284 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 196 



motives are present among this group that are lacking among people 

 in the other two categories. 



One sentiment, often disguised, is that a college education will 

 prove that Indians can "amount to something." One informant, a 

 college graduate, reflects this in the half -joking remark, "Well this 

 dumb Indian got through it . . . and when I needed money, I went 

 out and worked for it." 



Concealed in other comments is the recognition of the status which 

 a college degree confers, irrespective of race. The son of one family 

 stayed out of college during the spring quarter of his junior year. 

 He is planning to be married this summer and return to school in 

 the fall. Because he has a well-established family business to enter, I 

 asked him why he bothered to finish college. "Oh, I don't know," he 

 said. "Just to say I did it, I guess ... it would be nice for the 

 children to say they had a Daddy who went to college . . . I'U never 

 use it [college education], I guess." 



There are people in this category who have achieved a stable socio- 

 economic position. They desu-e higher education for their children, 

 not so much because they are striving for status, but because they 

 have accepted coUege as a normal goal for those in their social posi- 

 tion. Illustrative of this is the case of a couple with three children. 

 The husband is a graduate of Chilocco ; his wife attended a university 

 in the West for 2 years. One of their children has graduated from a 

 State university. The other two are presently enrolled in college. 

 One, a student in a western institution, failed a course his first semester. 

 His parents expressed mild concern, but took no definite steps to 

 discipline him. He was married during the spring of his freshman 

 year. Although his parents did not object, his mother fears that the 

 marriage may hinder him in the completion of his education. Several 

 times during the first semester he overdrew his checking account. 

 His father said, "Boy, he can spend the money. He went to school 

 with a bank account, and we've been sweetening it all winter. I 

 guess boys have to spend money, but I beHeve he spends too much." 

 The youngest child was graduated from a public high school last June. 

 He spent a great deal of time searching college directories and finally 

 decided to major in engineering at a nearby State university. 



There are others whose socioeconomic status is not typically that 

 of the middle class, but whose goals are similar. These families are 

 currently mobile. One such couple has two children for whom college 

 careers are planned. These children are under a reward system in 

 which they receive 50 cents for every A, If they receive a C or a D 

 they must pay the parents 10 cents. The money goes into their 

 coUege account. A set of the Encyclopedia Britannica (adult edition) 

 was purchased for the children to use in doing their homework. 



