Based on field research among Northwestern Quebec Algonquin bands since 1983, some general elements of bush-oriented Algonquin technology and ideology are summarized in a discussion of relationships between material culture and learning. Play and locus of control are central considerations. A general description of "traditional" educational methods is followed by an attempt to describe systematically the inferences on Native informal learning stmctures, using elements of Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory.