NCJ Number
87602
Journal
Human Organization Volume: 39 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1980) Pages: 242-249
Date Published
1980
Length
8 pages
Annotation
In 1970, a provincial summary court was held by Quebec justice authorities in the Arctic town of Great Whale River, where seven Eskimos were tried for violating Eurocanadian law. This represents the government's attempt to educate the Inuit and Cree communities about the Eurocanadian legal system.
Abstract
The trials were the initial demonstration of the dominant society's system of social control to an indigenous and subordinate subpopulation, and they thus constituted an attempt at directed culture change and provided an opportunity for studying cultural adaptation. The analysis describes the environmental conditions to which the Great Whale Inuit have had to adapt (modern town setting, colonialistic system imposed by Eurocanadians, contrasts between European and Inuit systems of social control) considers the Inuit responses to these conditions as they were evidenced at the trials, and examines one particular trial in detail. The events indicate that the Inuit have selectively assimilated aspects of the European justice system (use of Eurocanadian police to enforce and uphold their own norms) and have abandoned some traditional features of indigenous justice no longer applicable to the changed environment (community execution of deviants who threaten group survival). The acculturation effort has been directed toward a better balance between important preexisting norms and the current environment (i.e., the permanent, congregated, and Eurocanadian-dominated town). The two ethnic systems of social control remain different in orientation but appear to be achieving compatibility. Footnotes, tables, and 33 references are given.