No.^?8r' ^^^' EASTERN CHEROKEE GROUPS — ^KUPFERER 245 



describes them (1953, p. 280). She finds that they are a single group 

 which, although having a body of tradition not shared with Whites, 

 have been successfully assimilated to the extent that the forms of their 

 current culture are largely derived from Whites. 



THE THOMAS CONTINUUM 



Throughout this paper certain of the Cherokee have been referred 

 to as "fullblood" — the term has carried a connotation of traditional 

 or Conservative Indian. Biologically, the term is misleading as, of 

 course, blood has no relation to genes. The term is used because the 

 Indians refer to themselves in degrees of blood and the expression has 

 been adopted by census recorders and the Bureau of Indian Affairs per- 

 sonnel. 'TuUblood" is also misleading culturally, for not all fullbloods 

 are traditional and, conversely, not all mixbloods are oriented toward 

 White viewpoints. There is, nevertheless, a tendency for more of 

 the fullbloods to be conservative in their outlook, and for those of 

 mixed ancestry (particularly under three-fourths or one-half) to be 

 more "progressive" in theirs. 



As stated on page 224, the Thomas continuum is composed of Conserv- 

 atives, Generalized Indians, Rural White Indians, and Middle Class 

 Indians. Although one might quarrel with the labels, they will 

 suffice for the present. Thomas depicts the Conservative Cherokee 

 as being much Hke the early contact Indian, as he can be understood 

 from early literature. He conceives of himself as a "different order 

 of man from the rest of the world." He verbafizes a few White 

 values from time to time, such as "Don't drink and don't gamble." 

 But, most often, he lives by Cherokee values and gives expression 

 to them. According to Thomas (MS. a, p. 22), in his behavior he is 

 still the stoic red man. His basic personality has remained unchanged. 

 He prefers to speak Cherokee and regards generosity as a prime virtue. 

 As seen through his eyes, the population of the reservation is divided 

 into only two groups: Indians, of which he is a member, and White- 

 Indians. The latter are not part of his community. Conservatives 

 are frightened of White people, but they are not apprehensive about 

 White opinions of them. White-Indians as a whole are disHked by 

 Conservatives. 



"Generalized Indian," a term coined by Thomas, is similar in 

 connotation to Spindler's "transitional group" and somewhere in 

 between the "native modified" and "American modified" of Voget. 

 He considers himself as an Indian, but also as an American. This 

 is an important distinction between the Generalized Indian and the 

 Conservative. He is impelled toward White ways rather than Indian 

 ways. Inconsistencies in enunciations of values are characteristic 

 of him. This category is difficult to define. The difficulty is apparent 



