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