The influence of skills and education on work choices of Muscogee (Creek) women was examined in an ethnographic study during which 16 Muscogee women with educational levels ranging from an eighth grade boarding school education to a master's degree participated in multiple personal guided interviews. Only two of the women were not high school graduates. Criteria for inclusion in the sample included a variety of job categories, work venues, pay options, and both tribal and non-tribal employment. The women discussed work in the following four domains: home work, public work, community/volunteer work, and cultural/home jobs. Education had a direct relationship to the women's ability to secure employment. The women gave high priority to formal education through the high school level. The women noted positive and negative consequences of becoming educated. Positive consequences included gaining the respect of one's elders, and negative consequences included limiting one's chances for marriage within the tribe. Positive effects of the government boarding school experience noted by the women included making friendships with other Indian children and learning necessary life skills. Negative effects of the experience that were mentioned by the women included acculturation and not learning their native language. (Contains 15 references.) (MN)