Discussion of Cultural Change -Teton Dakota

8/2/2019 Discussion of Cultural Change -Teton Dakota

1/12

A DISCUSSION O F CULTURE CHANCEAS ILLUSTRATED BY MATERIAL F R O MA TETON-DAKOTA COMMUNITY By SCUDDER MEKEEL

HEN culture comes to be studied more intimately in terms of process-w s, the need will be increasingly felt for gathering more complete dat ao n the subjective aspects of culture products w i t h i n definite ethnographicareas. A study of change as a process of culture, for instance, inevitablyleads to a consideration of the transformations in concepts, attitudes, values-in short, the complete psychological aurae-surrounding those culturetraits which are in flux. For people react not to object-in-itself reality, butto its symbolic derivatives. Therefore only by an investigation of meaningscurrent within a group can one approach an etiology of alterations in spe-cific culture products; an etiology necessary for understanding the natureof culture change in whatever form-invention, diffusion, or modification.Two examples of culture process may illustrate the point. I t is easy enoughby saying culture resistance, to explain the retention of cattle by theYakut in the face of a new and unfavorable environment. Yet in so doingwhat deeper understanding of culture as a dynamic phenomenon is ob-tained thereby? Likewise, it is possible to call diffusion the fact that theTupi Indians sleep in suspended hammocks, whereas the Caraya lay themout carefully on the ground. In fact, so far has the original purpose been lostthat the Caraya often throw them about their shoulders for shawls. If thisis a case of diffusion in the sense th at they obtained their inspiration from aIupi-type hammock, some misconception obviously occurred i n the trans-ference. The most that can be said is that some valiie was put on the newand sorry form of the hammock by those so using it. The riddle of the Yakutcat tle and the Caraya hammock lies within the sphinx of the past; in thepresent one can advance, a t most, only astute armchair hypotheses sincethe psychological milieu during the critical periods of impending change isirretrievable.

This should not discourage those primarily interested in h o w cultureworks. An investigation of process implies a from-when to-when relation.Present-to-future may nevertheless be snipped from the thread of time aseasily as present-to-past. That is, a culture can be thoroughly studied fromthe viewpoint that any culture is something i n the process of becomingsomething else. This means probing for trends, significant personalities,

1 The time element in significant changes is k i n g greatly foreshortened for contemporaryprimitive cultures by the over whelm ing influence of our Euro-American culture. Also, in aquite alien culture, the r elevant data a nd significant a spects are mom easily distinguished thanin one of the I


2/12

YEKEEL] C U LTU R A L CHANGE 275sal ien t environ ing influences (physical, cu ltu ral, social, physiological, psy-chological)-all possible cu ltu re reagents a t work. Th en deve lopm entsshould be watched d ur ing a period of years, afte r which th at c ult ure shouldagain be thoroughly combed in order to und erstand w hat has taken placeduring the given time. Th e various influences, previously postu lated, ca n bere-evaluated in the ligh t of w ha t ha s actu ally happened. By this m etho d itm ay be possible to inje ct meaning into cultu re history a s a reconstructionof significant ev en ts in t h e past.It is qu ite likely th a t such an ambitious ferreting into the devious work-ings of c ultu re may n ot yield a natu ral science by th e very nat ure of thephenomena concerned. However, the quest is worthy, if only to polish upold facts to sit beside new ones, in the hope t h at the re m ay develop a deeperund erstanding of cu ltu re forces-and, possibly, of hu m an na tu re as well.Certainly the re is in t he person of the American Ind ia n a fun d of varied ,concrete mate rial with which to work ou t culture processes- a fund valu-ab le to draw upon while significant changes are still occurring.A concrete situ ati on will illu stra te th e kinds of problem involved in as tudy of cu lture from this viewpoint. Let us tak e up in some deta il th e po-litical organization of th e present-da y nomadic ca m ps of a certain OglalaTeton -Dak ota co mm unity observed by the writer during the su mm er of1930. This gro up of ab ou t nine hundred an d fifty people, mo st of them de-scendants of the hostiles under Red Cloud, occupies the White Clay dis-trict of Pine Ridge reservation, a district which has earned for itself theep ithets full blood an d backward., T o white people this last is evi-denced in the am ou nt of sum me r traveling, especially in groups, th e or-ganiza tion of which shall be described late r?T o begin with, i t is well to review wh at is known of th e early politicalset-up of the Oglala. For this purpose the following has been taken fromD r. Wisslers mon ograph J. . . The Oglala were formerly, it is said , composed of four divisions (Oglala,Kiaksai, Oyukhpe and Wazazies). When reservations were established, two of thesedivisions were placed under the Pine Ridge Agency. . . .The two former Pine Ridge divisions are now known as the Red-Cloud camp(Oglala) and the Kiaksai. As far as our information goes, it appears that the formerhad by fa r t h e more complex organization and in the main prevailed when the reser-

