Problem Statement
From the information gathered from literature review, it is evident that many studies have been conducted on individuals who live in reservations. Some of these studies have laid particular interest on women.
However, it is crucial to state here that the studies have been limited to studying a specific character trait within the Native American Indian women on reservations. Browker (1992) studied the rate of school dropout among females who live in the Reservations.
He found that the rate of dropout among women from the reservations was high compared to other women in the U. S (Browker, 1992). This phenomenon was attributed to the difference in priority that women reservation and other women within the U.S have.
Consequently, Light and Marrin (1985) conducted a study that focused on the upbringing of children in reservations. This study does not specifically concentrate on the guidance of women but gives an overview of how children are brought up in the reservations.
From the studies that have been covered in this paper, it is evident that minimal research that specifically focuses on the women who want to raise their children outside the reservations been conducted.
It is, however, important to note that women from reservations face very many challenges and limiting the focus to just one aspect will lock out other probably more influential issues.
Therefore, it would be important to get the information on how raising a child on and off reservations is different for women who grew up on reservations (Hodge, 2009; Rizos and Krizova, 2007).
Moreover, previous studies have concentrated on the generalization of the people from the Reservations.
This study will open the window for women from reservations and specifically Native American Indians to give the experiences they have gone through both on and off the reservation (Swischer & Hoisch, 1992; Pallacios and Kennedy, 2010).
Purpose and Significance
Culture is different and the way a given group of people carries out their day to day lives is different from the way other groups do. In this respect, this study will gather the information of the exact experiences that woman from reservations face.
On the same note, the study will try to bring determine the attitudes and perceptions that women have with regards to raising their children on and off the reservations.
Since the effects of these experiences for Native American Indians cannot be generalized for all Native Americans, this paper will bring out the specific experiences that are unique to Native American Indian women and how these experiences affect the process of upbringing children.
Getting the facts about how previous experiences of growing up on reservations affect the social life of Native American Indian women is crucial for various reasons.
To begin with, the information collected from this study will provide crucial information to researches, legislators, politicians, and the public with regards to the challenges faced by Native American Indian women on reservations so that actions will be taken.
Consequently, this study will come up with crucial information for policy development and decision making that will assist the organizations that are concerned with improving the living standards of Native American Indians on reservations.
Furthermore, the information collected will help in improving the process of native American Indians especially women when they want to integrate into the society off reservations.
Problem Background
Many researchers have carried out studies regarding the lives of American Indians on reservations. Some researchers have examined the idea of growing up an Indian in the midst of American civilization (White, 1995; Ross, 2005).
Silko (1996) concluded that one cannot be able to lead a life that is controlled by two cultures. Consequently, Native American Indians out of the reservations will have to lead their lives following the culture of where they live and just hope to be back to the reservations one day.
These studies therefore imply that even if one was raised up in the reservations, getting out of the reservations means leaving the culture behind and adapting the culture of their place of migration.
Studies have also been carried out regarding the issue of taking American Indian children away from their homes and taking them to foster families. This is meant to ensure that as many people as possible are taken out of the hardships of the reservations.
On the same note, some studies have been carried out concerning the difficult economic conditions that prevail in most of the reservations (Hoffmann et al., 2006; Kuntz et al., 2009; Fox et al., 2005).
These studies have highlighted the various challenges that people on reservations face in their day to day activities. These challenges include homelessness where many families have to live in houses that are too small to accommodate a family that have children.
Similarly, the quality of the houses that these families live in is very poor despite the fact that most of the people own their homes (Lankford & Riley, 1986). Moreover, reservations lack basic infrastructure like running water, good roads, and telecommunication.
It is also worth noting that previous studies have shown that unemployment rates on reservations are very high. All these make life on the reservations difficult as compared to life in places.
It is perhaps due to this fact that some women believe that it is much better to raise their children out of the reservations where they can have easy access to basic amenities as well as opportunity for themselves and their children.
Theoretical Framework
This study will employ the historical trauma theory that has been applauded for its breadth. This theory focuses on how trauma from one individual can be transferred to another across different generations (Muller, 1998; Osburn, 2009).
Based on this theory, this paper will expound on the social, political, and economic effects of the trauma that Native Indian Americans faced as a result of segregation and discrimination from the colonial era to the present moment.
