Northern Paiute - Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent. From birth to death, an Individual was surrounded by a network of kin and friends that included the immediate family, a larger group of close relatives (the kindred), the camp group of which the family was a part, associated camp groups in the district, and individuals (kin, non-kin) who resided outside the local area. Of all these units, the most important were the immediate family—at base nuclear, but often including one or more relatives or friends, especially grandparents or single siblings of parents—and the kindred—a bilaterally defined unit that functioned to allow the individual access to subsistence but inside of which marriage was prohibited. Only the former was a residence unit, the latter being likely to include people even outside the local subarea. Today the family and the kindred are still the primary functional units.

Kinship Terminology. Kinship terminology is of the Eskimo type, for those who are still able to recall the native forms.