Goulet.pdf

Peter M. Gardner
Both the lead dogs were asked by their masters to do a novel task—
to travel to a distant but known place, without any further guidance—
and both are attested to have accomplished precisely what they were
instructed to do. If I did not know the people and the places involved,
and if the two stories were not so similar in their details, I would have
to admit to quite a measure of skepticism.

Coping with Power

Dene dealt with what they called “power,” and did so with what I
viewed as unexpected consequences, including consequences for me.
Power was a preoccupation. Although I did not intend to study the
subject, I kept encountering evidence that the Dene thought of power
as abounding in nature. Some attempted to share what power they
had themselves obtained; others attempted to manipulate it. I noted
four aspects to it. First, there were creatures in the forest that seemed
to be ordinary birds and mammals but were, in actuality, spirit beings
able to protect particular individuals. Second, there were truly fright-
ening creatures such as frogs and huge underground beings that, al-
though alive, were incapable of consciousness. Third, people sought
spiritual knowledge through dreams or altered states of conscious-
ness. What they learned thus might be shared with the community.
Finally, there were people who manipulated power ritually for per-
sonal benefit. These several aspects of power are more closely linked
than they may sound, as you will see.

Protecting Beings

One day, while a sixty-six-year-old Dene man and I were leafing through
a bird book, he launched into a tale about a strange happening in a
quiet bush camp, years before. A lone American coot had waddled into
the camp, right up to his tent and cooking fire. Everyone knows that
coots are shy waterfowl, yet his little intruder showed not one trace
of fear. His explanation for its boldness was that the bird he ever af-
ter called “my visitor” was in fact a personal protecting spirit.
A young man also talked about birds. He was a huge, heavy fel-
low, built like a defensive lineman for a professional football team.