Words of the Huron /

Steckley's work adds ethnolinguistics to the methods of research in Huron studies. Others, especially Bruce Trigger, whose work is based on archaeology and ethnohistory (The Children of Aataensic, 1976), have written on the Huron. But Steckley's valuable contribution is notable because Huron is an extinct language. The author learned the language from 17th-century texts of French Jesuit origin and from French-Huron manuscript dictionaries of the same period. Then, having coped with 17th-century French and Jesuit Latin in order to enter the Huron language, he sorted out dialects and applied his linguistic understanding to the analysis of Huron social organization and culture. A chapter each covers kinship, clanship, material culture, environmental relations, warfare, ceremonies, medicine, and relations with Jesuit missionaries. Steckley (Humber College) explores each of these topics through the analysis of vocabulary, and includes a clear statement of his conclusions and a clear summary. This book does not require linguistic training, but it does require a strong interest in language and sufficient patience to follow Huron vocabulary. A fine example of original, intensive research. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level collections and above in Native American studies, linguistics, and anthropology. R. Berleant-Schiller emerita, University of Connecticut