The tie that binds: The grandparent/grandchild relationship among the Lumbee Indians of Robeson County, North Carolina

The Lumbee people of southeastern North Carolina have traditionally had a strong grandparent/grandchild relationship which assisted the Lumbee child to develop into a productive citizen within the tribe. An investigation was conducted utilizing selected Lumbee tribal members to ascertain their recollected perceptions of their grandparent/grandchild relationship. The following four values concepts were utilized by Lumbee grandparents to assist the productive development of their grandchildren: (1) awareness of the child, (2) acceptance of the individual, (3) sharing of oneself as defined by time and energy, and (4) freedom of personal choice. This traditional developmental process practiced among the Lumbee Indians has been drastically altered by wage labor, agri-business, and the American educational system causing the deterioration of the Lumbee family