Plains Indian Gender Roles

Men fought their enemies and held great honor doing so. They hunted buffalo, deer, and other wild animals (Deloria 240). The men's main priority in life was to make sure his family was safe and well-cared for. He was the protector and provider of all things. Women packed the houses each times the camp moved; they guarded all belongings during the march. Once they stopped, the women were in charge of unpacking and setting up the tipi. They laid out all bedding, gathered firewood, brought water, cooked, passed out food, and took care of children (Deloria 240). It was the women's job to run the household. She prepared what the men provided to care for the family. “Men's and women's worlds were complementary, but very much compartmentalized.” (Deloria 241). Gender roles do not include just physical responsibilities, they are also thought processes and emotions. Dakota women were more concerned with the welfare and reputation of their brothers, children and husbands. They learned to honor themselves by honoring others first. They held traditions that are similar to what some women are taught today, such as, it is up to the man to pursue a relationship with a woman, to dress modestly so that men see you and not your body first, etc. While some may find these ideas as sexist, personally, I don't think they are. I think it is how culture has played a role in my life. It is what has been engraved in me and not because I am

These women still had great burdens. They still have gender division or labor, much like the English. The Indian men hunted and protected. They constructed tools such as bows, arrows, canoes, and fishing nets to assist in their hunt. Women had the responsibilities of the maintaining the household, crops, and

Social Structure: In the Chippewa culture, the roles of men and women were much defined. Women were domestic, taking care of the home and the farm. They planted the seeds and took care of the crops, in addition to their responsibilities at home when it came to children and the preparation of food. The men had a completely different set of responsibilities, most of which kept them away from the home a great deal.

They had a great understanding and equal roles. The men were the chiefs, they made all the political decisions for the tribe, and they were in charge of hunting, war and peacekeeping. The women made social decisions for the clans, they were the landowners and they were in charge of farming, property, and family. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork , music, and traditional medicine. In their villages, they lived in houses made of rivercane and plaster, with thatched roofs , located near the river. The men wore breechcloths and leggings and the women wore wraparound skirts and poncho-style blouses made out of woven fiber or deerskin. They were moccasin on their feet. There were always polite, and they listen to one another speak. It has been said that “they never bow to any other creature”. Unlike the European settlers, Cherokee women had just as much say in their culture than the European women’s.

They greatly relied on buffalo. Buffalo were their main source of food, and shelter. They use trees to build bows and arrows, as well as wooden platforms for their dead, and poles for their teepees. Deerskin was used to make dresses for women and other pieces of clothing.

They were seen as feeble and weren't allowed to participate in jobs men usually take. An instance of this is in the text, "Excerpt From The Trail Of Tears Diary." in paragraph 3, "A council meeting was mostly composed of men. " While this evidence is talking about Native American culture, it also reflects how American culture at

However, this was different from the tribe’s social structure. Men were largely in charge, but had the backing of the women. They always took the women’s thoughts into mind and listened to them over anyone else, because without them they wouldn’t stay in power. Also, the chiefs of the tribes were male, but were often the poorest members of the

Women were always treated differently from men. They couldn't vote for anything. They were always stereotyped as people who couldn't do a single thing. They were basically only allowed to cook, clean, and homeschool the children. They couldn't go out and do things with their husbands and do the things that they do like hunting.

This was a very sharp contrast to the Europeans, whom had for centuries, been the top of their social hierarchy. In Europe, the women had a very relatively primitive, limited role in society. They were not allowed to attend or partake in political affairs, with very few exceptions. Now, on the other hand, in Indian society there was a council of chiefs, whom was all male, but they were appointed by an elder women. Also, during their deliberation over issues, the males made the final decision, but would be expelled from the council, if they didn't conclude to the same decision that the elder woman came to. The women's main job in Indian society, was being in charge of cultivation of, harvest of, and distribution of food. When the men left to go hunting, women were left to run society. The Europeans simply believed that the males were far superior to the family, which is why women could not have jobs, and were left to only clean, cook, and various other household chores.

The judgement from men did not cease and women were further scrutinized. This discrimination made many free thinking women undesirable. The “women who entered male public and political domains "lost their 'womanliness' and their claim to purity."11 The persistent negativity being aimed towards these women and the primarily male driven society left us with little on the “accounts of frontier life. It is difficult to obtain positive accounts of women's contribution to settling the frontier.”

Women played a very important role in the life of Native Americans. They were more than just people in charge of the tribes, they were builders, warriors and crafts women's basically everything. Their strength was essential to the to the survival of the tribes. They were in charge of gathering materials to build everyone's homes.

For Europeans, the to be a member of a family you had to be related to the eldest male in the household. This was a total opposite to the Indian society. For example, in the Iroquois society, family membership was determined by the family of the female. At the head of each family was an elder woman, followed by her daughter, their husbands and children, and finally her unmarried granddaughters and grandsons. When one of the men married, he moved to the family of his wife. This was a very sharp contrast to the Europeans, whom had for centuries, been the top of their social hierarchy. In Europe, the women had a very relatively primitive, limited role in society. They were not allowed to attend or partake in political affairs, with very few exceptions. Now, on the other hand, in Indian society there was a council of chiefs, whom was all male, but they were appointed by an elder women. Also, during their deliberation over issues, the males made the final decision, but would be expelled from the council, if they didn?t conclude to the same decision that the elder woman came to. The women's main job in Indian society, was being in charge of cultivation of, harvest of, and distribution of food. When the men left to go hunting, women were left to run society. The Europeans simply believed that the males were far superior to the family, which is why women could not have jobs, and were left to

After so many years of aggressive and deadly invasion of their land, Native American’s invaded New England. They captured both men and women. Some pregnant or nursing and held them for ransom. “Men were more likely to escape or to die. Women were considerably more likely than men to remain with their captors” Berkin explained, “men resisted, women adapted” (42). Adapting because they had infants, acting out was not an option. When the captives were released, they pled to return to their captors. Historians believe that “some women found the gendered division of labor and of rights and duties within Abnaki world more desirable than those of colonial Haverhill of Deerfield” (44). Perhaps women enjoyed Native American society. Indian tribes welcomed and adopted Colonia American women in their

a greater amount of provisions. However, the Cherokee’s believe that providing food was this way not because of a biological hypothesis but because of history. As Perdue states in her book, “Men hunted because the first man had been responsible for providing his family with meat. Women farmed because Selu first gave birth to corn in the storehouse and then became the source of corn” (17). The gender roles that take place in nutrients provision point back to following the history and honoring Selu for the gift of corn.

The Native Americans had a unique way of life, they were hunter gatherers. The Native American culture had fairly strict gender roles. The men would do the hunting and if the time came, go to war, while the women stayed at home, at their camp for the time being, and took care of the children, cooked, and gathers food, such as crops. However, the Native Americans did not have much of an advancement regarding their tools; sticking to the most basic of stones and arrows. The most significant form of food for the Native Americans was the buffalo.