White people don't understand what we mean by "family."
When a baby is born the child is given to its "mother."

That means, the mother who bore the baby, all her sisters and all her aunts. They are all responsible for caring for the childs teachings. The baby is also given to all the "fathers." That means, the baby's natural father, all his brothers and all his uncles. They are all responsible for caring for the child and the teaching of the child. Everyone else in the tribe is a brother and sister.

We think that it is really primitive for a baby to have one mother and one father! Many children in the Western Society, don't have two parents!

Imagine the love, support, and the caring we would experience with a whole group of mothers and fathers! Imagine what that would do to our modern psychologists views that a baby has to "bond" with a mother and that if this does not occur, the child will be incomplete and unable to cope with society and life.

Imagine what would happen if we viewed ourselves as having the infinte possiblities for intimacy. Imagine being able to avail ourselves of security the parents could offer us! The option for relatedness that a tribe offers has yet to be tapped in Western culture, and sadly, we keep moving farther and farther from the possibilities.

Are we,indeed, "primitive" in our assumptions that two parents

are enough for one child? Maybe, or is it only a part of Western

culture not only a given of the human condition

Pam Barbour/Snowbird

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