Essay On Gender Roles In Native American Communities

The westward expansion had a huge impact on the role of women in society. Around the time of the Westward Expansion women did not have as many of the rights that they do now. Women’s role helped show that they could do anything that a man could do, they showed that they were not as helpless as many thought they were and it helped themselves gain rights. Before this women and men roles were very separated. Women's roles were specifically private and home based and the men did all the “hard” work. The women had to step up their game from just everyday work around the house to loads of things. They had to cook a lot for their hard working husbands. They also had to wash all their clothes. That alone was a lot of work because most of them

This would create much difficulties. Within the American European culture, the significance of women carrying any agency was always invaluable. In Allen’s essay she states “There are many female gods recognized and honored by the tribes and Nations. Females were highly valued, both respected and feared, and all institutions reflected this attitude” (Allen 3) the Native American culture idolized women so much that they were seen on a godly level. This appraisal of women amongst the Native American culture was what kept women important. Opposed to the Americans, as stated that “rejection of tradition constitutes one’s major features of American life […] and the American idea that the best and brightest should willingly reject and repudiate their origins leads to an allied idea (Allen 1). The American culture is all about dismissing the value of tradition. If you are able enough to turn your back on you own beliefs and customs you are one step closer to identifying as an American. Nonetheless only those who are of the highest level within their culture should be more willing to cease to associate themselves with their own traditional values.

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.

Zinn explains different forms of equality towards men, women, and children in Native American tribes and compares them to the equality in Europe and the colonies. When Columbus and his successors were not coming into an empty new world, but into a world which places was as populated as Europe itself, where culture was complex, where human relations were more egalitarian than in Europe, and where the relations among men, women, children, and nature were more worked out than perhaps any place in the world. Zinn said “the status of women in Indian tribes are equal, it was better than the status of women in Europe” (5). Women were important and respected in Iroquois society, the senior women in the village named the men who represented the

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

In the Native American societies the men and women were each given tasks which both sexes thought important. Neither gender was deemed more superior.

Women in European societies enjoyed very little social importance. In Native American societies, women also held inferior positions, but not to the degree instituted among European women. Native Americans determined family membership through the female line, contrary to the European patriarchal system. A woman could divorce her husband if she wished. Europeans regarded this reversal of sexual hierarchy as dangerous and peculiar. Senior women of a village instructed the men during decision-making, determined the chief of a clan, and retained impeaching powers. Europeans regarded this sexual equality as another example of the uncivilized nature of Native Americans.

You noted in your post to Marquita, that within the Settlement House Movement women were placed in authoritative roles. Do you think women were placed in these roles to illustrate a reformed way of thinking and viewing women or were they placed in these roles as “convenience” due to settlement work being a draw for women? At the time of the settlement house movement, America witnessed a large population of both men and women graduating from college. Many career paths were still closed to women, with the exception of education and nursing. After college these women were unable to put their college education to use leaving them with the option to return home, get married and start a family; options many women did not feel best suited

The roles of the men were to hunting, be defensive and aggressive in war, to manufacture weapons, to be in politics and religious operations. The work of the men took them away from the village because it was dangerous. They took hundreds of miles to win the war and steal horses of the enemy. In the late nineteen century, the Canadian and US governments wanted to change the gender roles of the Native Americans in such a way that the men were Farmers or blacksmiths and the women were to become house wives to keep up with the European American “civilized” labour division. This was not well accepted by the Native Americans thus it was denied.

A Native American woman is two point five times more likely to be a victim of sexual assault(amnesty,1). If that fact wasn’t bad enough in only 2008,39% of Native American women said they were victims of domestic violence (Futures Without Violence,2). Even though the numbers are that high, if someone were to ask everyday people in the mall “what racial community has the highest rape and abuse rates?” most of them would draw a blank. The problem with society is the U.S. places importance by the color of skin, so the order the reports will come out in will leave Native American women hanging because any reports made about the sexual assault and domestic violence are only cared about by few, and often those

Woman in the early 1800s through 1920s were categorized as simple housewives who were only thought of to be caretakers, maids, and cooks for their families and were also not seen as equal human beings in the eyes of men. As woman began to realize that separating themselves from the stereotype of housewives was what they needed, more and more woman were defining themselves as individuals instead of a type of property to men. Even in the early 1800s, woman were starting to think in a modernistic way because they were trying to break a tradition and stereotype that had been greatly enforced upon society. In Woman Settlers on the Frontier: Unwed, Unreluctant, Unrepentant by Susan A. Hallgarth, she explained, “the records of [early pioneer] women [show] that many females were enthusiastic about pioneering

The most valuable assets of our world are our mothers. The mother means soil. Mothers carry us in their womb for nine months and give their life. Mother, who carries the child in her belly, gives birth like soil, and raises the child in her breast.  Thanks to her, our roots go deep, and our branches go the top. In Native Americans, the tribes are separated from the Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest.  In some tribes, married couples lived near the wife's family and the mother was considered the head of the family. Linage was passed down through the women, and women were seen as equal partners to the men (Native American cultures: Family life, kinship, and gender, 1996b, para. 4). An example of the mother being a strong figure is in the story of the Corn Mother. There was a family that did not have food to eat. The mother decided to sacrifice herself by dragging her body over the fields and burying her bones there. Every year after that, corn and tobacco grew due to her sacrifice and love (The sun and the Moon: Myths from around the world, 2017). In any case, it is still far less demanding for American-Indian women to discover a role to accommodate their families and set up a profession stepping stool than it is for American-Indian

Today, women are believed to be equal to men however this was not always the case. During colonial times, women did not have the same roles as women do today; men and women had fixed roles in society. Roles between men and women do not exchange due to strict gender roles. Additionally, married women were not exactly considered as companions instead, as the husband’s property. Although gender roles were a significant issue among women in early America, another issue was the background of these women. Factors such as race, religion, geography/region, and social class were substantial to the extent of control a woman had over her own life. These factors significantly shaped the lives of these women. For instance, white women had differences

One of the most prevalent forms of overpowerment is through sexual violence. As Chrystos writes “You told me about all the Indian women you counsel who say they don’t want to be Indian no more because a white man or Indian one raped them…” Colonizers viewed the bodies of Indians as “dirty” or “unwashed” because of the color of their skin and volatile acts done to their “unwashed” bodies is not considered violence. This notion led many colonials to view Indian women as “rapable” (“Dangerous Intersections” 2). According to studies, Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted (“The Facts on Violence” 2). A large percentage, 86%, of the perpetrators of these sexual assaults are non-Native men (“Maze of Injustice” 1). Andrea Smith stated “when a Native American woman suffers abuse, this abuse is an attack on her identity as a woman and an attack on her identity as Native” (8). Not wanting to be an Indian anymore after experiencing sexual violence is a survival technique to compartmentalize the attack from their

The reading that perfectly explains the start of American rape culture was Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide by Andrea Smith. In the first chapter, she explains that sexual violence against Native women was a tool used by the colonizers in order to take control of the people and the land. What was interesting about this reading is how she explains why the