Plant names in three Pacific Northwest Indian languages -- Haida (Skidegate and Masset dialects), Bella Coola, and Lillooet (Fraser River "dialect") -- were analyzed semantically and taxonomically. A computerized sorting system was developed to handle pertinent information associated with these names and their corresponding plant types. At the present time, each language contains an average of about 150 generic-level plant names, over 50% of which correspond in a one-to- one fashion with botanical species. Some of the names have no meaning other than as plant names, but most are analyzable into smaller units of meaning, reflecting traditional beliefs, utilization, innate characteristics of the plants, or their resemblance to some substance, object, or other plant. Some of the generic terms are obviously borrowed from other languages, and a number of taxa can be found in each language which originally applied to indigenous species and have been expanded in recent times to include cultivated or imported counterparts. Each language contains a few general "life-form" plant names, a number of intermediate taxa -- usually unnamed, and in Haida and Lillooet, a few specific-level terms. None of the groups has an all-inclusive word for "plant". There are also several specialized generic- level terms in each language, and many general names for parts of plants. Cultural significance of plants correlates positively with the degree of specificity of names applied to them, with the number of specialized terms associated with them, and with the lexical retention of their names in diverging dialects. Linguistic origin, floristic diversity, cultural traits, inter-group contact, and especially the recent acculturation of native peoples into "white" society, are believed to be major factors influencing the character of phytotaxonomic systems of the three study groups. Maps of the study areas are provided, and appendixes are included listing all plant names used in the study, their botanical correspondence, and the utilization and cultural significance of the plants involved. / Science, Faculty of / Botany, Department of / Graduate

This paper aims at demonstrating the close association of Indian alcohol abuse with the Indian-White relationship as it has developed throughout the contact period. The author became aware of this association in the course of her study of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) among the Coast Salish Indians. In contrast to the situation obtaining among the Coast Salish Indians, lack of interest in A.A. is reported for most Indian groups of North America. The author reviews Coast Salish culture traits with regard to their relevance to the socio-cultural problems of the Indian population today, and explores the relationship between patterns of alcohol use and abuse and Westernization. Alcohol abuse among British Columbia Indians has become a major factor in social, physical, and mental pathology according to statistical evidence, and it is in this context that the function of A.A. and its efficacy in combating alcoholism is investigated. Alcoholics Anonymous maintains that all members are equal, regardless of racial, ethnic or religious background. But Indians with alcohol problems find it difficult to speak openly among non-Indians in A.A. Alleged or real discriminations led to the formation of Indian A.A. groups among the Coast Salish some ten years ago, and participation in them has been steadily growing. Patterns of traditional social structure and behaviour are reflected in the way the Coast Salish conduct their A.A. meetings, and this clearly sets their groups apart from other A.A. organizations. Indian A.A. meetings are important social events on the reserve; sometimes they take the form of a family court, the participants having to justify their behaviour towards kinsmen in front of the whole A.A. group. Considerable discussion is devoted to Indian-White relations, a fact which demonstrates the importance of this conflict area to Indians with alcohol problems. There is a strong emphasis on rebirth through A.A. The "power greater than ourselves" in the A.A. programme is to the local Indian member a syncretic amalgamation of the Christian God with the spirit power of the Salish winter ceremonials. Many Indian A.A. members also attend the revived spirit dances, and the same building is used for both purposes on a local reserve. The author discusses the social movement-aspects of Indian A.A. and the possibility of its development into a nativistic movement. Abstinence from alcohol has been extolled by many religious movements among North American Indians such as the Handsome Lake Religion, the Ghost Dance, the Indian Shaker Church, and the Peyote Cult, which are described in the context of Indian efforts to combat alcoholism. The inefficiency of purely Western methods of helping Indians with alcohol problems is the basis of the author's conclusion that any assistance rendered by Western agencies, in order to be effective, must rely on Indian initiatives and actively involve the local Indian population. Only anti-alcoholic programmes integrating Indian A.A. groups with Indian community centres and professional consultation services in an organized effort, will have a chance to meet with success. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

