Northern Frontier, Northern Homeland Summary

Dramatically shifting away from positivism, the critical-emancipatory paradigm condemns the research goal of “objectivity” as a tool of oppression used by dominant groups. (Travers 15) Operating with a historical-realist ontology, critical social scientists emphasize the subjectively constructed nature of “reality,” describing society as a battlefield of competing interests where the powerful pursue their interests by marginalizing others. The critical approach favours the lived experiences of subjugated groups as the foundation of knowledge, seeing the potential of dialogue between them and researchers in achieving change towards a more egalitarian society. (18) Research that provides these groups with a voice and contributes to change for their betterment is seen as most valuable. (19) In Northern Frontier, Northern Homeland, Berger characterizes the Mackenzie Valley as a site of competition between the “traditional activities of native peoples, and the advance of industrial development.”
Addressing the infiltration of white culture and institutions into native communities, he argues that “southerners are once again insisting that a particular mode of life is the one and only way to social, economic and even moral well-being.” (136) The Inquiry is, in many respects, compatible with the critical approach, in that it often reflects the critical worldview of societal conflict over clashing interests, highlights the epistemological value of native lived experiences, and stresses the role that dialogue with the marginalized should play in social