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Isabelle

Isabelle

Copyright: © 2020 |Pages: 80
ISBN13: 9781799834205|ISBN10: 1799834204|ISBN13 Softcover: 9781799834212|EISBN13: 9781799834229
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-3420-5.ch004
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MLA

Sam Pack. "Isabelle." Oral History Reimagined: Emerging Research and Opportunities, IGI Global, 2020, pp.151-230. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-3420-5.ch004

APA

S. Pack (2020). Isabelle. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-3420-5.ch004

Chicago

Sam Pack. "Isabelle." In Oral History Reimagined: Emerging Research and Opportunities. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2020. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-3420-5.ch004

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Abstract

Isabelle is the sister of Delbert and the daughter of Sharmaine. She is also the mother of 10 children of her own: six biological children fathered by four different men in addition to the four children of her deceased younger sister. Having survived a succession of abusive relationships with various men, this mother hen has been the sole provider for her large brood for most of the time that the author has known her. In many respects, Isabelle can be called the “white sheep” of the Benally family. While the rest of her siblings have battled alcoholism and chronic unemployment for most of their adult lives, she has never imbibed alcohol and has been gainfully employed for the past 40 years. She is not unlike a Native American version of Horatio Alger: a girl from the rez who, through diligence and determination, vowed to raise herself up from her bootstraps and overcome any obstacles placed in front of her. This chapter introduces Isabelle.

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