This thesis explores self determination through the lens of Cree First Nation members located in northeastern Alberta, Canada. The researcher utilizes the talking circle to explore how Cree leaders define self determination. Four prominent themes; 1) identity and western influences 2) personal transformation 3) searching for nehiyaw pimatsowin and 4) commitment and responsibility evolve from the stories shared. Cree spirituality and the need to involve ‘self’ in ceremony proves to be the foundation upon which Cree self determination is founded. This thesis moves towards, “Learning Self Determination Through the Sacred Embedded Teachings and Responsibilities given to Cree Women by the Creator”. / Graduate

This thesis examines the role played by European-made glass beads and other manufactured goods in first contact of Europeans with Native American Indian populations in Oregon, California and Washington. Utilising both the historical and archaeological record, the activities of the Spanish in Alta California, the Russians in Northern California, the Lewis and Clark expedition and the Pacific Northwest Coast companies are examined, highlighting their use of beads in gift giving and exchange with the Indians. The sources of the large volume of glass beads are presented and their method of manufacture discussed. The way In which different European nationalities and organisations progressed geographically and in the intensity of their interactions with the native populations is reflected in the archaeological assemblages, whilst processes of exchange and the use of trinkets such as beads in subjugation and pacification are clarified by study of the historical sources. Different European groups used such materials through the mission system, by pacification of groups to ensure access and safe passage and by the fur companies use of the beads as items of exchange for pelts of otters and other animals. The native Indian groups showed different preferences for specific coloured beads which then became part of their own wealth base and exchange system. The effects of such transactions, whether used deliberately as a form of subjugation or inadvertently as barter items, was to transform the economic systems of the native populations and specifically the way In which conspicuous consumption was carried out in potlatch ceremonies. The effect of both the introduction of new material items and the novel form of economic transactions bolstered other effects of the Europeans which transformed Native American cosmology and society permanently.

Archaeologists have portrayed north-central Venezuela as the seat of the Valencioid 'chiefdom' (a.d. 900-1500) and assumed socio-cultural continuity between the Valencioid culture and the historic Caraca Indians. These assumptions have neither been constructed nor tested on socially meaningful archaeological contexts. My research formulates and tests the cognitive value of the non-ceramic evidence recovered from socially meaningful archaeological contexts on the islands of the Central Coast of Venezuela as sources for understanding the developmental trajectory of the Valencioid polity(ies). The data come from archaeological surveys and excavations on 55 offshore islands and at 47 sites. Through horizontal excavation, off-site control units and statistical control over sample size it is established that the economic purpose for the occupation of a large Valencioid campsite at Dos Mosquises Island (a.d. 1400-1500) was primarily to exploit Conch Shell (Strombus gigas) for food and raw material. Other local resources, such as fishes, lobsters, turtles and birds, were complementary. The conceptual polarity food/artefact, often applied to the archaeofaunal analyses, is replaced by contextual discrimination between food, non-food remains and natural objects, which leads to inferences on social group composition, labour division, specialisation, differential access to food and the exportation of shell raw material outside the islands. The results of the contextual analyses of allochthonous mammal and special purpose artefacts indicate the presence of prominent members of the society (chief, shaman and/or warriors) and the ceremonial character of the core locus at the Dos Mosquises site. It is suggested that the organisation of the insular enterprise is most likely controlled from this core locus. From a macro-regional perspective, the resulting analyses challenge the notion of a 600 yearlong unilinear evolution toward social complexity of the Valencioid polity. The previous view of a straightforward, hegemonic character of this polity is replaced by perspective of recurrent long and short-term changes in the nature and intensity of regional interactions between several polities. These interactions were based on a changing multilateral negotiations of power through trade, co-operativev entures,r esourcee xploitation, intermarriage,c eremonial assistancew, arfare and peace. The purported continuity between the insular Valencioids and the Caraca Indians is not supported by the archaeological data.

No description available.

Graduation date: 1976

Thesis--University of Washington. / Vita. Bibliography: leaves [328]-336.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D. - Anthropology)--University of Arizona. / Published also as Amerind Foundation Publication no. 6, and contains added t.p. for series statement. Bibliography: leaves 392-405.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Illinois, 1937 / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-70). Also issued in print and microfiche.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2006. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter Metz. Includes DVD. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-57).