The Dakota Indian Family, Community Studies on the Pine Ridge Reservation

The major goal of this bulletin is to describe the traditional kinship organization of the Dakota Indians and to compare it with contemporary patterns of family living on the Pine Ridge Reservation. This study of the family in selected reservation communities should reveal: (1) any remnants of the traditional kinship pattern operating at the present time, and (2) the nature of the changes which have taken place in the family organization during the process of transition

The Crow Creek Indian Family

This is the first in a series of publications concerned with the economic and social problems of the Indian people who live on South Dakota Indian Reservations. The study deals especially with the people on_ the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, while the second study will be concerned with the people of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. In each study the primary concern will be that of providing data which may be used to evaluate alternative opportunities for increasing the social and economic level of the Indian people through more efficient use of the resources at their disposal

History and Acculturation of the Dakota Indians

In order to fully understand and appreciate those events which led to the final submission of the American Indian to the majority white culture, it is necessary to look to the historical antecedents predating white Indian contact. The original ways of living of the American Indian are not easily understood by the modern man who believes the material progress of his generation to be the highest advancement of civilization. In all societies there is a strong tendency for the majority group to assume that its values, attitudes, and behavior are superior in all regards to the habit patterns and customs that dominate the lives of minority groups. They are suspicious of strange practices which conflict with their ideas of the appropriate and correct ways of living. If they exhibit some curiosity about the customs of the minority, they are usually anxious to learn of them for the purpose of making an invidious comparison with their practices. It is the unusual person who is able to suppress his own prejudices and view clearly the ways of minorities through the value system of the minority group rather than through his own pattern of beliefs. Often one hears that such behavior as alcoholism, sexual promiscuity, unemployment, suicide, etc., when exhibited by Indians, is but a carry-over from the old culture which was typified by such characteristics. Nothing could be further from the truth. The traditional cultures of the American Indian possessed many of the same values and virtues upheld by the protestant ethic. Such deviant behavior must be seen as a result of an acculturation process which denied the American Indian the right to retain those institutions of family, religion, and economics which served to uphold his traditional values. Such behavioral patterns as reflected in high rates of alcoholism, suicide, and unemployment are fairly recent phenomena in the life of Indian people. Through a better understanding of the lasting traditional culture of one group of American Indians, the Dakota, it is hoped that such misconceptions of cause and effect may be alleviated

The Dakota Indian Religion, A Study of Conflict in Values

Religious beliefs have exerted substantial influence on the values of the Dakota Indians. In earlier days religious folklore infused every area of their daily lives. When the missionaries introduced Chnstianity to the tribes on the Great Plains, important changes began to take place. Values which conflicted with customary beliefs were interposed, but many of the traditional values were retained. In some cases, accommodation of conflicting values was attempted in marginal religious activities which combined elements of both the old and new religions. In other cases, the conflicts appeared insurmountable, and some individuals sought escape or succumbed to apathy. A study of the present day values of these people requires some understanding of their traditional religion. Thus, Part II of this bulletin is designed to provide a systematic analysis of the religious background of the Dakota Indians. Here are some of the myths and legends, and the beliefs, practices, and ritual which dominated Dakota thinking at the time of initial contact with the Christian missionaries. In Part III the subsequent changes in Dakota values are discussed and analysed in historical perspective and in terms of the value conflicts which have resulted from the contact of these two different culture patterns. Statistical evidence from a study of two communities on the Pine Ridge Reservation is presented to support the cultural conflict thesis. Implications of the study are suggested in Part IV

A review of the respiratory distress syndrome in Cape Town

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A clinical classification of the idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn

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The Dakota Indian Economy: Factors Associated with Success in Ranching

While the measurement of cultural transition was undertaken with imprecise instruments which could not possibly register the finer nuances of social change, there were certain gross differences between these two extremes (folk and modern societies) that were readily revealed by the available instruments. The division of families on the basis of their participation or non-participation in ranching was selected as the primary factor, distinguishing the residents of Pine Ridge in their choice of livelihood; the ranching and non-ranching populations are compared and analyzed in part II of this bulletin

Asphyxia neonatorum - assessment of the infant at birth

Asphyxia neonatorum is defined as failure of a newborn infant to establish sustained respiration after its complete delivery. In 206 asphyxiated infants reviewed, details of the Apgar scores,  time to sustained respiration and resuscitation required, were documented. The value of each of these observations, as well as that of the heart rate and acid-base status after birth, is assessed. From the findings definite recommendations for the routine assessment of the infant at birth are made.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 2139 (1974)

Asphyxia Neonatorum-Neurological Status at One Year Follow-Up

The neurological status at one year follow-up of a group of infants who had suffered from asphyxia neonatorum is described. The situation at the end of the first week is contrasted with that a year later

Respiratory distress syndrome in the newborn: Radiological aspects

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