The Europeans fist landed in
Native Americans had been living in North America for thousands of years before the Europeans started to come to the
Women had several duties to perform in their daily lives. The main duty was raising the children as well as teaching the girls the tribe’s values, culture, and traditions. Women were also in charge of taking care of the tipis (which included the setting up and taking down). They were in charge of packing the entire camp up when it was time to move. Women helped to butcher the animals for the meals, as well as gather berries and other plants collect fire wood and prepare the meals. Women also made the clothing and other articles from skins that they had to prepare (cleaning, curing, scraping and tanning). Finally, women had to quilt and do bead work (The Plains 2-3). The women had more of a traditional role in the Native American village. They tended to most of the things that were in the village.
Most Native American tribes had traditional gender roles and it varied from tribe to tribe. In the Cherokee custom, the wives owned the family property. This was very different from European life, as the Europeans would never allow a woman to own land. Except for those specific exceptions, life was not that different for European and Native American women; their roles in life were very similar, to take care of their children and husbands.
In addition to being a wife and mother, many women became religious practitioners, medicine women or skilled artisans because none of these careers affected their ability to raise a family. This was because no matter how skillful women were at other “careers,” the very survival of the tribe depended upon the women reproducing. Because women were not only allowed, but also encouraged to be religious practitioners, indicates the high level of respect that women had in society.
Women’s role during childbirth was to insure that their child was born alive and healthy. They were usually assisted by female relatives or mid-wives who had the knowledge of the birth customs. In some tribes, it was customary for the woman to leave the village and to deliver the baby all alone. No matter how the baby was born, with or without assistance, the one aspect that always remained constant was the health of the baby.
The bond between a mother and daughter was special, but much of the training of young girls was the responsibility of their grandmothers. The grandmother would teach their granddaughter how to sew and cook, tan hides, make their clothing, to fashion and decorate items. They would also teach them the tribe’s moral values as well as traditions. As the young girl would reach the age of puberty, her mother and grandmother would increase her workload. That workload would prepare her life work as a wife and mother.
Native American marriages were different depending on the tribes that they lived in. As for the Plains Indian woman, her family usually arranged her marriage. People did not marry for love, but for the social contact of sharing responsibilities and child bearing. Although the marriages were arranged, the woman could actually refuse their chosen mate; however very few ever refused. If the woman accepts the marriage, then they are married. While it depended upon the customs of the tribe, the newly wed couple would generally live with the bride’s parents. Then both mothers of the couple would begin to gather enough household goods so that the couple could live alone. The bride’s mother would generally set up a new tipi close to her own tipi.
. The men on the other had most of the duties that happened outside of the village. They hunted, protected as well as taught the boys to hunt and fight. They made the tools, weapons, and shields. They were also the ones who fought in the battles if there was ever one (The Plains 3).
Native American women that had higher status, such as a chief or counselor, often had tattoos that showed their status (The European 138). This was very different from the Europeans who saw women as being subservient to their male counterparts. This was one of the reason why the Europeans felt that the Native were such savages, even though in all actuality they were actually more advanced in the sense of equality between men and women. Women were seen as essential to life, and treated as such.
Like the rest of the world, Native Americans differed from tribe to tribe. Just as the roles between men and women differed between
Gender roles in the Plains Indians society varied from tribe to tribe. The Plain Indians lived in the Mid-West and live off the thousands of buffalo that roamed the land. Women were an indispensable part of tribal life because the men and women both had responsibilities that were needed to be done. They supported the hunters and warriors of the tribe and a great deal of work was involved in this (Women’s). All of that work did not go unnoticed because their value to the tribe was duly noted. The main source of the Plain Indian’s food and other supplies came from the buffalo and so the camps needed to move when the buffalo herds moved. The women were responsible for packing while the men rode ahead and looked out for any threat of attack. They would pack their possessions on horses and travois (a frame that would be attached to a horse and drag behind it). They would even pack their possessions on the backs of dogs before the introduction of the horse. Early Plain Indian women had no voice in tribal affairs, but they had the big job of running the home. If the woman had a grievance she would likely be vocal about it and stand her ground. Even though she had no voice in tribal affairs, the Plain Indian women owned almost all of her and her husband’s possessions.
