No.'^Tir" EASTERN CHEROKEE GROUPS — KUPFERER 283 



The parents of a large Rural White family have hopes of sending 

 their oldest son to Haskell. They could not afford it when he grad- 

 uated from Cherokee High School last year. Although he is now 

 working at the Harns plant, he talks of quitting and going on for 

 vocational training. "Now with the new roll, I might be able to go 

 because I'll get the same privileges [financial assistance] as full 

 Indians. I couldn't go this fall, but I might be able to next year." 



These remarks reflect the sentiments of the people in category 2. 

 However, there is some merging between ambitions for vocational 

 training and for attending college. Some of the people do not make 

 a clear distinction between the two choices. The economic differential 

 between the two is one reason for lack of a definitive goal. Some 

 entertain the idea of college, but their finances militate against it, 

 and they are not so firmly committed to coUege as a social goal that 

 they will try to find a way. A second reason for the blurring is that 

 some of them are not clearly aware of the differences between advanced 

 vocational training and college education. 



People who comprise category 2 are Generalized Indians, Rural 

 Whites, and a few Conservatives. (Most, although not all, of the 

 Conservatives are in the second group by virtue of the fact that some 

 of their children are presently enrolled in post-graduate training 

 schools. But we suspect, with good reason, that this is due, at least 

 in part, to outside influences and personal choices of the children, 

 rather than as a direct consequence of parental pushing.) Not all 

 those who want their children to continue some sort of training 

 beyond high school share the same feelings about the inadequacy of 

 reservation schools. But it is a prevalent sentiment, and becomes 

 even more entrenched in the next classification. 



Most of the parents in category 2 have completed more years of 

 schooling than have those in the first category; however, there are 

 some who have little or no formal education. Emphasis on marks or 

 school performance, while not entirely absent among the first group, 

 becomes much more marked in category 2. 



CATEGORY 3. COLLEGE ORIENTED 



A small group of Cherokees regard college education as a normal 

 expectation for their children. Some of these children are currently 

 in college; others, not yet there, are reminded of this goal in many 

 ways. Economic position is, of course, an important element in the 

 realization of the goal. But it is not the sole reason. There are 

 several parents for whom the expense of maintaining even one child 

 in college represents a financial strain, even though these people are 

 better off than many because they have steady employment. Other 



