The 150% Man, a Product of Blackfeet Acculturation1

Some work with the “levels of acculturation” concept seems to assume a continuum of change and often entails an unintended correlate of cultural loss and replacement. An assessment of individuals among the Blackfeet using two scales, one a measure of Indian orientation and the other of White orientation, reveals that this view may be incorrect. New ways can be learned without abandoning the old. The bicultural reservation community provides a variety of roles and situations for selective use of both. It is suggested that a matrix model would be more meaningful than the continuum model for the assessment of individual acculturation, and that more attention should be paid to situational factors.