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Divorce Practices Among Some North American Indian Tribes, George E. Dickinson

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The objective of this study is to present on overview of marriage termination practices among North American Indians and to compare the practices of these early inhabitants of the continent with contemporary practices. The Human Relations Area File was utilized to gather information on marriage termination practices of North American Indian tribes. Divorce was the most common practice used by the Indians; and divorce grounds available to them proved to be similar to contemporary North American customs. The consequences of divorce varied with different Indian tribes, but all tribes studied had similar attitudes toward coring for children of divorced parents.