ABSTRACT
Communication between members of different ethnic groups in Alaska and northern Canada, as elsewhere, frequently results in confusion, misunderstanding and conflict. This situation is not new, but in recent years is becoming aggravated by the increased amount of intrusion into every aspect of life of the bureaucratic and technological systems of modern western society. Legal and economic pressures have made many individuals feel that it is necessary in pursuit of their own best interests for them to engage in communication with members of other ethnic groups. This interethnic communication is between members of the dominant, English-speaking, western American and Canadian society and members of native groups in most cases. The confusion and misunderstanding that often results from this interethnic communication is a source of frustration for native people who feel that their legitimate and urgent needs are being ignored or misunderstood. This miscommunication is also a source of frustration for members of the dominant English-speaking society who feel they are unable to make their own points of view clear as well as being unable to understand native points of view. As miscommunication increases, racial and ethnic stereotyping begin to develop and impede further communication.
