Clan has been used to designate social groups whose members trace descent from either male or female ancestors. For the Indigenous people in Canada, the term has been used most often to designate groups based on unilineal descent. This means that a person belongs to the clan of either parent. Examples of matrilineal societies, those tracing descent from a female, are the Haudenosaunee, Haida and Tsimshian. Clans, named after birds, fish or deer, were important in regulating marriage (usually to forbid marriage with a fellow clan member). Certain rights, privileges and property were also associated with clans, and they functioned as ceremonial units that cut across geographical and even linguistic divisions.
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- MLA 8TH EDITION
- Gadacz, René R.. "Clan (Indigenous Peoples in Canada)". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 20 October 2014, Historica Canada. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/clan. Accessed 11 October 2024.
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- APA 6TH EDITION
- Gadacz, R. (2014). Clan (Indigenous Peoples in Canada). In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/clan
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- CHICAGO 17TH EDITION
- Gadacz, René R.. "Clan (Indigenous Peoples in Canada)." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published February 06, 2006; Last Edited October 20, 2014.
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- TURABIAN 8TH EDITION
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, s.v. "Clan (Indigenous Peoples in Canada)," by René R. Gadacz, Accessed October 11, 2024, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/clan
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Clan (Indigenous Peoples in Canada)
Article by René R. Gadacz
Published Online February 6, 2006
Last Edited October 20, 2014