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Wisdom great and small: Omaha Indian grandmothers interpret their lives
Abstract
Charismatic heroine. Passive beast of burden. Mythical earth mother. These stereotypes have characterized Native American women in history and literature, obscuring the dignity and complexity of their humanness and belying their roles as vital hubs of centripetal force indispensible to the continuity of their families and tribes. This study is composed of interpretive life histories of four Omaha Indian grandmothers, the last cohort to be born into traditional families. Data was gathered from in-depth interviews and participation in tribal and family events over two years. From it, the Grandmothers' narratives were distilled and presented in their own words. Their stories were analyzed for epiphanies, the significant defining illuminations that affect every aspect of a person's life, and for turning points, the behavioral outcomes of the epiphanies. It was found that each woman turned differently to resolve her struggle to survive. One turned upward to God, one turned inward to self reliance, one turned forward to training and education, and one turned in place, a strong magnet in the center of her family. The outcomes of the turning points were analyzed for how they played out in significant themes: survival after tragic loss, self-actualization (achieving fulfillment), and style of grandmothering. It was found that each epiphany (1) was a response to massive loss, (2) generated a turning point which entailed an increase in personal power, (3) provided a rationale for living, and (4) was highly individualized in its life consequences. This study seeks to understand the women's interior experiences through their lenses, trained outward at their life journeys. The four histories sample a birth range of almost a quarter century, from 1908 to 1930: Rose, orphaned at birth, taken from her grandmother and shipped to school; Sarah, orphaned, traumatized, caught between the Omaha and white cultures, a young wife waging a struggle to save her children and to survive; Susan, living two lives of total commitment--in public, administrator, planner, and leader--in private, devoted protector of grandchildren; Norma, mother of eight--homebody and grandmother, blissfully thriving at the center of her family's universe. They are common people who have led uncommon lives in extraordinary times.
Subject Area
Gerontology|Minority & ethnic groups|Sociology|Families & family life|Personal relationships|Sociology|American studies
Recommended Citation
Bennett, Paula Porter, "Wisdom great and small: Omaha Indian grandmothers interpret their lives" (1996). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9637061.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9637061