* It is true that there are some in the community who do try to stay home at least most ofth e summer and act like white people, Of coursea study of the total henomenon of summernomadism should include this group and those families who make a habit of visiting distantrelatives.

a Societies and Ceremonial Associations in th e Oglala Division of the Teton-Dakota,AMNH-.4P 11: 7-11, 1912.


3/12

276 AMERIC.4 N -4NTHROPOLOCIST [N. ., 34,1932vation was established. I t w as in this camp that the chicjs society originated. (Of.cic., 7.)Th e following condenses Dr. Wisslers references t o the various func-tionaries in the Red-Cloud camp, our prima ry interest :

Chicis s&fy.-The majority of the efficient older men of forty years or more;elected its own members.Seven chicis.-Elected for life by the chiefs society. These seven chiefs did notactually participate in the daily government but delegated powers to younger ormore virile men, by the appointment of four councilors, the shirt-wearers, whoserve for life.Four shirtwearas.-Appointed by the chiefs to serve as the supreme councilorsand executives. They are charged with the general welfare. Thus, though theoret-ically deputies, these four men are the real power in the government.Four 08cers (wakicumsa).-The Seven chiefs, often assisted by the four shirt-wearers and the whole chiefs society, elect four officers (wakicunsa) to organize andcontrol the camp. All except the four shirt-wearers are eligible to this office.Four chicf akicik.-Two head akicita are selected by the wakicunsa. These twoselect two others to serve with them.Akicifa force.-Eight to ten men appointed by the chief akicita, or an akicitasociety selected instead.

Now as to the duties and functions of the wakicunsa and akicita inparticular:Wakicunsa.In former times, the tendency w as for the people to scatter out in winter, b dearly in the sping the camp circle was formed and its government organized. This wasinitiakd by the selection of fhe wakicun!The wakicun are after all the true executives, the shirt men standing ascouncilors.A tipi was set up in the center of the camp circle as the office of the wakicun in whichthey occupied the seats of honor. The shirt men as well as the Seven chiefs hadseats there as councilors, but did not sit continuously like the wakicun. As soon asinvested in office the wakicun appointed two young men to act as orderlies, see thatfuel and food were provided, etc. They appointed a herald to promulgate theirorden. They also selected two head akicita (akicita itacaa). We were told that thesociety of chiefs announced the election of a wakicun through the head akicita.(Op. if., 8.)Returning to a consideration of the scheme of government, i t is c l u r that allthe civil and economic affairs of the camp are in the hands of the wakicun. On allthese matters, they are fm to instruct and can enforce their orden through theakicita. They decide when to break camp, where to go and again select the new site.Hunting must be carried on when and as they direct. They also see that every person

M y wn italics.