In the process of negotiating land claims, First Nations in British Columbia and Canada face the challenging task of presenting a unified identity without trampling on the inevitable diversity within their communities. This thesis explores the perceived conflict between unity and diversity amongst Native populations. It brings together fieldwork in St6:l o territory in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, performance theory, and contemporary discourse surrounding identity production at this particular point in time. The work examines performance of identity as a form of social action and the variability of identity performances. Data was gathered from interviews with people involved with two sites where educational programmes are being developed for local students: Xa:ytem Longhouse Interpretive Centre at Hatzic Rock, near Mission, and Longhouse Extension Programme/ Shxwt'a:selhawtxw on St6:l o Nation grounds in Chilliwack. The theme explored in this thesis is that just as unity is politically expedient, diversity and its management is an important facet of the performance of identity. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

The full history of the early East Indian community in British Columbia has yet to be written. Here an attempt has been made to assemble the information relating to some aspects of the community's origins and development between 1904 and 1914, the first decade of their presence in Canada. This thesis also attempts to examine the structural position of the East Indian community and its lack of integration into and acceptance by the host society. Four major factors influencing the nature of development of the East Indian community were examined in detail: the socio-economic background of the East Indian immigrants, the nature of institutional developments in the nascent community in British Columbia, the attitudes and perceptions of the host society, and the political responses of the Dominion and Imperial governments to Indian immigration. Intensive, as opposed to extensive examination of these factors dictated the adoption of a thematic rather than a chronological approach. The methodology employed was interdisciplinary in nature, utilizing theoretical material drawn from the disciplines of sociology and anthropology. It was found that the East Indian community was an alienated ethnic group which lived on the social fringes of the host society. Integration and acceptance of the East Indians did not take place as a result of vast differences in the cultures and institutions of their country of origin and the host society, but more importantly, because the immigrants themselves did not want to integrate. The East Indians were sojourners who hoped to return to India in their old age to enjoy the wealth they had acquired abroad. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

This thesis develops and utilizes an analytical approach which illuminates the structure of one genre of Beaver Indian music -- specifically, Beaver Indian dreamer songs. The analytical approach or methodology developed here derives from previous scholarship in the area of structuralist inquiries in ethnomusicology and from analytical models extracted from structuralism and correlated with music. The scope of the thesis is restricted to the structural examination of forty-five Beaver Indian dreamer songs. No other genre of Beaver Indian music is scrutinized structurally and no other North American Indian music is discussed here. The methods of investigation used in this thesis may be described as follows. Chapter I introduces the problem. Chapter II examines the development of structural studies in ethnomusicology from 1880 to 1900, from 1900 to 1930, from 1930 to 1940, from 1940 to 1954, and from 1954 to the present. Chapter III presents an overview of the central tenets and methods of structuralism by discussing structuralist ideologies, structuralist approaches towards formulating methods of inquiry, and structuralist methods. Chapter IV correlates structuralism with musical analysis. More specifically, Chapter IV reveals ideological correlations, correlations in approach, and methodological correlations between structuralism and musical analysis. Chapter V presents an overview of the music and culture of the Beaver Indians. Sub-sections within this Chapter include discussions on: previous scholarship, geographic location and general ecological conditions, history of the Beaver, music and the supernatural, uses of music, Beaver Indian musical instruments, and additional notes on the music. Chapter VI investigates the structure of Beaver Indian dreamer songs via the methodology developed in Chapter IV. The contents of this Chapter are: selected musical transcriptions, selected structural analyses, a comparative study on the structural musical genres of Beaver Indian dreamer songs, and additional musical descriptions. Chapter VII concludes the study. The significance of this thesis is threefold. First, it presents some knowledge and understanding of the structure of Beaver Indian dreamer songs. Second, it presents transcriptions of sound material hitherto unanalyzed. Third, it develops and utilizes an analytical approach for the study of musical structure in non-Western music — a technique which has not been utilized before in the analysis of any North American Indian music. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Graduate

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