226 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 196 



answers to the foregoing questions, does the Thomas continuum 

 apply to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians? 



TECHNIQUES OF THE STUDY 



Gaining acceptance among the Conservative Indians is not a 

 simple task. However, it was made considerably easier for me as a 

 result of the fieldwork done in Big Cove, one of the more traditional 

 communities, by my colleagues in the Cross Cultural Laboratory. 

 In the summer of 1959 I lived in Big Cove in the home of an elderly 

 Cherokee, and in close proximity to the families of her two daughters 

 and one of her granddaughters. During the following winter and 

 spring of 1960, I was located about half a mile from the center of 

 Cherokee on the banks of the Oconaluftee River. Close neighbors 

 were young married people, some of whom were living in rented 

 quarters. Others were living in their own trailers. The owner of 

 the cottages and of the land on which the trailers were parked lived 

 on the premises in his own trailer. Late in the spring I moved to 

 Soco, the first reservation section approached from the east. The 

 home in which I lived was owned by an elderly widow and was located 

 in a somewhat isolated section. 



I tried to explain my purpose in living on the reservation, but only 

 the more sophisticated understood. Some thought I was a Quaker 

 who had come to work among them; others suspected that I was a 

 writer or a teacher. Some simply considered me eccentric, but aU 

 eventually tolerated my presence. 



Through visiting with people, attending box suppers, church 

 prayer meetings, and funerals, I was able to participate as much as is 

 possible in their life. Most of my interviewing was unstructured and 

 informal. It consisted of gossiping about the happenings of the day 

 and the coming and going of the people around. Inquiries about the 

 health of the host or hostess, often made in Cherokee, elicited the 

 data desired. Other conversations were directed toward the schools, 

 the aspirations of the parents for their childi'en, and their own 

 educational experiences. 



Observation in the schools and clinics provided insights into the 

 behavior associated with these institutions. Members of the health 

 staff and school faculty were very helpful in orienting me toward 

 their goals. 



I made a few house calls with the social workers from the Bureau 

 Welfare Office (now Social Services Branch) and accompanied the 

 home demonstration agent on several occasions. I substituted in 

 the high school for part of a day dm"ing the absence of a teacher and 

 waited on tables in the cafe of one of the White Indian business 

 owners, and sat in the sun at the bus station. I provided trans- 



