Seasonal Variation and Interpersonal Conflict in the Central Canadian Arctic
Year: 1982
Type: article
Abstract: ethnographic data gathered through participant-observation, this paper will report actual offense data obtained from the local detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It will be shown that conflict seasonality in the settlement of Holman Island is generated from a complex interaction between cultural institutions and environmental conditions. Since social and economic adjustments to environmental change play a determinant role in local conflict patterns, a detailed description of the contemporary seasonal round is provided below. ETHNOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND The settlement of Holman Island is located on the western coast of Victoria Island in the District of Franklin of the Northwest Territories. Its latitudinal position of 700 40' N. places it approximately 300 miles north ofthe Arctic Circle and 250 miles north of the tree line in an area of continuous permafrost. The Holman region is characterized by a severe arctic climate, and seasonal variation in photoperiod, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and ice conditions is pronounced. In winter, direct sunlight is lacking from mid-November to midJanuary, while continuous direct sunlight is present from the middle of May through July. Temperature varies between a monthly mean of -24 degrees F. for February and +45 degrees F. for July. Wind speed and direction also vary
Source: Ethnology
DOI: 10.2307/3773434
Author: Richard G. Condon
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W224475368