Native American Family Research Paper

Mooradian, J. K., Cross, S. L., & Stutzky, G. R. (2006). Across generations: Culture, history, and policy in the social ecology of American Indian grandparents parenting their grandchildren. Journal of Family Social Work, 10(4), 81-101.
Approximately 5.5 million grandparents are raising their grandchildren and one percent of that is Native Indians. It is important to note that this is just Native Indians who have legal rights to raise their grandchildren. The basis of this study is the social ecosystem framework. Social ecosystems are based on the interconnectedness and the hierarchical connection between people and their environment. This study was conducted through interviews with American Indian grandparents who decided to raise their grandchildren.

They were asked questions about what influenced their decision and their experience as a caregiver. This study showed that a multigenerational view of culture as the reason many grandparents chose to care for their grandchildren. A traditional American Indian family includes extended family. The study makes it clear that the grandparents who were interviewed did not trust the United States government based on previous historical regulations imposed on American Indians.
This study helps explain some of the potential reasons that American Indian grandparents may choose to take care of their grandchildren.

Some limitations of this study include the small sample size (n=31). This study also focuses specifically on one culture, so the findings may not be able to be applied to other cultures. This study does however provide information about American Indian culture that may not have been available otherwise.
Mutchler, J. E., Baker, L. A., & Lee, S. (2007). Grandparents responsible for grandchildren in Native-American families. Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell), 88(4), 990-1009. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6237.2007.00514.x
Grandparents play an important and unique role in American Indian families. Strong relationships between grandparents and grandchildren is highly encouraged so that grandchildren may learn important cultural values and practices cross-generationally. This study focused on persons who identify as American Indian or Alaskan Native (AIAN). This study looked at grandparents age 45 to 78 in attempt to find grandparents who were still actively taking care of their grandchildren. This study was conducted using information from the 2000 census. Through analysis of the census information, it was concluded that persons who identify as American Indian or Alaskan Native are most likely to take responsibility for a

grandchild.
This study helps to develop more understanding between cultural influence and its role in grandparent relationships in American Indian families. One limitation of this study is that is focuses on a specific culture, therefore the findings may not be applicable to other cultures. However, the information they concluded is helpful in understanding the cultural importance to people of American Indian descent.
Robbins, R., Scherman, A., Holeman, H., & Wilson, J. (2005). Roles of American Indian grandparents in times of cultural crisis. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 12(2), 62-68.
In many cultures grandparents are seen as fun, companions, and those who hold important family history.

Grandparents also provide support, financial or emotional. There is not a lot of information out there focused on American Indian grand-parenting. Five different grand-parenting styles in American Indian culture are discussed: ceremonial, fictive, custodial, distanced, and cultural conservator. The difference between grandfathers and grandmothers is also discussed. This study was performed through interviews with twenty American Indian grandparents. Questions were asked to gather information about grandparents’ roles in their grandchildren’s lives and the relationship between grandparents. Through the interviews, it was concluded that contemporary American Indian grand-parenting was very comparable to grand-parenting roles in general. It was also concluded that the cultural aspect of American Indian life is an important aspect in

grand-parenting.
This study reiterates the cultural aspect and cultural importance in American Indian grandparent lifestyles that are also discussed in both Mooradian’s and Mutchler’s studies. A major limitation of this study is that the sample size (n=20) is very small. Of that sample size, 18 participants were from Oklahoma. Therefore, these findings may not be applicable to other groups in different states or countries.