Marriage was preferentially polygynous, and many such marriages were reported by early explorers, traders, and missionaries in the area. Postmarital residence was patrilocal, though kin ties were maintained with the wife's family as well. The typical domestic unit was either a polygynous family or a nuclear family with various other relatives added on. Winter dwellings housed about twenty people. Under the pressure of the fur trade, European settlers, and missionaries, there has been a shift to smaller, nuclear family domestic units.
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