Editing Animism (section)

=== Hallowell and the Ojibwe ===
[[File:Hombres ojibwe.jpg|thumb|Five [[Ojibwe]] chiefs in the 19th century. It was anthropological studies of Ojibwe religion that resulted in the development of the "new animism".|upright=1.2]]
The ''new animism'' emerged largely from the publications of anthropologist [[Alfred Irving Hallowell|Irving Hallowell]], produced on the basis of his ethnographic research among the [[Ojibwe]] communities of [[Canada]] in the mid-20th century.{{sfn|Harvey|2005|p=17}} For the Ojibwe encountered by Hallowell, ''[[personhood]]'' did not require human-likeness, but rather humans were perceived as being like other persons, who for instance included rock persons and bear persons.{{sfn|Harvey|2005|p=18}} For the Ojibwe, these persons were each willful beings, who gained meaning and power through their interactions with others; through respectfully interacting with other persons, they themselves learned to "act as a person".{{sfn|Harvey|2005|p=18}}

Hallowell's approach to the understanding of Ojibwe personhood differed strongly from prior anthropological concepts of animism.{{sfn|Harvey|2005|p=19}} He emphasized the need to challenge the modernist, Western perspectives of what a person is, by entering into a dialogue with different worldwide views.{{sfn|Harvey|2005|p=18}} Hallowell's approach influenced the work of anthropologist [[Nurit Bird-David]], who produced a [[Academic journal#Scholarly articles|scholarly article]] reassessing the idea of animism in 1999.{{sfn|Harvey|2005|p=20}} Seven comments from other academics were provided in the journal, debating Bird-David's ideas.{{sfn|Harvey|2005|p=21}}