The most important task that took place every day for the survival of the tribe was food. The woman was a very important part of this because once the men killed the buffalo it became the property of the woman. They needed to work very fast in the skinning, tanning (tanning was regarded as the best skill to have), and cutting the meat. They used pits, using heated stones with the meat and vegetables put in skin from the buffalo. Meat was cooked by placing it on rocks that had been heated up. After the arrival of the Europeans pots and kettles were introduced. The woman also needed to gather berries, seeds, and plants for other food. Some Plain Indians that lived in some what permanent camps the woman actually made gardens that they would tend to (Early 1). When they would harvest them they would put them into storage for the winter. The woman would gain honor and respect depending on how well she know her food. In many of the Plain Indian tribes the woman had complete control over the food and often their status in the community would depend on which manner she would distribute (their generosity and hospitality) their reserve of the food.
Some women in the Plain Indian tribes did play a very important role and that was as a medicine woman (medicine 1). They would collect and celebrate the gift of life from the mother earth. Women were not the only ones that had the knowledge of herbal medicine but they were generally more familiar with the various potions and brews. In certain tribes the woman would learn from her husband if he was a medicine man or she was taught by her mother or grandmother. Wherever she learned of the ways of healing, she still needed to have a vision or dream in which she was given personal knowledge that only she would know. She was usually not allowed to practice by herself until she was of middle age, but the ability to heal never left her.
The women of the Plain tribes lived their lives in a world of ceremony and ritual. The women used daily prayers to help her with understanding the world around her (A Full). They would always pray for blessings of good health, for protection, and for a healthy food supply (Spirituality). They would increase whenever her husband went on hunts or raids. Being involved in religion and being spiritual gave them a deep sense of dignity and understanding.
The men would help a small part with the heavy work but for the most part they stayed out and let the women work by themselves. The woman would not work alone on all of this work because they would each have someone such as a young girl or an older relative.
Plain Indians were very good craftswomen and they took great pride in their families appearance. It was a measure of status in a community to be recognized for clothing. They spent many of days decorating clothing and accoutrements. They would fashion ornaments and clothing with bright paints, quill, pieces of bone, shells, feather, claws and later beads (Skilled). The men highly respected their domestic skills because they were the primary benefactors of their work. Often time the men would keep track of their war deeds or hunting records, well the woman would often keep track of their own domestic accomplishments. The women would have meeting in which they would exchange techniques and ideas as well work together.
One of the tasks of men was to battle but sometimes women could not help but get involved in combat activities. Usually the woman would help with battle by helping out with the supplies and other such tasks before the men left. Sometimes the wives of warriors would go with the men and tend to the wounded. After a victorious war party the women would then decide the fate of the captured enemy. Most cases being a warrior was left to the men but in some cases some strong willed women actually became outstanding warriors. However, they did not always go to fight because they wanted to. Sometimes it was because they did not want to become a spoil of war or even die. If a women’s husband had been killed in battle, then there were several ways that the woman would mourn his death. One was to organize a revengeful war party and sometimes she would be allowed to accompany them. Another was that their tipi would be burned and all of their possessions would be given away. She then would be looked after by the tribe until she would remarry. She would almost always remarry because her skills were needed for the survival of the community
Native Americans were very matriarchal societies. Matriarchal simply is stated in the Merriam- Webster dictionary as “a woman who rules or dominates a family, group, or state; a mother who is head and ruler of her family and descendants,” In most Native American tribes this was the way of life. In today’s world we are in a patriarchal society which is the exact opposite. The male, or father is the head of the household. Many males are the rulers of the family. The patriarchal society began way back in colonial times, which caused the matriarchal society to diminish.
There is a great similarity between the women of Native American tribes and women from Colonial America. They had most of the same tasks. They faced extremely difficult and exhausting jobs. They both had extremely difficult work. They both were married for financial or practical reasons rather than because they were in love (colonial 1). Unlike the Natives who had much control over their belongings and personal business the colonist women had little to no control over many aspects of their life (1). However, colonial women were highly underappreciated. Colonial women were not allowed to have professions because they were not allowed except for writing and teaching (Women’s History). Native American women were treated with respect and were looked at as knowledgeable even though they were the keepers of the house. Most would selldemly work because that was a job that was left to the men of the house. Women of colonial times were treated as property rather than people. The Europeans looked at most Native Americans as strange and that they were savages because they would let women hold high positions in the tribe. The Europeans tried and were successful in assimilation the Natives into their way of thinking.
Today’s world is completely different for women that is was during colonial
It took in till 1919 for women in the
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