More specifically, this theory will be used to explain the difficulties that women face in reservations several decades after their land and rights were taken away by the colonial masters and hence their need to raise their children outside reservations to change their ways of life (from a social, political, and economic perspective).
Secondly, the study will employ the constructivism theory. This theory has been chosen because it is based on the fact that people will always use what they know from past experience to construct new ideas.
This theory argues that people do not just learn through reading of books but through experiences that they face in their day to day activities.
According to the theory, people’s past experiences are very crucial in determining how people will conduct themselves and consequently how they will raise their children.
It is important to note that the study is about the past experiences of Native American Indian women who were raised up on reservations and how that affects the childrearing process
Research Questions
This study will aim at answering the following questions:
- What it means for a woman to grow up on the reservation
- What experiences do women who grew up on reservations have when they also raise their children on reservations?
- What challenges do women who grew up on reservations face when they try to raise their children off the reservations?
- The difference of growing up on reservations and growing up off the reservations.
Nature of the Study
The study will be a qualitative examination of Native American Indian women on and off the reservations. The information will be collected by way of asking the women to narrate their experiences of how they were brought up.
As a result, I will travel to the reservations to get first hand information on how these women are bringing up their children on reservations as well as get to know what challenges they face.
On the same note, the study will follow up on Native American Indian women who were brought up on reservations and are now living off the reservations. I will also try to get the experiences of these women regarding the child rearing process off the reservations.
Due to scarcity of data on previous studies concerning this area, the study will generate its own data and information from the interactions with people. This will be achieved by conducting interviews on off reservation women.
Possible Sources and Types of Data
The study will mainly conduct a survey on women who were brought up on the reservations to get their experiences. Additionally, the study will seek to get the experiences of these women as they raise their children on or off the reservations.
In this regard, the study will involve traveling to the reservations and interviewing the Native American Indian women to get first hand information from these women.
Besides listening to the experiences of these women, the study may also issue questionnaires to women who will be able to write and get their side of the story.
References
Browker, A. (1992). The American Indian female dropout. Journal of American Indian Education, 31(3), n.p. Web.
Fox, K., Becker-Green, J., Gault, J., & Simmons, D. (2005). Native American youth in transition: The path from adolescence to adulthood in two Native American communities. Portland, OR: National Indian Child Welfare Association.
Hodge, F. S. (2009). Breast cancer–screening behavior among rural California American Indian women. American Indian culture and Research Journal, 33(3), 35–42.
Hoffmann, L. L., Jackson, A. P. & Smith, S. A. (2005). Career Barriers Among native American Students Living On Reservations. Journal of Career Development, 32(1), 31-45.
Kuntz, S. W., Hill, W. G., Linkenbach, J. W, Lande, G. & Larsson, L. (2009). Methylmercury risk and awareness among American Indian women of childbearing age living on an inland northwest reservation. Environmental Research, 109(6), 753–759.
Lankford, R. & Riley, J. D. (1986). Native American reading disability. Journal of American Indian Education, 25(3), n.p. Web.
Light, H. K. & Marrin, R. E. (1985). Guidance of American Indian children: Their heritage and some contemporary reviews. Journal of American Indian Education, 25(1), n.p. Web.
Muller, H. J. (1998). American Indian Women Managers: Living in Two Worlds. Journal of Management Inquiry, 7(1), 4-28.
Osburn, K. M. (2009). Southern ute Women: Autonomy and Assimilation on the Reservation, 1887-1934. Lincoln: U of Nebraska Press.
Pallacios, J. & Kennedy, H. P. (2010). Reflections of Native American teen mothers. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 39, 425–434.
Rizos, M. & Krizova, V. (2007). The Montana Experience: On and Off the Reservation. Common Ground. Web.
Ross, L. (2005). Native women, mean-spirited drugs, and punishing policies. Social Justice, 32(3), 54–62.
Silko, L.M. (1996). Yellow woman and a beauty of the spirit: Essays on Native American life today. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Swischer, K. & Hoisch, M. (1992). Dropping out among American Indians and Alaska Natives: A review of studies. Journal of American Indian Education, 31(2), n.p. Web.
White, P. M. (1995). American Indian Studies: A Bibliographical guide. Tucson : Libraries Limited.