June Helm: Difference between revisions
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Throughout her career, Helm published 11 books and monographs, and more than 40 articles and chapters <ref name="bare_url" />. Helm spent the last few years of her life assembling her notes , photographs and records from her fieldwork, and sent them to Yellowknife, to be available to the Dene people<ref name="jstor" />. |
Throughout her career, Helm published 11 books and monographs, and more than 40 articles and chapters <ref name="bare_url" />. Helm spent the last few years of her life assembling her notes , photographs and records from her fieldwork, and sent them to Yellowknife, to be available to the Dene people<ref name="jstor" />. |
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==Her Work== |
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June Helm is an [[anthropologist]] most known for her studies of the drainage [[Dene]] in the Canadian north. Her work is notable for its ethnographic approach and because she is invested so much time and effort into developing expertise on the Dene people and because she is meticulous and comprehensive about her. Helm immersed herself in the Dene culture, through which she studied the people and their culture both from a [[humanistic]] and [[scientific|scientific perspective]]. Her articles and books address a variety of themes, even though her subject was usually some aspect of the Dene people and their culture she ads layers of historical context, explanation, and other details that breathe life into her research and help the Dene people come to life on the page for the reader. |
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Her work with the Dene people provides a wealth of information about this group’s views and [[habit]]s, their [[speech]], and even their relationship with the land that they live on, along with many more facets of their culture. Even as an anthropologist in a general sense, however, Helm made a notable contribution to [[anthropology]] by virtue of her participation in the discourse of the day and her insistence on valid data and reporting. As such, it occupies a place of prominence in anthropological literature and promotes understanding of the Dene people and of how the constellation of cultural and environmental factors in a population can shape both the lives and the destiny of that people. |
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In her 1962 article “The Ecological Approach in Anthropology,” Helm discusses how ecology and anthropology interface in her examination of the Northern Amerid ethnology. She notes that there is an “exploitative pattern” that occurs when the larger categories of environment and technology interface with ecology in the anthropological underpinnings of this group.<ref name="jstor_a">Helm, June. “The Ecological Approach in Anthropology.” American Journal of Sociology, 67.6, (May 1962), 630-639. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2774845</ref> June Helm believes that ecology is not normally a prominent consideration in anthropological research, simply because many of her studies are [[ethnographic]] and focus on the people, their habits, and the function of various cultural entities on their lives. In Helm’s characteristically through approach, however, she points out that the ecological perspective is part of the Northern Amerindians’ worldview; they see the world as culturally stable based on the balance between their population culture, and habitat. Helm<ref name="jstor_a" /> Thus, their exploitative pattern is seen from a larger perspective that takes in the way this pattern is balanced against other relevant considerations. Helm justifies her foray into ecology on this top by citing A.I. Hallowell, established that an “ecological hypothesis” required an accounting of both noncultural demographic and biotal data, not just descriptions that identify general normative data. Helm points out that there are cultural differences between Dene people and North American people and the way people visualize their society’s environment can impact how their culture develops.<ref name="jstor_a" /> |
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June Helm’s article “On Responsible Scholarship on Culture Contact in the Mackenzie Basin,” Helm<ref name="jstor_b">Helm, June. “On Responsible Scholarship on Culture Contact in the Mackenzie Basin.” Current Anthropology, 19.1, (Mar 1978), 160-162. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2741176</ref> comments on an article by Yerbury, “On Culture Contact in the Mackenzie Basin,” which she critiques for its condemnation of Gillespie’s work as relying too much on his field data instead of his ethnographic data, pointing out that some of the comments Yerbury makes are nowhere substantiated in Gillespie’s writing. Yerbury calls his paper “Gillespie 1975” and in it calls Gillespie “one of the devotees of the bilaterality cult,” even though, as Helm<ref name="jstor_b" /> indicates, the term “bilaterality” is not even used in Gillespie’s work. Her pointed references underscore, although they do not specifically mention, the importance of integrity in anthropological work, and especially when an anthropologist is claiming to present another anthropologist’s work. Helm’s primary consideration is to provide accurate data and interpretations, whether her own or via her discussion of a colleague’s work, and this is evident in this article. |
