The Heiltsuks - Dialogues of Culture and History on the Northwest Coast

In an incisive and wide-ranging critique of ethnohistory and historical anthropology, Michael E. Harkin develops an innovative approach to understanding the profound cultural changes experienced during the past century by the Heiltsuks (Bella Bella), a Northwest Coast Indian group. Between 1880 and 1920, the Heiltsuks changed from one of the most traditional and aggressive groups on the Northwest Coast to paragons of Victorian virtues. Why and how did this dramatic transformation occur? Harkin answers these questions by tracing the changing views the Heiltsuks had of themselves and of their past as they encountered colonial powers.

 

Rejecting many of the common methods and assumptions of ethnohistorians as unwittingly Eurocentric or simplistic, Harkin argues that the multiple perspectives, motives, and events constituting the Heiltsuks' world and history can be productively conceived of as dialogues, ongoing series of culturally embedded communicative acts that presuppose previous acts and constrain future ones. Historical transformations in three of these dialogues, centering on the body, material goods, and concepts of the soul, are examined in detail.

About the author

Michael E. Harkin is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Wyoming and the author of a forthcoming study of Northwest Coast Indians.

Summary

Traces the changing views the Heiltsuks (Northwest Coast Indian group) had of themselves and of their past as they encountered colonial powers. This book argues that the multiple perspectives, motives, and events constituting the Heiltsuks' world and history can be productively conceived of as a series of culturally embedded communicative acts.

Product details

• Authors: Michael E Harkin, Michael E. Harkin, Michael Eugene Harkin
• Publisher: Bison Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.11.2000
• EAN: 9780803273269
• ISBN: 978-0-8032-7326-9
• No. of pages: 195
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 12 mm
• Weight: 322 g
• Series: Studies in the Anthropology of North American Indians; Studies in the Anthropology of North American Indians; Studies in the Anthropology of
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Miscellaneous; Amerikanische Geschichte, Amerika, Ethnic Studies, Archaeology / Anthropology, HISTORY / Native American, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / Native American Studies