Rushforth contends that Athapaskans have four basic values: (1) individual capability and work ethic, (2) generosity and community support, (3) individual autonomy, and (4) emotional and behavioural control or restraint in social settings (p. 3). He says that the Sahtuot’ine word “seodit’e” (meaning restraint, care, and control) integrates the four above values and presents a distinct system of morality and meaning.

From introduction:

This monograph has two primary purposes. The first is to fill an obvious gap in our knowledge of Northeastern Athapaskan Indians, Dene, by providing an ethnographic account of one of the least known groups—the Bear Lake People. Previous references to Sahtúot’ine have implied that they are either Hare or Dogrib Indians yet, as Cornelius Osgood pointed out in 1931, they have their own identity distinct from both of the latter groups. Accordingly, Bear Lake culture and society merit distinct consideration. In this study I attempt to describe aspects of Bear Lake culture from an internal perspective.

Access this Resource:

Access this monograph through your University on JSTOR: http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv16ssp

Rushforth, Scott. “Bear Lake Athapaskan Kinship and Task Group Formation.” Ottawa: Musée National de l'Homme. Collection Mercure. Division d'Ethnologie. Service Canadien d'Ethnologie 96 (1984): 1-184.