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It is in one of Helm’s books, The People of Denendeh: Ethnohistory of the Indians of Canada’s Northwest, that her penchant for bringing together tremendous amounts of detail in a meaningful way is most apparent. She prefaces her interpretive work with a number of pages of information that the reader can uses as preparation for reading the bulk of the book-an orthography pertinent to the Denendeh people, the names of their communities, and a map showing where the communities are in relation to one another. These are more than mere preliminaries; Helms assays to help the reader contextualize the information she is providing, so that the reader can understand the Denendeh through the lens of knowledge about them. At the same time, she brings in citations from other authorities on she subject to provide a comprehensive yet still focused view of the subject at hand, which helps the reader understand the various issues that have been identified with respect to the topic. For example, where she discusses the hordes, bands, and tribes, she starts with the foundational work of Franz Boas, which includes theorists such as McLennan and Morgan, and adds the perspective of Charles Darwin, who described primeval man as having been a community dweller who “ jealously guarded (his wife) against all other men”.<ref name="HelmJune">Helm, June. The People of Denendeh: Ethnohistory of the Indians of Canada’s Northwest. Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press, 2000.</ref> Helm here relates Darwin’s comment to an account from an earlier report by a missionary, Dr. Thomas Savage, and explains the context in which it was made. <ref name="HelmJune" /> It is this thorough and pertinently annotated approach that makes Helm’s book not only illuminating but also well documented. |
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The themes in Helm’s<ref name="HelmJune" /> work tend to center on the interplay of the target population’s contextual conditions – social, political, and cultural-with their lived experience and conceptual view of the world. Within this larger view, smaller themes such as the effect of a certain belief or preferences fit in and are explored as well. In the book studied, for example, the themes of blood and its dangers, the desire for personal autonomy, and the role of hand games are all discussed. In addition, Helm discusses themes concerned with anthropology in general, as she does in the two articles described. |
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== Honours and Accomplishments == |
== Honours and Accomplishments == |
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Revision as of 03:04, 25 April 2012
June Helm | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 13, 1924 |
| Died | February 5, 2004 (aged 79) |
| Education | University of Chicago (1944) M.A., University of Chicago (1949) Ph.D., University of Chicago (1958) |
| Occupation | Anthropologist |
| Spouse(s) | Richard MacNeish (1945-1958) Pierce King (1968-2004) |
June Helm (September 13, 1924 – February 5, 2004) was an American anthropologist, primarily known for her work with the Dene people in the Mackenzie River drainage.
Early life and education
Helm was born in Twin Falls, Idaho in 1924, to William Jennings Helm and Julia Frances (née Dixon) Helm[1]. In 1930, the family moved to Kansas City, Kansas. Helm experienced a solitary childhood, full of illness, and was a shy, anxious child[1]. After high school, Helm enrolled in anthropology at the University of Kansas, because of its modest tuition, and there she completed a year of education[2]. In 1942, her father's machinery repair business experienced a boom, leading to the finances necessary for Helm to transfer to the University of Chicago, her school of choice. Helm graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1944, after completing the two year program[3]. Helm received her M.A. in 1949. She received encouragement from Robert Redfield and George Peter Murdock, both of whom influenced her study[1]. Helm received her PhD in 1958 from the University of Chicago, after completing her dissertation, which was published by the National Museums of Canada in 1961, titled Lynx Point People[2].
Personal life
In 1945, Helm married Richard “Scotty” MacNeish, who was a Ph.D candidate in the field of archaeology[3]. In 1949, they moved to Ottawa, Ontario. The two amicably divorced in 1958, at which point Helm returned to Chicago. In 1968, Helm married Pierce King, an architect. The two stayed together until her death[1].
In 1989, Helm suffered from a stroke, which resulted in partial paralysis. She continued to teach for another decade, however, retiring in December of 1999[2].
