1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« The article undertakes a comprehensive, in-depth study of the procreative behaviors of an Indian community at an exceptionally important stage of its demographic development. » (p. 228)

2. Méthode

Échantillon :
Sondage mené en 1968 sur une population de 2 678 personnes. L’article s’intéresse particulièrement aux données liées à la reproduction de 427 femmes.

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

This article considers the data of an extensive sociodemographic survey, carried out in the summer of 1968 in the six Indian settelments of the Eastern and Western shores of James Bay. « A wide range of underlying social, cultural, and biological factors are explored. Shifts in infant lactation, from breast to bottle-feeding, and from a nomadic to a sedentary life are prominent factors in the post-war increase in the natural fertility of Indian people. Attitudes towards procreation and practices of birth control in this isolated community suggest that at the time of the survey a reappraisal of traditional natalist values for a more selective fertility was in the offing. » (résumé, p. 227)