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Squamish socialization

University of British Columbia

This is a study of the socialization processes among major extended families on the Capilano Reserve. Ethnographic data introduce the social environment and provide the context for an analysis of socializing experiences. The analysis of socialization also gives insights into social change and adaptive responses, and focuses on the acquisition of ethnic identity within a multicultural setting. The thesis seeks to show how children, youths and adults resolve personal dilemmas of formulating an identity when the sanctions of socialization processes are in opposition. The study points out that any individual may be involved in first, second and third processes of socialization which may be experienced simultaneously or in sequence. The context in which they occur is a complex one bounded by membership in a specific extended family. The individual must also accommodate the demands of opposing family groups who form the Band corporate structure and the demands of the adjacent white society in which he must also be involved. Primary emphasis is placed on the description and analysis of the process of socialization rather than on the practices. This provides an extension to the traditional literature on socialization and a fuller understanding of the dynamics of interaction between adults and children as well as among those adults who undergo the third process of socialization. Findings indicate that cultural conflicts, if they exist, do not necessarily result in perceptual conflicts. Rather, one individual may choose a primary path which avoids conflicting choices; another may tolerate exposure to conflicting processes and emerge as a bicultural person. In either case, the individual is Squamish by self-definition. The ineffective socialization that is carried out by parents who were themselves unable to complete a socialization process in either white or Squamish culture is also discussed. This discussion links historical determinants of life styles with the re-establishment of a closed system for socialization within the extended family. Such a closure restores to the grandparental generation their roles as primary socializers and cultural custodians. It also allows some youths to choose to become bicultural. The concluding statement of the thesis links the presentation of Squamish theories of socialization and the observed practices with specific theoretical concerns about development, identity, and cognitive balance which have a general application.

Text

2011-03-09

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/32254

Sociology

University of British Columbia

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