With Native Americans being the first inhabitants of North America, many people often question what traditions they have created on their own, before the ideas of the pale settlers. When taking a look into their interesting beliefs, it is obvious to see an intricate basis or animals and spirits that guide the lifestyles of Indians all over the country. Even their society had a special way of doing things, including gender roles of both men and women. There are many customs that have seemed odd to the average American throughout the centuries, but Indians found these a normal way of life. Even the lifestyles of Native Americans were unique, from hunting animals to tanning buffalo hides. Gender was a major factor in the duties that were expected. Native American women had some power over men, they were restricted to maintain their roles and duties in their tribe, and were expected to continue the spiritual ways of Native American life.
The women's strongest source of power was to bear children, a power centered around the menstrual cycle. A girl's first period marked an occasion for her seclusion to a tepee with other menstruating women to separate them from the rest of the tribe. The first period also was marked as very significant, because during the time, her dreams held special significance for her future, followed by a ceremony that was either a family or tribal acknowledgment of her new status as a marriageable woman. Men feared the power of menstrual blood, hence the ritual of seclusion. It was believed that women's blood could destroy the power of a man's weapons in hunting. Men even avoided traveling paths that might be walked on by menstruating women (Schulz). The fear came from the fact that men had no way of controlling or influencing menstruation. It was a uniquely female experience, and the power of birthing that it represented was greater than the power of the spiritual beings that were men's guardians.
The roles of men and women were very distinct throughout a tribe. The role of men was to hunt, to defend their lands and families, to debate in public forums, and to lead the community's religious life. The role of women was to gather and prepare food, provide clothing and shelter, bear and raise children, and maintain the home. Depending on the amount of food that women produced, their status in their society was g...
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...al being at some point in their lifetime. The women were also very important because of their menstruation cycles, which individualized the woman, making her a very powerful member of the community. Although the Native American people had different and unique ways of thinking, they should be respected as a community. By analyzing the different lifestyles that men and women lived in, it is obvious to see the significant differences between the roles of both men and women.
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In the text “Seeing Red: American Indian Women Speaking about their Religious and Cultural Perspectives” by Inés Talamantez, the author discusses the role of ceremonies and ancestral spirituality in various Native American cultures, and elaborates on the injustices native women face because of their oppressors.
The United States has had a long relationship with the Haudenosaunee people. When Europeans invaded North America, beginning in the end of the 15th century, they found a land already inhabited by a large group of people, who they called Indians. Although their subsequent relationship was plagued by disease, wars and fights for domination, there was, inevitably, some exchange of goods, like crops, and ideas between the two peoples. Most notably, even the “Founding Fathers” of the U.S. were influenced by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy’s ideas about democracy and government. One aspect of the relationship, however, is rarely mentioned: the impact that Haudenosaunee women had on early feminists in the U.S. The two groups of women interacted very closely during the 19th century, and prominent feminist voices in the U.S., like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Lucretia Mott, were heavily influenced by the native women’s many freedoms.
Within Lakota Woman, by Mary Crow Dog, a Lakota woman speaks of her story about growing up in the 60s and 70s and shares the details of the difficulties she and many other Native Americans had to face throughout this time period. Although Native Americans encountered numerous challenges throughout the mid twentieth century, they were not the only ethnic group which was discriminated against; African Americans and other minority groups also had to endure similar calamities. In order to try to gain equality and eliminate the discrimination they faced, such groups differed with their inclusion or exclusion of violence.
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McNickle, D'Arcy. "A Different World." Native American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology. Ed. Vizenor, Gerald. United States of America: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, 1995, 111-119.
This paper addresses the results of interviews, observations, and research of life in the Ottawa tribe, how they see themselves and others in society and in the tribe. I mainly focused on The Little River Band of Ottawa Indian tribe. I researched their languages, pecking order, and interviewed to discover the rituals, and traditions that they believe in. In this essay I revealed how they see themselves in society. How they see other people, how they see each other, what their values were, what a typical day was etc. I initially suspected that I would have got different responses from these questions but in reality the results in the questions were almost completely the same. I studied this topic because mostly all the people that are close to me are associated in the Ottawa tribe. I additionally love the Native American culture, I feel it is beautiful and has a free concept.
People have been living in America for countless years, even before Europeans had discovered and populated it. These people, named Native Americans or American Indians, have a unique and singular culture and lifestyle unlike any other. Native Americans were divided into several groups or tribes. Each one tribe developed an own language, housing, clothing, and other cultural aspects. As we take a look into their society’s customs we can learn additional information about the lives of these indigenous people of the United States.
Kugel, Rebecca, and Lucy Eldersveld Murphy. Native women's history in eastern North America before 1900: a guide to research and writing. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007.
together for the better of the shared children. The women had a say in how they would help
Many Indigenous women are craving for a change in our society and it is time for a change. The women being interviewed came up with a few statements that they would like to see changes too. Firstly, women would love to see the return of Indigenous women’s positions in Indigenous societies. Regarding the equality of women and men. In Indigenous cultural women were viewed as life-givers and care givers of life. This gave women a great reasonability of the children and the future generations. “Women figured centrally in almost all Aboriginal creation legends. In Ojibway and Cree legends, it was a woman who came to earth through a hole in the sky to care for the earth.” Women were treated as an essential part of life, unlike how they felt after the Indian Act. Secondly, Indigenous women would like to set differences aside and work together with other races in making our society much more bearable for women. Thirdly, they want to set focus in Indigenous youth and creating a better education and guidance program for those who are new to urban areas. Granted, they are the next
"Native American Youth 101." Aspen Institue. Aspen Institues, 24 July 11. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
Prior to 15th century colonization, indigenous peoples of North America enjoyed a gender system that included not only women and men, but also a third gender known as Two-Spirit. In Native American culture, individuals who identified as Two-Spirit were revered by society and held important roles among tribes. In their article “The Way of the Two-Spirited Pe...
Dorothea M. Susag, Roots and Branches: A Resource of Native American Literatures--Themes, Lessons, and Bibliographies (1998).