Tomeki
Cover of American Indian Grandmothers

American Indian Grandmothers

Traditions and Transitions

By Marjorie M. Schweitzer

0 (0 Ratings)
0 Want to read0 Currently reading0 Have read

Publish Date

September 1999

Publisher

University of New Mexico Press

Language

eng

Pages

244

Description:

"These nine essays blend documentary history, oral history, and ethnographic observation to shed light on the complex world of grandmothering in Native America. The cultural and emotional resources of their ethnic traditions help grandmothers grapple with the myriad social, economic, cultural, and political challenges they face in the late twentieth century. Indian grandmothers are almost universally occupied with child care and child rearing at some time, but such variables as lineal descent, clan membership, kinship patterns, individual behavior, and cultural ideology change the definition, role, and status of a grandmother from tribe to tribe. Although late-twentieth-century society often impoverishes and marginalizes them, many Indian grandmothers provide grandchildren with social stability and a cultural link to native history and wisdom. The contributors' case studies explore grandmothering among Navajos, Puget Sound Salish, Tewas, Hopis, Otoe-Missourias, Choctaws, and Sioux."--BOOK JACKET.