BACK TO BASICS - CHIEFDOMS IN PUGET-SOUND

An exchange of articles about the native peoples in the present vicini ty of Seattle has failed to consider the significant factors of terrai n, of elite families, and of religion as the all-pervasive institution . The fluid structuring of authority among ''sigers'' (task leaders) m ade possible increasingly more complex mobilizations of power within t his culture. In all, the overemphasis on individuality in Eurocentric academia needs to integrate the group orientation more prevalent in Na tive America.