Identity Through Fishing

Abstract

Indigenous cultures throughout the world have struggled to maintain many of their traditional lifeways and cultural identity in the face of pressure from modernizing forces (industrialization, population and demographic changes, globalization, and modern socioeconomic and sociopolitical forces). These forces have particularly affected the Nez Perce of the Plateau culture area in north-western North America. This article discusses how these forces have impacted the Nez Perce for well over a hundred years, though major impacts did not begin until the damming of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers, when access to salmon became an issue. In this regard, the Nez Perce are an informative case in the study of cultural preservation, cultural change, and cultural identity in the face of these forces. Using Elias Canetti's idea of ‘crowd symbol’ and Sherry Ortner's idea of ‘key symbol’, this article argues that salmon play a similar role in the formation and maintenance of Nez Perce cultural preservation and identity.