Social structure and original legal systems in the Upper Ottawa River and surrounding regions
This article returns to the classic theories in Algonquian studies to understand the concept of the band as already proposed. Presented first is a brief overview of previous research on the theory of land and resource management where the concepts of local and regional bands have been employed. It again presents the problem of their definition in taking from Edwards S. Rogers an examination of the related concepts. Using a classification of levels of social interaction proposed by Eleanor Leacock, the author tries to illustrate the arrangement of the multifamily household by referring to a “winter story” of Father Paul Le Jeune to identify certain guidelines for social behaviour, represented by the spirit of giving. The mythology is summoned to testify to this spirit among the Algonquins of the Upper Ottawa and then to serve as a starting point for the development of a hypothesis on the proper distance to be established in order to find a spouse within the context of matrimonial relations. The author then questions the use of the words district and quarter, which would have designated areas of land and resource management, to establish the ties of collaboration between the members of a unit that Leacock designated as the “winter band”.