No.^TSr* ^^^' EASTERN CHEROKEE GROUPS — KUPFERER 281 



from some of the others in this category who express the same goal. 

 They do not permit the children to stay out of school unless it is 

 absolutely necessary, or unless the child is ill. Occasionally, Tom's 

 older boys have to stay out to plow, plant, or harvest. When they 

 do, Tom's wife writes a note to the school principal explaining the 

 situation. 



Other Indians who recognize the importance of high school education 

 are less assertive about it. And they rarely complain about the quality 

 of the reservation schools. The attendance records of their children 

 testify to the fact that they do not pressure their children into regular 

 attendance. Other evidence supporting this lack of coercion is visible 

 in the variation found among children within the same family in terms 

 of the number of grades completed. For example, Emmaline, a 

 mother of 10 children, says she hates to have the children "lay out" of 

 school, but when asked why Alfred was not in school, she said "He 

 got ready to go this morning; he put on clean socks, but he didn't go." 

 Emmaline has an older son and daughter who did not finish high school 

 but she has two daughters who are attending high school at a Federal 

 boarding school for Indians in Kansas. The younger one, EUie, is 

 crossing off the days until she can come home. Her mother said, 

 "She don't care much for it." 



Lucy, another informant, has only a sixth grade education, but her 

 older brother and sister have graduated from Cherokee High School. 

 A younger brother and sister entered, but did not finish. Lucy said, 

 "I just quit; I didn't like boarding school. Momma and Poppa didn't 

 say nothing about it." Five of her children now are in elementary 

 school. "Mary does good, but them boys can't learn nothing. Ken- 

 neth wants to quit. I guess I'll let him if the school wUl." On two 

 occasions I found Mary home from school because, her mother said, 

 "she didn't want to go." 



Both of these mothers and their husbands talk about the importance 

 of education. One husband was refused employment at the Harns 

 plant because of inadequate preparation. But when asked about 

 plans for their children, the reply was, "It's up to them, whatever 

 they want to be." 



Some Rural Whites, Generalized Indians, and Conservatives are 

 found in category 1 . They all share the same level of aspiration, but 

 the steps they take to implement the goal vary. Generalized Indians 

 and the Rural Whites are usually more forceful in seeing that their 

 children attend school regularly, and they attempt to keep them en- 

 rolled until they graduate. For the most part. Conservatives do not 

 pressure their children to comply with their wishes. However, there 

 are some who, although traditional in many ways (for example, in 

 choices of medical treatment), are determined to see that their children 



