Which Place, What Story? Cultural Discourses at the Border of the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier National Park
Carbaugh D and Rudnick L. 2006. Which Place, What Story? Cultural Discourses at the Border of the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier National Park. Great Plains Quarterly. 26(3):167-184
Among every known people, places are named, and in every known place, stories are told. Yet the meanings of the place and the variety of stories attached to it can derive from a variety of traditions and can lead in many different directions. Just as various pilgrims are drawn to some sacred places, so do all people, in all places, come to know the meanings of at least some places through names, with the stories about them capturing their deeper significance, from the sacred to the mundane. Yet names for places change, stories about them get revised, discarded, or created anew. At times, this variation can be a source of stress and strain, as a single place can be identified in different ways, each with its own story to tell, with each story advancing different ways of living there. This article examines how the two communication practices of place-naming and storytelling work together to create senses of place, including ways of living within a particular geographic landscape--Glacier National Park.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Carbaugh, Donal; Rudnick, Lisa
- Units
- CRCO , GLAC
- Keywords
- American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Blackfeet, Cultural Traits, Ethnography, Guided tours, Intercultural Communication, Interpretation, National Parks, Native Americans, Native culture, Piegan Blackfeet, Place Names, Story Telling