The Native American Women

Native Americans

• Over 60 million Native Americans lived in North America before European arrival
• Tribes were diverse
• Lived differently according to region and spiritual beliefs

Native Women’s Life and Work in the Society

• Native American women had a variety of roles in their societies
• Work was sometimes divided by sex and age
  • but women’s work was essential for the tribe’s survival
  • Women’s work was valued
• Some work consisted of processing foods, gathering seeds, fruits, roots, cooked, preserved foods, made household utensils and furnishing and nurturing and child-bearing.

Kinship and Extended Family

• Matrilineal: kinship and property is passed down through the mother’s line
• Matrilocal: married couples lived with the wife’s family

European Views on Native Americans

• First descriptions were written by men
  • Misunderstood / Misinterpreted
  • European and Christian values
  • Biased
• Most indigenous tribes did not have written languages
  • European views dominated popular understanding of Indigenous life (to this day)

European Impact on Native Life

• By the 1630’s epidemics and plague decimated most New England tribes
• Colonization weakened the position of all coastal Indians
• Women’s roles in Indian society were impacted
  
  • Intermarriage with Europeans
  • Adoption of European ways of life
  • Participation in the changing economy

The New Economy

• Trade in animal hides was a major component of the economy in early America.
• Women linked “Indian’ Country” to the expanding transatlantic economy
  • Served as linguistic and cultural interpreters
  • Fished, trapped small game
  • Prepared skins for shipment
  • Made clothing, prepared food
  • Women played a key role in the fur trade.

Cost of the Fur Trade

• Native Americans became tied to European capitalism and the world market
• Many tribes became dependent on European goods
  • Women’s work was devalued
• Degraded the environment and changed subsistence patterns