The people of Denendeh
Subtitle: ethnohistory of the Indians of Canada's Northwest Territories
By: June Helm ; with contributions by Teresa S. Carterette and Nancy O. Lurie.
Contributors: Carterette, Teresa S.; Lurie, Nancy Oestreich.
Publisher: University of Iowa City
Published: 2000
Place of publication: Iowa City
Language: eng
Number of pages: 389
Subjects: Athapascan Indians -- Northwest Territories -- History; Athapascan Indians -- Northwest Territories -- Social life and customs; Ethnohistory -- Northwest Territories; Northwest Territories -- Social life and customs
Description: "For fifty years anthropologist June Helm studied the culture and ethnohistory of the Dene, "The People," the Athapaskan-speaking Indians of the Mackenzie River drainage of Canada's western subarctic. This collection represents the culmination of her fieldwork, for the benefit of those studying North American Indians, hunter-gatherers, and subarctic ethnohistory and as a historical resource for the people of all ethnicities who live in Denendeh, Land of the Dene.".

"Helm begins with a broad-ranging, stimulating overview of the social organization of hunter-gatherer peoples of the world, past and present, that provides a background for all she has learned about the Dene. The chapters in part I focus on community and daily life among the Mackenzie Dene in the middle of the twentieth century.

After two historical overview chapters, Helm moves from the early years of the twentieth century to the earliest contacts between Dene and white culture, ending with a look at the momentous changes in Dene-government relations in the 1970s. Part 3 considers traditional Dene knowledge, meaning, and enjoyments, including a chapter on the Dogrib hand game.

Throughout, Helm's encyclopedic knowledge combines with her personal interactions to create a collection that is unique in its breadth and intensity."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [369]-384) and index.