4/12

YEKEEL] CULTURAL CHANGE 277receives a fair share of the meat and is provided with enough robes to make thewinter endurable. They settle disputes, judge and compound crimes, and make rulesto ensure proper decorum in camp. However, our informants all felt their chieffunction to have been the regulation of the hunt, or the conservation of the foodsupply. (Op. c i t . , 11.)There is some reason for believing that the office of chief w as a modem innova-tion and that the original tribal governmentof the Oglala was vested in the wakicun.AkiciCa.The Indians define the word akicita as those who see that there is generalorder in camp when travelling from one place to another; those who attend to theduties of overseeing the buffalo hunt so that no one may chase the bufialo singly;those who see that a ll can charge the buffalo at once or split up the party so thatwhen one chases buff d o one way, the other band closes in; and those who supervisethe chase to get better results. They also see that no one kills another, but in caseone does, they either kill him or destroy all his property, kill his horses, destroy histipi, etc. Thus, though in general literature the term akicita is rendered asso1-diers its approximate equivalent seems to be police or marshals.The akicita itacan seem to serve continuously during the season. Although ourinformants are not quite consistent it seems that, as a rule, the four head akicitawere chosen from the same society and while it was expected that they choose theirassistants from the society, they were a t liberty to recruit the force at large. Thus,we were told that if the leaders of a society were appointed as head akicita, theiradministration would be efficient by reason of their having in hand a highly or-ganized corps of able-bodied men upon whom they could call for police service.

(Of. d.,1.)

(09. I . , 9-10.)It is thus apparent t ha t the wakicunsa and akicita were the most importantfunctionaries during the summer months. Today this is also true of thenomadic camps.

Now a word can be said in regard to the existing political organizationon the reservation, although not in detail, since it is complicated by the ex-tent to which the United States Indian Service has assumed certain func-tions. The chiefs society, at least in the White Clay districts, is still inexistence with about fourteen members including the chiefs of bands inthe district. Each band, of which there are now thirty-odd on the wholereservation, has its chief. Formerly the United States selected one chief torecognize from each of the seven districts , bu t now no chief is recognizedas such. Over each band, of which there are now more than thirty, thereis also a chief, thus making thirty-odd from which to choose the sevenrecognized b y the United States. T he shirt-wearers are gone, as arethe wakicunsa. The akicita no longer exist as a body, although in each


5/12

278 AME RIC AN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. ., 34,1932band a man or men may act in that capacity under the chief. It is pos-sible that this is an old pattern for small units on those occasions, asin the winter, when the camp circle was not functioning. Lewis and Clark,for instance, say that each chief had his soldier. Be that as it may,partof the police duty has now been absorbed by the government nat ive Indianpolice stationed in various parts of the reservation. In addition to o5cescarried over from the past, recently a new body, the Council of Twenty-one, has been fostered by the Indian Service to dispense with councils ofthe whole assembled tribe. This body, comprising three members fromeach of the seven districts, is elected by the adult Indians on the reserva-tion. One of the three council members from White Clay district, a youngIndian, is the present chairman of the council. A distinct conflict of poweris apparent between this Council and the older men who have heretoforecontrolled tribal affairs.h

To these summaries of the old summer hunt organization and of thepresent officialdom of the Oglala must be added a few salient points on thedevelopment of their summer life. As were most other Plains tribes, theseIndians have continued to be on the move. Even after the extermination ofthe buffalo and the removal of Red Clouds group to a reservation, largeparties still went on summer hunts for smaller game. Permissions weregranted by the agent until settlement of the surrounding country causedfrequent quarrels between the roving Indians and the cattlemen. Finallypermissions for such hunting parties were refused. About this time therestar ted, in towns neighboring the reservation, the custom of annual fairsand rodeos. A s an attraction for spectators Indians were invited to campnear by during the celebration. There is now a definite pattern for atten-dance a t these affairs.A prominent chief is invited by the rodeo committee of a particulartown to bring a group of Indians to the coming show. Usually he is the sameyear after year. Full and complete responsibility for the conduct of theparty rests on his shoulders-even to liability for the behavior of any indi-vidual within his group. This is imposed both by the town and by the In-dian agent granting permission. The chief passes word through the districtabout the invitation and proceeds to form an organization to manage theparty.

Reuben Cold Thwaites, Original Journalsof Lewis and Clark, 1: 164 (New York), 1905:Entry date Sept. 25, 1 8 0 e D ir e c t white contacts with the Teton-Dakota were at this periodstill in a form ative stage.Was discontinued in 1931 by vote of a general council. Some form of the tribal councilwill probably take its place.


