Document Type

Dissertation - University Access Only

Award Date

1995

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department / School

Rural Sociology

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to answer two questions: why did Native Americans initially leave the reservation; and why did they return? In this exploratory work, interviews were conducted with Native American return migrants to gather data in order to answer these questions. Thirty-six interviews were conducted on reservations in South Dakota. Rational choice theory, combined with the push-pull perspective and insights from the sojourn literature comprised the theoretical framework that guided this study. The findings indicate that the reasons for initially leaving the reservation differed from the reasons for returning. Participants left primarily for work and educational purposes, while they returned because of family, family obligations or to reestablish their Native American identity or that of their children. The assumptions of rational choice theory pertaining to utility, information, aggregation mechanism, opportunity costs and institutional constraints were found useful in interpreting the data gathered in this study. In contrast to other research, the aggregation mechanism in this study was found to be noneconomic and there was not a single mechanism which drew different actions together resulting in return migration. vi In addition, the results demonstrated that the locationspecific capital hypothesis was applicable to the participants in this study. The marginality hypothesis was found to be unsuitable in explaining why the individuals in this study returned.

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

214

Publisher

South Dakota State University

Download

Share

COinS