interviews with the Sami
□ Did not trad use maps, the place name is the map - use narratives built around place names
□ Sami mapping through recounting the journey is built around named landmarks + possibility they offer to reindeer herding
§ Sami today cont transmission of knowledge via oral trad + also through inc use of maps (as we know them) maps follow this Western mapping tradition
□ Authors found maps are unable to express sami cultural knowledge (oral/cognitive maps) just rep points in space
® Simply placing names on maps is merely a label
□ Sami say the “Western’ map lacks cognitive, perceptual + social context found in sami oral trad of mapping
□ Sami today are using maps to learn + remember the names of places
Toponymic knowledge
means place knowledge - place name - indig place naming is a way of oral mapping - in case of Sami see inc use of maps + western mapping does not translate to full sami way of knowing place
§ Policies that have been enacted to standardize sami names to fit in w Swedish pronunciation - distorts Sami names - authors point out that this is a form of toponymic colonialism
Political power of place names
e.g. Victoria - named after Queen who has never even been here -
Counter-mapping
way of decolonizing mapping/cartographic traditions - movement of countermapping North America - by indig + community activists - movement of appropriation where communities appropriate state strategies of control and domination
Brian Tom + Google earth
as a platform for visualizing cultural landscapes, land rights etc - (next ANTH Uvic Chair of department) - work he has done has been done with coast salish - see quote on slides - project aimed on countermapping and pushing back on colonial name + framing of place + used to help push back against govt
Activism
Action in persuit of a political or social goal
essentialist
the belief that a group of people possess a set of inherent characteristics often used in discussions related to race, gender, class, and sexuality
‘noble savage’
refers to the notion that “there are simple people, living in an Edenic landscape and gentle climate, whose powers of reason and ability to live in harmony with nature ensure relief from the evils of civilization”
Potlach
a form of ceremonial gift-giving found on the Northwest Coast, used to mark important social occasions, such as assuming an important title, erecting a ceremonial pole, and other significant collective events
revitilization movement
an organized effort by members of a society or group to construct a more satisfying culture
‘savage beast’
a construct that portrays Indigenous peoples as living in a constant state of violence, disorganization, and chaos
Treaty
an agreement made under law; in the context of Indigenous land, it is a contract between an Indigenous people and another governing body