6/12

YEKEEL] CULTUR:I L CHASGE 279Each chief appoints a bod y of men called eith er the akic ita, can k-

d y u h h , or com mittee. Akici ta , as i t will be remem bered, formerly desig-nated those exercis ing the execut ive and pol ice powers in the ancient or-ganiza t ion . C ank dy uh B6 is th e te rm a lso appl ied to the government pol iceon the reserva t ion , an d i t somet imes happens th a t one of th i s force is ap-pointed to head th e body. T h e police idea i s a l so brought ou t by th e fac tth a t qu i te of ten the head com mit teema n i s deput ized by the sheriff in th etown dur ing the rodeo . However , the Engl i sh word com mit tee appears tobe superseding t he othe r two. lhe body of m en, designa ted by all th ree ofthese words , keeps order in the cam p, d i s t r ibu tes ra t ions g iven by the rodeocom mitte e, collects money for des t i tu te m embers of the cam p, super in tendspasturage of all the Ind ian horses , and executes an y sugges tion g iven L yan ot he r uni t of men-the wakicun sa.

These la t te r a re chosen f rom the headmen of the var ious bands repre-sen ted in t he camp . T h e v ir tua l and final au tho r i t y appea r s t o r e s t w i t hthem, except where outs iders are concerned. In this case the chief s tandsout-for display in the eyes of touris ts; for censure i n the event of miscon-du ct of on e of his gro up while in th e town. I t is not c lear whether th e waki-cunsa a re appoin ted by th e ch ie f , a l though th a t is the suppos i t ion . I t maybe tha t the posi tion of wakicunsa, ap ar t from the other headm en, is re -ta ined as a sen t iment . This is h in ted by the f ac t t ha t an y headmen of aband present usual ly take their places in the council t ipi along with theca m p officers who h av e been men tioned.

The chief l ikewise selects a camp cr ie r who a l so has h i s p lace as anotticer in the counci l tipi . Th is t en t belongs to one of the wakicunsa and isvolunteered, o r d r a f t e d , for th e council meet ings. Each morning the wal i i-cunsa order the hera ld to c ry i n a cer tain formalized way th e nam es of cer-ta in chi ldren, four in num ber , selected b y t he council . This is considered anhonor to these children-which the paren ts mu st repay by serving break-fast to those in th e counci l t ipi , tha t is , to the wakicunsa, com mit tee, herald,and guest s of honor , i f an y . An other four chi ldren8 ar e selected for th e ne xtmeal , an d so on. Th e counci l t ip i is a t o ther t imes t he l iving quar te rs for thefamily of the tent owner . Sometimes this tent has to be s t ruck f i rs t as ns igna l g iven by th e wakicunsa to break cam p.

Those ch iefs who a dhere to older forms ap po in t s t il l anot her group- thedunwcyan or scouts . Some delegate their funct ion t o the com mit tee ,

@ Crnksayuha (has th e club) is prolmbly a coined word lor our policeman.In Short Uulls canip, however, all were called wakicunsa except one, a much youiigrrman. A mans wifr may lx thus lionorrd, r spri;illy if the w ore no children.


7/12

280 A ME R I C A N ANTHROPOLOGIST [N.S., 34,1932which th us serves a du al r6le. Oth er more practical chie fs om it them en-tirely. T h e du ty of the scouts is to advance on horseback af te r the noon h alton the d ay of entran ce into t he town where th e rodeo is to be held. T hey ,with the chief an d his interpreter , go forward to call a t rodeo head quarters .He re they a re told where t o camp, where to get water, wh at rations will beallowed, an d w hat horse races have been arran ged for their benefit. T h eythen re turn quickly to the camp, where the wakicunsa s ta nd for th to greetthe m an d learn the report of the ir mission. Singers with a dru m s ing specia lsco ut songs in their honor, jus t as if the y had reported buffalo or an e nen ywar-pa rty. Th e scouts mu st then give away either money or some of theirbelongings t o th e singers. Such songs ha d also been su ng on the ir behalf a sthey lef t the camp, but nothing given away. Now the whole group getsund er way in order to reach th e town by evening.One may now summ arize th e main elements in t he organization, alongwith some concrete examples from th e summ er of 1930. T he genera l pa t -terns used by different chiefs are quite similar, yet individual variationsexist which m ay be significant to a s tudy of culture change:

