At 1:17 PM -0500 11/21/98, Ed Weick wrote:
<<snip>>
> Note the following comment on Indian people in northern
>Saskatchewan:
<<snip>>
> This social system, based on the extended family unit, was designed for a
>subsistence economy where the importance of the individual was subordinate
>to that of the family. Tribal organization and leadership was extremely
>loose and often of short duration, according to the conditions of the
>hunt.
I think this is what Theobald calls "sapiential leadership"-- i.e. the
most qualified person for the task at hand (regardless of status) takes
charge for that task.
> Since commercial aspects ... were of secondary importance, their social
>system was not oriented towards the market place nor to individual
>success.
>The accumulation of wealth and property by individuals or families had no
>place in their value system. Their goal was day by day survival ..."
>(Bone, Robert M. and Earl N. Shannon with Stewart Raby; The Chipewyan
>of the
>Stony Rapids Region, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge,
>England, May
>1972, pp. 185-186.)
>
>Ed Weick
Obviously conditions varied; life in the South Seas or the North
Pacific coast was certainly easier than life in the far north. But even
this passage does not say that life was constant toil. Perhaps it was,
but I doubt it. There was probably considerable celebration (as well as
a lot of work) after a large caribou was taken. And what traditional
Chipewyan would trade places with a modern slum or barrio dweller- or
for that matter with most current northern natives, living in
communities robbed of most of their ancient values and purpose,
semi-educated in modern ways and ravaged by alcohol and drugs?
But I am not decrying invention and automation; I am merely saying that
our socio-economic system has turned unimaginable boons into nullities
or curses for many of us; that our ability to enable almost everyone to
live materially better than ancient kings hasnot only failed to improve
the quality of life for many, but has actually made it more stressful,
toilsome and purposeless.
Caspar Davis
