Volume 22 Number 3
May 1983

Amy Belon, Marge Cattey, Gina Harmon, Bill Rose

SINCE WORLD WAR II when thousands of Native American Indians left their reservations for military service or for war time jobs, continuing migration from Indian reservations has been taking place.

This study examined four variables believed to be related to basic survival skills for successful urban living: 1) mobility; 2) communication; 3) social networking; and 4) money management. One-hundred and sixteen Navajo senior class students at Chinle Public High School were surveyed. The school was selected based on a high migration rate (75% migrating, 85% return before completion of urban plans).

The major hypothesis tested in this study was that Navajo senior students attending Chinle High School who perceive themselves as prepared for urban living in terms of mobility, communication, social networking, and money management skills, are more likely to migrate than two sets of peers: those who are unsure of their plans; and those who do not plan to migrate.

A general theoretical orientation to the study of migration has been largely lacking as a result of research designs which are discipline bound (see Note 4). Empirical knowledge on the subject of migration is fragmentary and exemplified by unintegrated studies which focus on the migration behavior (age, education, occupation, ethnic and family) of subgroups over a range of geographical boundaries.

Navajo Native Americans migrating from reservations in rural settings experience difficulties in adjusting to urban life.

The proposed study has examined four variables believed to be related to basic survival skills for successful urban living: 1) mobility; 2) communication; 3) social networking; and 4) money management.

If the majority of students perceived themselves as not "adequately" prepared and intend to migrate to the city, the need is identified for a structured and organized program to be established prior to migration to make the transition a "successful" one. It is understood that the perception of urban living skills as revealed in a survey may not necessarily correspond to actual behavior.

The major reasons for testing Navajo senior high students at Chinle High School were:

• Chinle High School graduates have shown a high rate of urban migration.
• Past students from Chinle High School who have chosen migration have shown a high return to the reservation prior to having completed planned studies in advanced education or vocational training.
• The Chinle High School System is located entirely within the boundaries of the Navajo reservation, and is the largest public high school system in the United States, in terms of geographic area.
• Research was approved by the Chinle High School Administration and Counseling Departments.
• Because of the central location of the students, a high response rate was anticipated.

This data hopefully will be useful for assisting Indian youth leaving the reservation and for supporting new avenues of research on Native American migration (see Note 2).

One hundred and sixteen Navajo senior class students at Chinle Public High School were surveyed to gather data useful for determining the students' perceived level of preparation for urban life. The goal of the survey questionnaire was to determine the perceived level of preparation in urban skills through the dimensions of 1) communication; 2) social networking; 3) financial management; and 4) mobility.

Level of perceived preparation for urban life was determined by scores on responses to a series of questions covering these four major dimensions reflecting necessary skills for successful urban life. These included the students' perceived ability to:

• Express oneself in order to get one's needs met, finding out information about employment and housing, and locating friends, relatives, and needed services;
• Establish ongoing, supportive reference group contacts and a meaningful circle of friends;
• Budget and spend money to meet basic living expenses while living in an urban setting;
• Travel from point to point in an urban setting for purposes such as shopping, medical attention, visiting friends.

A survey questionnaire was utilized in this study. Eleven questions were asked to gain demographic information. Twenty one situational statements were included with approximately five statements for each of the four independent variables: communication, mobility, social networking and money management. The respondents answered by Likert scaling, ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree" with each statement. A sixth category was provided for those to which the statements did not apply. "Strongly agree" was given a value of one; "agree," a value of two; "unsure," a value of three; "disagree," a value of four, and "strongly disagree," a value of five.

In order to avoid a "response set" pattern from developing, alternating statements representing different orientations were given. It was programmed into the computer that the negative statements would be reversed.

One open-ended question requesting the respondent to identify "important things a person should know when leaving the reservation for the city" was included in the questionnaire. This was an attempt to determine if those areas identified by the researchers as important to be skilled in were consistent with the students' perceptions. The content of each response was defined and the total responses calculated. This information is provided in the following:

TABLE I
Students' Responses to: "Important Things to Know When moving to a City."

A tabulation of responses validated that two areas identified by the research team--finances, i.e., ability to manage money and mobility, i.e., ability to get from point to point--were perceived as important.

Generally, it appears from the above data that students identified the need for anyone planning to leave the reservation to know that there exist basic differences between on and off reservation living and to become knowledgeable by gaining information regarding these differences prior to leaving.

The last question provided the student with the opportunity to participate in future studies related to this survey if they so chose. Fifty-two percent of the students expressed interest in continuing their involvement.

