Speaker Profile-Dawn C. Stricklin

<sup>Everyone is familiar with kinship. We all have relatives, grandparents, parents, and siblings. How the family is conceptualized among Native American tribes is often radically different from how European Americans define family. For example, the vast majority of Americans restrict usage of the term “mother” to a single female, usually the birth mother. On the other hand, among many Native American tribes the term “mother” can be applied to numerous women at the same time, regardless of whether or not a blood relationship exists. This cultural practice of referring to many family members by the same term can cause havoc for the family researcher whose primary goal may be to find lineal ancestors.

Kinship is a subject that Dawn has been studying professionally for years. She earned her BA (2007) and MA (2008) in Anthropology and is currently a doctoral student in Anthropology where her research focuses on kinship.

Although the focus of this lecture’s particular case study is on a Native American family, the information gleaned from this lecture can be applied to a myriad of ethnic groups. By providing a deeper understanding of kinship and making it easier to understand, attendees can learn to avoid common mistakes especially when researching Native American lineages. I look forward to seeing you there!

Friday, 4:00 p.m., F354, "From Lumper to Splitter: John Little Crow and Kinship Conundrum"</sup>

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Speaker Profile-Dawn C. Stricklin