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Title: American Indian Women in an Urban Setting
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Baker, Nancy Roux-Teppen
American Indian Women in an Urban Setting
Ph.D. Dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1982
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning
Keyword(s): Assets; Discrimination, Age; Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic; Discrimination, Sex; Employment; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Racial Differences; Religious Influences; Urbanization/Urban Living

Educational, marital and family backgrounds, employment history, current activities and assets were examined to determine how well Indian women in urban settings had accommodated themselves to this environment. Comparisons were made with non-Indian urban women from the National Longitudinal Surveys. The sample (fifty women from thirteen states representing eighteen tribes), living in an Ohio industrial SMSA, was also questioned about knowledge of and participation in their Indian cultures. Comparisons with non-Indians showed significant differences--the Indian women were less well educated, held lower status jobs with less pay, and came from larger families where parents had less education and lower socioeconomic statuses. The Indian women themselves had more children and marriages and poorer health. They were generally unskilled and more frequently worked full-time (when health permitted) or held second jobs than non-Indians. Racial discrimination was reported more frequently against Indians; more incidents of age or sex discrimination were not apparent. Comparisons among Indian women, based on childhood geographic areas, indicated that regional historic and political differences were important in retention of traditional heritages. With the Mississippi River as boundary, the eastern group, mostly from southeastern rural areas, was predominantly Cherokee and Lumbee. They had less education, fared less well economically, spoke no Indian languages, and knew less about their history and culture than westerners. All women were Christian with two belonging to the syncretic Native American Church. Easterners were generally Evangelical Fundamentalists while most westerners belonged to mainstream churches. These urban Indian women were not involved in pan-Indian movements; few evinced interest or knowledge of backgrounds beyond pride in their heritage. A third were reservation-born; only three lived there beyond age 15. The women lived wherever low-cost housing was available; no specifically Indian neighborhoods existed. The Indian Center combined features of social service agencies and gathering place. Eastern families had come to the city for jobs; western women had married men from the area. Although some want to eventually return to home bases to be with other Indians or to help their people, most find the comforts and advantages of city life to their liking and would prefer to remain.
Bibliography Citation
Baker, Nancy Roux-Teppen. American Indian Women in an Urban Setting. Ph.D. Dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1982.