Demographic information collected provided the following information on our sample population of 116 senior high school students.

• Age: Range, 16-21; Mean, 17.76; Mode, 18
• Sex: Male 56% (N = 65); Female 44% (N = 5 1)
• Ethnicity:

Table II below presents demographic data indicating students' responses to whether:

• They expect to graduate in the Spring of 1982.
• They had lived off the reservation for a period of six months within the past five years.
• They did/did not plan or were unsure as to whether they would relocate to urban areas after leaving Chinle High School.

TABLE 11
Students Expecting to Graduate in Spring 1982, Past
Off-Reservation Living Experience and Future Plans to Relocate.

A question requesting that students indicate what they expected to be doing during the year following Chinle High School was given.

TABLE III
Plans After High School

Multiple responses indicated that the question may have been limiting in that it did not reflect that students planned to carry out more than one activity simultaneously.

The major hypothesis tested in this study was that "Navajo senior students attending Chinle High School who perceive themselves as prepared for urban living in terms of 1) mobility; 2) communication; 3) social networking; and 4) money management skills, are more likely to migrate than two sets of peers: 1) those who are unsure of plans to migrate, or 2) those who do not plan to migrate."

With the aid of computer "SPSS" software (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) a descriptive analysis of the socio-demographic characteristics of the sample was derived. To test the research hypotheses, a series of SPSS cross-tabulations were performed.

A series of chi-square tests were conducted to determine if a statistically significant relationship existed between the three subgroups and the degree of the perceived level of preparation for life in the city. The level of significance used in all testing of the hypotheses was .05.

Based on cumulative perceived level of preparation scores and scores for each independent variable, there appears to be a significant difference (at the .05 level) between those students planning to relocate versus those who are staying and those who are unsure of their plans.

The data supports the major hypothesis that Navajo senior high school students attending Chinle High School who perceive themselves as prepared for urban living in terms of 1) communication; 2) money management; 3) mobility; and 4) social networking skills are more likely to migrate than two sets of peers: those who are unsure of plans to relocate and those who do not plan to relocate.

It could be assumed that those planning to relocate have invested more time into preparing for their future than those who are not planning to relocate and those who are unsure of their plans. As stated previously, one of the purposes of the study was to determine if those students planning to migrate to a city did not perceive themselves as adequately prepared with regard to various skills that the need for a structured program to prepare for urban living would have been identified. However, as the results indicate, those planning to relocate perceive themselves as adequately prepared based on the four variables identified.

A second purpose of the study was to provide the foundation for future studies to determine if perceptions translate into behavior. Fifty-two respondents out of the 116 surveyed indicated that they would be willing to participate in future studies related to adjustment to city life. This would provide the basis to determine if perceived preparation was consistent with ability to carry out those behaviors in an urban setting. If preparation does not translate into behavior, perhaps more specific on-reservation training and information regarding differences between rural and urban living need to be explored. This was indicative of the student responses on the open-ended question, i.e., that there are basic differences between on and off reservation living and that those planning to relocate need to gain knowledge and information regarding the area they plan to relocate to.

Since preparation appears to be high among those relocating, other factors within the urban setting may be contributing to their inability to complete the goals they set for themselves prior to leaving (i.e., 85 percent return rate). A follow-up study would assist in identifying these other factors. Once these additional factors have been determined, strategies may be developed to overcome these barriers for successful goal completion within an urban setting.

1. Chadwick, B.A. and L.C. White. "Correlates of Length of Urban Residence Among the Spokane Indians," Human Organization, Spring 1973, 1 (32): 9-15.

2. In no way are the researchers encouraging or advocating migration. Based on present statistics, migration from reservation to urban settings is occurring in large numbers. It is not the purpose of this study to in any way encourage the alteration or surrender of tribal-cultural values.

3. McCormick, G. "Phoenix Indian Center Native American Mutual Assistance Project Application," unpublished application submitted to the Administration for Public Service Research, DHEW, December 1980: 1-40.

4. Shaw, R. P. Migration Theory and Fact. Regional Science Research Institute Philadelphia, 1975: 1-3.

Margaret Cattey received the M.S. W. degree from Arizona State University and is currently an Instructor in the Social Sciences Department at Glendale Community College, Glendale, AZ 85302. Amy H. Belon received the M.S. W. from Arizona State University. Gina Harmon received the M.S. W. from ASU and is currently working as a Social Worker at the Maricopa Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ. William Rose received his M.S.W. from ASU and continues as a Research Assistant there.