She has great spirit: insight into relationships between American Indian dads and daughters

Abstract

Data from this preliminary study, the American Indian – Dads and Daughters Survey, shed light on how American Indian fathers think and feel about their relationships with their daughters. Respondents represent an array of tribal affiliations, age, occupations, socioeconomic status, and geographical/geopolitical locations, helping to ensure that these data are relevant across a broad spectrum of Indian Country. Among the many insights into the relationships revealed in these data are common themes involving spirituality, identity, and adherence to cultural values. These insights may help educators, and others, who work with American Indian families, gain a greater awareness and understanding of how the relationships between American Indian fathers and their daughters impact both traditional American Indian communities as well as more mainstream westernized American Indian communities.

Keywords:

• AI-DADS
• American Indian
• family relations
• daughters
• fathers

Notes

1. For additional information on Dads and Daughters, see http://www.thedadman.com/dadsanddaughters.

2. In the Roper Poll, the age ranges for fathers were: 18–24, 25–34, 35–49, 50–64, and 65 + . For daughters, the age ranges were below 12, 13–17, 18–25, and 26 + .

3. The open-ended nature of the responses created such a bulk of answers that we were simply unable to include them all herein.

4. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation (2009), approximately 53% of American Indian children reside in single-parent families.