Career
In 1945, Helm and MacNeish travelled to Mexico, where MacNeish completed archaeological field work. This was Helm's introduction to field work, and the next year, she conducted ethnographic research among the people of the region, for her Masters' thesis[1]. Upon Helm and MacNeish's move to Ottawa, Helm became a sessional lecturer at Carlton University, from 1949 to 1959. In the summer of 1950, while MacNeish took part in an archaeological survey of the Mackenzie River, Helm became involved with the Dene people living nearby, to whom she gave the name “The Lynx Point People” in her 1958 dissertation. While working there, Helm learned that they were interested in having their children learn English, so the following summer, Helm returned with Teresa Carterette[2]. The two volunteered as teachers, and also spent time doing fieldwork, to get a better understanding of the people. Helm continued to conduct interviews between 1954 and 1957, contacting people from Chipewyan, Hare and Slavey communities. Upon her return, Helm focused on the history and ethnography of the Slavey communities, of which there was little. Helm made great forays in understanding and relating the culture of the northern Athapaskan people, and she disproved hypotheses or discovered errors in the works of Julian Steward and Leslie Spier[3].
In 1957, during a linguistics course, Helm met Nancy Oestreich Lurie, and the two became friends. In 1959, the two went to do fieldwork among the Dogrib people in the Northwest Territories. They returned to work with other Dogrib groups in 1962 and 1967[1]. After this point, Helm continued her research alone, making ten trips to do fieldwork between 1959 and 1979[3].
Helm worked as a tenured professor of Anthropology at the University of Iowa, having worked there from 1960 to December 1999 [2]. When Helm first joined the department, it was the Department of Sociology and Anthropology; she worked towards the creation of separate departments, which came to fruition in 1969, and she served as chair. Helm also established an American Indian and Native Studies program, and serves as the first chair, from 1993-1996[3].
In 1996, Helm was contacted by John Zoe, a Dogrib official, and Thomas Andrews, an archaeologist at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, located in Yellowknife, regarding artifacts which had been taken by a graduate student of the University of Iowa in 1894, Frank Russell[3]. Helm assisted in the negotiations for repatriation of the artifacts, particularly a caribou skin tent, which had been too large to exhibit. The negotiations were successful, and the tent was returned to the Dogrib people.
Throughout her career, Helm published 11 books and monographs, and more than 40 articles and chapters [2]. Helm spent the last few years of her life assembling her notes , photographs and records from her fieldwork, and sent them to Yellowknife, to be available to the Dene people[3].
Honours and Accomplishments
Helm served as an adviser to the Indian Brotherhood of the Northwest Territories (now the Dene Nation), assisting them as a consultant in terms of land claims rights and research in the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry[3].
Helm served as president of several societies and associations; the Central States Anthropological Society for 1970-1971, the American Ethnological Association from 1981-1983, and the American Anthropological Association from 1986-1987[3].
In 1994, Helm was the of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Helm received the F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Achievement Award in 1995[2].
Helm's contributions to the University of Iowa have been recognized, particularly with the creation of the June Helm Award for Service and Excellence, which is awarded annually to a graduate student[3].
Publications by Helm
- As a sole author
- The Lynx Point People: The Dynamics of a Northern Athapaskan Band Ottawa: National Museum of Canada, 1961.
- The Indians of the Subarctic: A Critical Bibliography. Don Mills, Ontario: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, 1976. ISBN 0-253-33004-1
- The People of Denendeh: Ethnohistory of the Indians of Canada's Northwest Territories. Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press, 2000. ISBN 0-7735-2145-3
- As editor or coauthor
- Pioneers of American Anthropology: The Uses of Biography. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1966.
- Essays on the Verbal and Visual Arts. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967.
References
- ^ a b c d e f Gacs, Ute (1989). Women Anthropologists: Selected Biographies. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06084-9.
- ^ a b c d e f g Andrews, Tom. "Died: June Helm (1924-2004)". Arctic Institute of North America.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lurie, Nancy Oestreich (2004). "June Helm (1924-2004)". American Anthropologist. 4. 106 (4): 792–794. doi:10.1525/aa.2004.106.4.792. JSTOR 3567244.
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