Cultural reconstruction in the Shuswap community of Alkali Lake

Gareau, Marcelle Marie (1991) Cultural reconstruction in the Shuswap community of Alkali Lake. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The focus of this thesis is a small Indian reserve located in the Cariboo district of British Columbia, Canada. In recent years Alkali Lake has gained the reputation of having transformed itself from a community that was ravaged by alcoholism to a community that is predominantly sober. After attaining almost complete community sobriety, individuals from Alkali Lake found themselves in the position of having to reconstruct a culture that did not involve the use of alcohol while facing numerous community difficulties stemming from past and present child neglect, violence and sexual abuse. The thesis examines the achievement of community sobriety as a revitalization movement, and focusses on the process of cultural construction and reconstruction.

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