General pattern Hot Springs, S. . Cvsler,S.D. Edgemod, S. D.Chief White Man Bear Young Skunk Short BullWakicunsa 4 Wakicunsa 4 Wakicunsa 9 WakicunsaAkicitaIommittee 4 Com- 4 Canksayuha 12mittee4 Cank-sayuha binedscouts 6 couts (2 of them DunwcyanCrier 1 Crier 1 Crier 1 CrierSingers' Singers 4 Singers SingersCouncil Tipi Council Tipi Council Tip i Council Tipi

girls)

Chief Short Bull has conducted parties to the Edgemont Fair fortwenty-five yea rs, an d boasts of having had no rouble or casualties on a n yof his trips. His organization is largest in point of numbers- 9 wakicunsaan d 12 akicita who are also dunw'cyan. I n s pit e of this apparent deviationin tra ditio nal patte rn he favors the old formalities in fulfilling th e du ties ofo&ce-as, for instance, the scouting ceremonies. White Man Bear, whohappens to be the former chief of our White Clay district, takes a group

* This group is more or leu indefinite. The singers obtain their h c i a l remuneration bysinging begging songsduring the courseof UI evening's dance n the camp.


8/12

Y r n H L l CULTURAL CHANGE 281to the Water Carnival a t Hot Springs. This affair is of only three yearsstanding. He has organized all three of the trips and has not used scouts,although his four wakicunsa, on horseback, did take the van when on theroad. The camp stops for the noon meal before entering the town, as theothers do, but the chief and his interpreter proceed along to town i n u sautomobile, find out what is necessary, and then return to the encampment.He has also tried having a committee to distribute rations and a cank-sayuha to keep order. Evidently the scheme was not successful, becausethis year the same men performed both functions. This chief seems notto be afraid of experimenting with his organization.O Young Skunk is be-tween these two chiefs in degree of conservatism. He has followed the gen-eral pattern, but is not particularly insistent on old formalities. He wasfortunate in being able to get his four singers on the payroll of the Custeraffair along with the camp officers.The att itude of each group toward its particular set of camp officers wasvery difficult to estimate, and the material so far obtained corresponds inno way to the symbolic derivatives that are necessary for interpretation ofprocesses. The wakicunsa fulfill in their districts about the same functionas on these trips, although here they are clothed with solemn tradition andthe extra power allotted to former wakicunsa. Also most wakicunsa arechiefs of their bands. Perhaps these facts explain why there was lit tle or noobservable difference in the atti tude of each group toward its wakicunsa-an att itude of great respect and deference. The at titude toward the com-mittee, on the other hand, was more varied. The greatest power w as ac-knowledged them at the Fourth of July celebration held in the district itself.This is the only time the traditional camp circle is now used.u This affaircomes near the time of the former Sun Dance and arouses much talk ofold times. The committee is chosen by the head men of the district,and includes a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and subsidi-ary members. They seem obliged to consult no one and are in absolute powerduring the course of the three or four days of celebration. They ride aroundon horseback as lords of the affair. The committees concerned in the smalltraveling camps have no such power, although they fulfill the same functionof management and control. Their restraining powers ar t exercised mainly

1 The u m e man b trying to introducea new variety of corn among his people.One of the but pictures we have of the former summer life is in Francis ParkrnanrThe annual Sioux rodeo, recently started near Pine Ridge agency, rlso employs theOregonnil.In 1846he traveled three wcckawith anO g U Teton-Dakota camp.

