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No description available.

Through an analysis of Cree concepts of well-being, I challenge conventional social scientific definitions of health. In this dissertation I argue that there exists a fundamental biomedical dualism in health studies and, using cross-cultural examples, explore an expanded notion of "health". I then introduce the Cree concept of miyupimaatisiiu ("being alive well") and explain that for the Whapmagoostui Cree there is no term that translates back into English as health. I present the core symbols of "being alive well" and in their analysis find a persistence of traditional meanings. For the Cree "being alive well" is consonant with "being Cree", simultaneously transcending the individual and reflecting current political realities. Miyupimaatisiiu for the adult Cree of Whapmagoostui is a strategy of cultural assertion and resistance and hence situated within the realm of political discourses.

Aboriginal youth well-being is an increasingly important topic. Research with mainstream populations highlights two keys to well-being, namely perceived personal control, and a clear sense of self-identity. However, despite relevance for Aboriginal groups, underappreciated to date is the potential role of perceived collective control, and clarity of collective identity, for well-being. Thus, the present program of research investigated the impact of collective control and identity on the well-being of Aboriginal youth. Residents of two Cree communities in northern Manitoba collaborated in the research. Based on community members' input on important community and youth issues, we developed two surveys on youth well-being, which were completed by students in grades 7 and up. / The results of Study 1 indicated that greater perceived individual-level internal control was associated with greater psychological well-being. As well, investigating for the first time perceived group-level control and Aboriginal youth well-being, the results indicated that greater perceived group-level internal control was associated with greater well-being. However, the results additionally suggested an association between greater perceived external control (Others and Creator) and greater well-being. The effect of group-level internal control on well-being was mediated by individual-level internal control, but not moderated by strength of Native identity. Finally, the results suggested a significant relationship between greater strength of aspects of cultural identity and greater well-being. / Study 2 expanded upon these findings, employing revised measures to assess perceived control, identity clarity, and substance use. Similar to Study 1, the results of Study 2 indicated an association between greater perceived individual-level internal control and greater psychological well-being, as well as between individual-level others control and well-being. Additionally, multidimensional measures of control indicated an association between greater perceived individual-level control over drinking and decreased well-being. Furthermore, Study 2 indicated an association between greater perceived group-level internal control and greater psychological well-being. This relationship was partially mediated by individual-level internal control. Finally, the results suggested an association between greater strength of cultural identity and greater well-being. / Overall, the present program of research provides key preliminary support for a greater consideration of group-level factors in well-being, particularly in efforts to enhance and support Aboriginal youth well-being.

Thesis (Ph.D.). / Written for the Faculty of Religious Studies. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2008/07/23). Includes bibliographical references.

Originally the author's thesis (Ph. D.). -- McMaster University, 1982. / Abstract in English and French. 1 map and 2 charts folded in pocket. Bibliography: p. 154-166. Archival sources: p. 167-174.

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This dissertation examines the activities of hunting and exchange and how they are thought about by the northern Quebec Cree of Wemindji. The activities of material production are generated in the dialectical relation of experience to Cree structures of thought. Reciprocity amounts to a paradigm for Cree thought, informing models of both ecological and social relations. The effect of material relations on structural transformations is viewed in discursive genres of several levels, ranging from everyday dialogue to mythico-ritual symbolism. Special attention is paid to four categories of "persons" which have been of consuming interest to the natural and social science of the Crees: Canada geese, black bears, Crees, and "White Men".

This thesis is a northern response to the dwelling culture and housing shortage of the Cree community in Moosonee, Ontario, located on the Western James Bay. The program of this thesis centres on housing, shared workshop space, and a public room, all designed specifically for those with the greatest need, multi-generational families, the elderly, and single parents with children. By anchoring the project with the premise of home as a zero point, a necessary place of beginning, I examined the typology of the house and its ability to respond to both landscape and culture. The housing responds to existing patterns in material culture, social structure, and ways of experiencing the land. Through this project I have investigated the myriad ways in which architecture can act as a cultural tool that reaffirms a sense of place and responds to living patterns and the northern climate.

This thesis examines original evidence of Cree legal traditions by carefully reconstructing the Cumberland House and Pelican Narrows Saskatchewan evidence from 1774 to present day. Cree peoples in the area had a long history prior to contact with Europeans. At time of contact Indigenous people were in a position of power. They knew how to flourish in the prairies and taught the newcomers how to survive. This thesis explores questions including when does the loss of traditional law begin in the culture by examining the original Hudson’s Bay Company Post Journals that reveal evidence of pre-contact Cree laws and culture. There is also evidence in the HBC records of Cree legal traditions that survived and continued to be practiced.