Transfer of children and the importance of grandmothers among the Navajo Indians.

This paper explores informal fosterage patterns in 98 cases in the Navajo Tribe. It examines the cultural basis of social support offered by grandmothers in issues of substitute parenting. The majority of children in the sample were given to mother's mother. The precipitating factors in fosterage were: inability of parents to meet the needs of rearing their young, grandmother's needs, or cultural violations. Fosterage is an important mechanism for integration, versatility and resourcefulness for the tribe.