The Symbolic Role of Animals in the Plains Indian Sun Dance

Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence
TUFTS UNIVERSITY

For many tribes of Plains Indians whose bison-hunting culture flourished during the 18th and 19th centuries, the sun dance was the major communal religious ceremony. Generally held in late spring or early summer, the rite celebrates renewal--the spiritual rebirth of participants and their relatives as well as the regeneration of the living earth with all its components. The sun dance reflects relationships with nature that are characteristic of the Plains ethos, and includes symbolic representations of various animal species, particularly the eagle and the buffalo, that once played vital roles in the lives of the people and are still endowed with sacredness and special powers. The ritual, involving sacrifice and supplication to insure harmony between all living beings, continues to be practiced by many contemporary native Americans.


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Labels and the Treatment of Animals: Archival and Experimental Cases

D. W. Rajecki, Jeffrey Lee Rasmussen, and Heather D. Craft
INDIANA UNIVERSITY-PURDUE UNIVERSITY at INDIANAPOLIS

The proposition that sheer labels or categories are important in people's reactions to the treatment of animals was supported by evidence from two sources. First, print archives showed that in the real world animals with a great deal in common such as (a) dolphins and tuna in the same nets; (b) cats and dogs, and pigs and goats in the same laboratories; and (c) native and feral species in the same parks are viewed or treated quite differently by humans. Second, original experiments were conducted wherein some hypothetical maltreatment of animals was held constant, but the animal label was varied over different respondents. Depending on the fictional maltreatment (hooking, shooting) and label (dog, cat, bird, fish, pig, goat) men and women respondents showed strong and systematic patterns of more or less tolerance for such treatment.


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Savages, Drunks, and Lab Animals: The Researcher's Perception of Pain

Mary T. Phillips
NEW YORK CITY

Historically, treatment for pain relief has varied according to the social status of the sufferer. A similar tendency to make arbitrary distinctions affecting pain relief was found in an ethnographic study of animal research laboratories. The administration of pain-relieving drugs for animals in laboratories differed from standard practice for humans and, perhaps, for companion animals. Although anesthesia was used routinely for surgical procedures, its administration was sometimes haphazard. Analgesics, however, were rarely used. Most researchers had never thought about using analgesics and did not consider the subject worthy of serious attention. Scientists interviewed for this study agreed readily that animals are capable of feeling pain, but such assertions were muted by an overriding view of lab animals as creatures existing solely for the purposes of research. As a result, it was the exceptional scientist who was able to focus on anything about the animal's subjective experience that might lie outside the boundaries of the research protocol.


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Dissection as an Instructional Technique in Secondary Science: Choice and Alternatives

Alan D. Bowd
LAKEHEAD UNIVERSITY, CANADA

This article examines the role of dissection in the teaching of secondary biology and environmental science, within the context of the development of attitudes toward animals. Retrospective data concerning their experience in high school with dissection for 191 undergraduate education students are described, and their reported use of alternatives to invasive animal study are evaluated in relation to specific educational objectives in secondary science. It was found that most students were required to perform dissections, that many but not most experienced negative and stable emotional reactions, and that teachers employed limited alternatives to dissection in their classes. The implications of this for secondary science teaching and for teacher education are discussed.


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Assessment of the Effectiveness of a Pet-Facilitated Therapy Program in a Nursing Home Setting

Ira B. Perelle and Diane A. Granville
MERCY COLLEGE

In the past twenty years Pet Facilitated Therapy (PFT) has been used, apparently successfully, with several populations, including nursing home residents. Studies report positive behavior changes as a result of PFT intervention, but little effort has been made to quantify such behavior changes. This study presents the results of a PFT program in a nursing home setting. Results were positive, and were measured using the Patient Social Behavior Scale, designed for this study. Nursing home residents showed an increase of social behaviors from pretest to midpoint and from midpoint to post test, but these behaviors declined four weeks after post test. Although both males and females showed an increase in social behaviors, males and females response patterns differed.

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