ELJC,


9/12

282 .1.ifERICA .V :I .VTHROPOU)t iIST [s.., 34, 1932to rem ove men who have been dr inking too much-a surpr is ingly rareemergency.13Al toge ther , whatever powers the commit tee , the wakicunsa , or t h echief m ay have , there i s cer tain ly a minim um of observable f r ic tion in thesecamp s . Ope n quar re ls of a ny k ind a re surpr is ing ly few. T h e only one wit -nes sed w as the s t a r t of a f igh t be tween two men. Each was led as ide byinfluent ia l persons to ta lk the m at te r over . Af te rward the two men m et andconversed as i f the a f fa i r were forgot ten . T he only o ther case of dis turbanceoccur red one n ight when two in toxica ted Indians en te red th e cam p lookingfor t rouble . On inquiry i t was explained t h at the y were from a different dis-t r ic t of Pine Ridge an d h ad no c iose re la t ives in cam p, so t h a t t he re w a s n ojur isdict ion for control ." These two occasions were th e only instances oft rouble observed during the f ive months .Obv iously there is a dis t inc t pol i tical organizat ion fun ct ioning a t thepresent t ime which bears cer tain resemblances t o wh at we know of th e olderforms . I n the la rger ga ther ings there a re , however , some fundam enta l d if -ferences between th e old and th e new which should be pointed ou t in orderto avoid confusion. An im porta nt o ne is in the charac te r of the camps . Th ema ke-u p of th e present-day c am p is smaller , not com pris ing as many bands,or a comp le te d iv is ion of the t r ibe , as d id the anc ien t su m m er camp. Th e1930gro up s a re select ive in the sense th a t they a re composed of those whow a n t to go , there be ing some who prefer to remain . T his la t te r decision i seconom ical ly possible w ithin their present cul tu re l imits . Th e ot he r dif-ference of im porta nce concerns the object ives . Th er e ma y be anci l lary mo-t ives that would be s imilar , such as the educat ion of chi ldren in t radi t ionby poin t ing o u t landmarks a nd tel ling the i r s tor ies . Th is cer ta in ly i s a con-scious p rocedure on the pa r t of t he g randmothe r and g ran dfa th e r t oday andm ay well have been in the pas t . B ut the main poin t is t h a t t o d a y it is t o at-tend a rodeo ; in former t imes to hu nt . These two d i fferences , one , the ch ar -ac t e r of th e group , an d two, i t s ob jec t ive , would have to be kept in mindwhen m ak in g any compar i son be tween the p re sen t and the pas t .

On the bas is of what has jus t been out l ined as a conc rete instanc e of cul-ture func t ion ing , there might now be enumera ted some of the problemsaris ing when cul ture is viewed from this angle of in te res t .

1 Methods allowed to them arc: (1 ) to admonish him; (2) to tie such a man in his ow ntent until sober; (3 ) to put him under arrest and escort him to the town jail. The latter ex-pedient is very seldom used, as the Indians naturally like to handle their own affairs it& sc.It was resorted to once in the summer of 1930. A man becam e unmanageable on the mainstreet of the town, a half mile from the camp, and any other expedient wa sou t of thequal ion .Even if this were not a true statement of the actual facts, it defines the limitsof authorityas conceived by the Indians themselves.


10/12

MEKEEL] CULTURAL CHANGE 2831. Could this nomadic, restless tendency be called a culture trait which

has been passed o n from gen eration to generation in the same ma nn er asth e berry-pounder or levirate?T hi s question involves the problem as o how deep-set the seasonal rhy-thm s in a culture group can become. Certainly those few younger In dia nswho could assume a perspective were convinced t h at the sum mer m ovingab ou t was in the blood, b u t was decreasing in inten sity from generationto generation. On th e other h and , dist inct incentives t o t ha t form of life, ex-plicable in the pre sen t, mu st no t be overlooked. A people having no definiteoccupation for body or mind m us t surely possess surplus energy, which m ayeasily ta ke the form of gadd ing about. Also, In d ia ns ar e qu ite affectionatein their family relations, so what more natural than to visi t some distantrelative, or travel with him to a rodeo-especially if his larde r be bet te rplenished than theirs. Finally, the towns arranging these spectacles offerinducements to a t t rac t Indians .Altogether the question resolves itself into whether sufficient stimulusnow exists to account for the nom adism, or whether these stimuli are mere-ly reenforcing some deep-set cultural tendency. Posing the problem in th i sfashion, wha t techniques would lead t o a satis facto ry solution?

2. W ha t forces are at work for and aga inst the continuance of this no-madic summer life?An academic division of exoteric and e soteric forces might profitably bemade. An es tim ate of the esoteric forces a t work would largely dep end ona satisfactory solution of problem 1. T he exoteric involve a struggle overthe In dia n between those white people who are reformers and those whoar e exploiters of the Indian in th at par t icular environment. Th e educatorsan d missionaries na turally en deavor to p ut the Ind ian to work, while thosein towns entice him a way . In a long-drawn c on tes t th e former will probab lywin out, as the b ru n t of civilization is on t heir side ; ye t the inte rnal forcesm ust be understood in orde r to gain a true pic ture of w hat is taking place.

