| dc.description.abstract | The main conclusion arrived at in this thesis is that
social change in northern Ojibwa communities is linked to
the balance of power and dependence found between various
individuals and groups. To arrive at this the author
examined the issue of obtaining illegal satellite signals in
the village of Webequie, Ontario.
Through the method of participant observation several
groups in this issue were identified, each had varied desires
but all had the same interest—television service. In
Webequie, the demand for such a system created a controversy
which divided the village into two groups; those who wanted
television and those who rejected it. Each faction held a
degree of power, but the struggle to gain a satellite unit
was more difficult for supporters. They not only had to
contend with non-supporters represented by elders (those
people most influential according to village norms and
Ojibwa custom}, but they also had to deal with the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC),
Their desire was to enforce communications policy and they
stated that legal action would be taken against all illegal
systems.
Apart from the legal issue, all northern native settlements
operating such equipment, despite CRTC threats, are
faced with the added risk of losing their language and
current way of life. This is so because most of the programming found on such systems (mainly American "super
stations") is controlled by people with values different
from the ones practiced in remote Ojibwa^—Cree villages, J
is this cultural threat which concerns a fourth group
identified in the study--Wawata Communications Society,
This organization was established to help preserve
native culture, yet illegal satellite systems threaten to
undermine their purpose. Realizing their position and the
demand for television by many villages like Webequie,
Wawata’s goal was to resolve its dilemma. So, in this study
of social change, one finds supporters who want television
service, non-supporters who reject it, the CRTC who requires
that communications policy be upheld and finally, Wawata who
desires a solution to its problem.
By concentrating on interactions between these four
groups over the issue of television, the researcher has
conducted a case study of social change. To analyze the
situation, the author used the principles of exchange relations,
power-dependence, balancing operations and network exchange,
found in Richard M. Emerson's power-dependence exchange
paradigm.
The data obtained revealed that exchange relations were
established between all groups. Furthermore, power and
dependence was found not only between supporters and nonsupporters,
but also between advocates and Wawata,
supporters and the CRTC, plus other government branches such as the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
The power-dependence relation between non-supporters
and advocates in Webequie generated an imbalance in which
non-supporters maintained a "power advantage". Yet, through
network exchange and one of the balancing operations
(coalition formation) advocates joined with Wawata to balance
non-supporters' power and in the end obtained television
service. | |
