The hunting grounds of the Naskapi lie roughly within a semi-ellipse, reckoning 150 miles west and 50 miles north and south of Davis Inlet. It is the interior western part of this area where the Naskapi hunt for caribou which provides the setting for the most crucial aspects of Naskapi social life and culture. Their environment consists mainly of barren mountains and rolling plains broken up by numerous lakes and rivers. Throughout this exposed landscape, widely scattered patches of conifers are found in protected riverbeds and on a few sheltered hillsides. Here the Naskapi erect their tents, while the daily...

In the spring, when the Naskapi travel towards the coast and Davis Inlet, they look forward to meeting people they have not seen for a long time, and to visiting the store where they can buy all the goods which they have to ration or do completely without in the Barren Grounds. Indeed, if the date of departure depended on snow and ice conditions, most of the Nas kapi could stay a month longer in the Barrens than they do and still travel down to the coast by dog sled. However, in their deliberations, they all give as reasons for...

In the foregoing chapter, it was shown that there is a relatively equal distribution of material wealth among the Naskapi, and that social and ecological factors severely restrict the possibilities for any accumulation of wealth. Thus, there is no basis for a systematic relationship between the distribution of wealth and social rank. Although minimal equipment is required to shoot the caribou necessary to gain prestige, every Naskapi can afford to obtain it. It is possible, however, that this technological minimum will rise in the future with the introduction of, for example, motor toboggans; some Naskapi would be prevented from participating...

In chapter 3, we have seen that much information is needed to decide where, when, and with whom to go hunting, and that the formation of hunting groups and camps, though the result of individual decisions of self-interest, is acollectiveprocess; that is, the actions of others are crucial to one’s own decisions and to the success of one’s own actions. These processes of information management and decision-making were seen in connection with competition for leadership and prestige, and with the sorting out of leaders and followers. This chapter will be concerned with other factors that are relevant to...

As soon as the Naskapi reach the coast and settle down in Davis Inlet for the summer, their social life and the setting in which it takes place changes in character. In the interior, it is necessary for the men to hunt to keep their families alive. In addition, the men can accumulate prestige and attain leadership, goals which spur the men to action. As will be shown, these incentives are absent on the coast; furthermore, the store is there with all its goods, and the government provides relief to those who need it, thereby securing everybody a living. Hence,...

Except for the settler family who once lived in Sango Bay, it is only in Davis Inlet that the Naskapi come into contact with white men. Here they frequently interact with the missionary, the storekeeper, and since 1967, with the teacher. They also have limited contact with Eskimos and settlers from the communities of Nain and Hopedale who sometimes travel through Davis Inlet to go caribou hunting. Government officials from the Northern Labra dor Services Division make brief visits to the community during the summer, and one or two politicians make an hour stop-over every election year to ask the...

Living among the Naskapi in Davis Inlet, one quickly learns that they are much less enthusiastic about fishing cod than hunting caribou. While sitting in their punts in a bay jigging cod, they often say, “Fishing is no good – too hard work. Only hunting any good. Hunting is not work.” For an outsider, these remarks may seem strange when one compares the relatively easy job of fishing cod with the harsh and strenuous life of a hunter. Obviously, the Naskapi are not basing their assessment on the time or the physical effort put into these two activities, but rather on...