3. If the governmen t enforces its ruling aga inst In dians att end ing suchrodeos, what form or ou tlet for sum m er restlessness would th e Ind iansadop t, taking in to consideration their contem porary culture pa tterns ? Oris this restlessness so vague, so l i t t le insistent, th at no new group ou tletwould be developed?Again one is forced to consider problem 1. Th e nature an d s t reng th ofthis restlessness would have to be known. If a group o utlet were used, it

This surplus, however, is not as great as one might think, since they arc at best md-nourished.


11/12

284 A M E R I C A N A NTHROPOLOCIST [N. S., 34, 1932would pro bab ly originate from something alrea dy present-as larger an dmore freque nt gatherings for dances. Th e best th at can be done is to gat he ras much information on the present as possible, so th a t in case this emer-gency should arise, the new developmen ts could be s tud ied intensively fo rthe ligh t th ey would throw on cu lture processes.

4. W ha t can be postulated for the futu re change in organization on th ebasis of the p resen t, should such group traveling pe rsist?Th is involves: (1) a st ud y of existing variations a nd t heir etiology; (2 )a st ud y of the ancient organization in relation to th e presen t, keeping inmind w ha t l i t t le history is know n; and (3) a surv ey of th e atti tud es, con-

cepts, and values held now by various factions and individuals towardspecific tra its in the contem porary and an cient organizations. Th e actualgath ering of d a ta is no t th e difficult pa rt of this problem-it is the propertre atm en t of them.5 . If techniqu es be devised for answering thi s typ e of problem for th ewhole cultu ral conte nt of a people, an d be applied to m an y eth no grap hica lare as, wh at would be th e possibility of form ulating laws of c ult ure pro-cesses?Th is, of course, is th e goal to be ke pt in m ind when making a ny con-cre te investigation centering on th e problem of c ult ure change-anythingless is idle curiosity, however interesting. Nevertheless, a t prese nt ne ithe rsufficient data nor adequate tools are available with which to formulategeneral state m en ts or laws. T h e solution of this typ e of problem is quit enecessary to social science, if i ts ul tim ate aim is really to seek know ledge ofhow society functions-whether or no t for the purpose of control. T h e valu eof defining the go al lies in t hu s establishing a criterion for th e relevancy ofthe concrete d at a th at m ust s t i l l be f iled awa y for eventua l use. Some idea-tion al system is needed t o prun e the unessentials an d control artificially th evariables. P erhaps a culture m an will be invented , corresponding to t h eeconomic ma n in economics in order t o differentiate modal b ehavio r; o r i tmay be feasible to construct a culture geometry built up from singleconcepts an d axioms. Certainly something should be attem pte d before ou ranthropological laboratories, the primitive cultures, have become lessuseful or have entirely disappeared.I n conclusion i t may be wise, although perhaps trite, to defend a stu dyof cu ltu re process-especially from the viewp oint of chang e. A now hack-neyed sen timen t is tha t ma n h as learned to control th e ma ter ial factors ofthe world and yet has so far failed to direct the form ation of the culturalor social meanings these fact or s bea r in his life-a failure serious in its soc ialcon text in proportion to the ra te of increase in new mate rial products. Con-


12/12

YEKEEL] CULTURAL CHANGE 285trol involves a knowledge of p rocess as well a s of objective-whether in th ephysical or social sciences. M ay no t something a t least be learned ab ou tcultu re processes thro ug h a stu d y of change in civilizations alien to o urown? Proba bly it is idle t o hope th a t th e contexts will be much less complexth an our own, ye t a t least such cultures afford o ur only hope in establishingcom parative lab oratories for the s tu d y of social laws aa necessary t o exist-ence as those of physics.

YALE UNIvEnsrTYINSTITUTEF HUM RELATIONSNEW AVEN, ONNECTICUT

Documents

Discussion of Cultural Change -Teton Dakota