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Title
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Changing Kinship Systems: a Study in the Acculturation of the Creeks, Cherokee, and Choctaw
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Date
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1947
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Bibliographic Citation
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Spoehr, Alexander. 1947. Changing Kinship Systems: A Study in the Acculturation of the Creeks, Cherokee, and Choctaw. Fieldiana: Anthropology 36(4). Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.
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annotates
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Brief Summary:
• This is a cultural anthropological monograph in which Spoehr synthesizes historical, ethnographic, and ethnohistorical sources to analyze how kinship systems among the Mvskoke (Creek), Cherokee, and Choctaw nations changed under the pressure of European-American influence from the late 18th to early 20th centuries.
• He examines shifts from matrilineal to patrilineal descent, the erosion of clan-based authority, and the accomodation of American-style nuclear family and property systems. The analysis emphasizes the role of “formal” education, Christianity, land allotment, and legal codes (especially post-Removal constitutions) in transforming traditional social organization. Spoehr incorporates direct comparisons between the three tribes..
• No original archaeological data or fieldwork is presented. The text is based entirely on historical documents, secondary ethnographies, and comparative ethnology. Spoehr employs terms such as “acculturation” and “culture change,” characteristic of mid-20th-century anthropology.
Choctaw / Ancestral Choctaw Relevance:
• Explicit references: Yes — the Choctaw are one of the three primary case studies, with detailed treatment of their kinship system in both the precontact and post-Removal periods.
• The report is entirely focused on postcontact transformations—especially the 19th-century impact of Removal, missionary education, U.S. Indian policy, and legal restructuring in Indian Territory.
• Spoehr does not use archaeological material culture as evidence, but his descriptions of household organization, clan affiliation, and community settlement logic (e.g., dispersed farmsteads vs. compact villages) may help archaeologists frame site function and spatial patterning in late 18th–19th century Choctaw contexts.
Assessment for CRM Use / Archaeological Utility:
• Although the report does not contain archaeological field data, it may still be useful to CRM archaeologists working on historical Choctaw sites, particularly in:
o Interpreting household composition and settlement patterns based on kinship logic.
o Contextualizing postcontact and post-Removal changes in site layout or artifact distribution (e.g., gendered activity spaces, property inheritance).
o Supporting tribal consultations that integrate social and political changes with material expectations.
• However, its use of outdated frameworks (e.g., "acculturation," "disintegration of native institutions") should be interpreted critically. It is descriptive and lacks Indigenous perspectives.
Data Presentation / Decolonizing Commentary:
• Language and assumptions: Spoehr’s approach reflects mid-20th century acculturation theory. He views cultural change as a linear progression away from “traditional” systems toward “Western” norms, often using terms like “loss,” “breakdown,” or “replacement.” There's no discussion of resilience, continuity, or Indigenous perspectives on change.
• Biases: The tone is authoritative and comparative but lacks engagement with contemporary or descendant community voices. Spoehr generalizes from limited historic sources and selectively uses ethnographic data without considering the political context of those records.
• Opportunities for reframing: A modern approach would reexamine the same kinship shifts as acts of adaptation, sovereignty, and cultural negotiation, rather than mere cultural erosion. His documented legal and educational shifts could be reinterpreted as responses to colonial pressure rather than passive assimilation.
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owner
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sprice@wiregrassarchaeology.com