The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough

“The Five Sexes” explained hermaphrodites and pseudohermaphrodites, fernms and merms. It then went on to talk about how pre-Victorian era, more culture may have recognized a third gender, but since then Western society has forced everyone into a binary system based on gender roles, either male or female. There was one part on this article that I did not agree with. When the author was speaking of how the world would be if there were a lot of varying degrees of gender and the binary system was disbanded he says, “Patient and physician, parent and child, male and female, heterosexual and homosexual-- all those oppositions and others would have to be dissolved as sources of division.” That is taking it a little too far. Sources of division would still come about as it is human nature, they would just base themselves on something other than sex, such as wealth. She also brought up how parents of intersexed children were forcing them at birth into one gender through surgery. To me, picking someone’s sex for them after they have been born seems like the wrong thing to do, especially because you do not know how they are going to feel or how they will indentify at least until they start developing hormonally during puberty, if not later, if ever. However, I also could not imagine the difficulties of a child growing up as a hermaphrodite. Right at the end of the article the author states that a study was done of “substantial body of case histories” of adults who had grown up a hermaphrodite, and claims that there “is not a psychotic or a suicide in the lot.” The author does not site the study, and it would be interesting to see some actual figures from a study of that type.

Dissident Women: “Key Women’s Documents” & Introduction

This reading began with a few key women;s documents; Women’s Revolutionary Law, Women’s Rights in Our Traditions and Customs, and Comandanta Esther: Speech Before the Mexican Congress. After these, the introduction to the book presented the material that would follow in later chapters as well as some history on indigenous and gender related struggles in Mexico. In the Zapatista movement, women are including their rights in the indigenous struggle for autonomy. Before the 1994, the Mexican government had people’s rights based on the idea of mestizaje, which only allows the recognition of one mixed culture. This made the Indians seem like a race that was only located in the past, and modern Indians were somewhat erased. The Zapatistas are fighting for recognition and support of their culture and traditions, while also fighting for women’s rights within them. This is an interesting idea because, in protecting their rights, they will be altering some of their traditions, such as forcing a daughter into marriage. This is because they recognize that some of the ‘traditions’ are harmful and detrimental to women, and by protecting and educating the women, their communities will prosper. When women become better off, their children benefit, and as the children grow, they become the community, and therefore, the community is better off. Also, it makes no sense to think that to be a culturally native person, you have to live and behave the same as your people did hundreds of years before. Cultures change and grow over time, just as anything else. In this way the women are trying to be recognized. They want their rights and the rights of their people so that they can hold on to their way of life and their history in today’s world.

Changing Ones: Chapter 4

“Warrior Women and Women Chiefs”

This chapter began with an introduction on how European men first viewed Native American women; either as objects of forbidden desire or as repulsive or both. Also, the author points out that many of the “histories” of native women have been altered to make them seem more “white” such as the story of Pocahontas. He then goes on to describe how some tribes, like the Mohave, had many genders even with in the category of the female sex. With in every tribe that had female berdaches, there were also male berdaches. The only region where there is hard evidence of female berdaches is west of the Rocky Mountains. Female berdaches were only prominent in hunter gatherer societies. He then went on to describe three groups of women; Indian Queens, Women Warriors, and Alternative Genders. The Indian queens were hetero sexual tribal leaders. According to Roscoe they “represented a mode of female autonomy linked to social stratification and inherited leadership” (75). Women who were know for the warrior skills were different. He describes the stories of three in particular; Kuiliy, Woman Chief, and Running Eagle. Kuiliy was the most likely of the three to be recognized as a berdache. Woman Chief was a woman adopted by the Crow tribe who grew to be a well respected member of the tribe, she even rose to the highest status an adopted member could reach. The last woman warrior that Roscoe described was Running Eagle. Her true story is a mystery as she has been used as a heroine of a few different novels, each which claims to be the truth, and yet tell different stories. For examples of alternative gendered women Roscoe tells the stories of Lozen and Masahai Amatkwisai. Lozen was an Apache warrior and shaman. She and her companion Dahteste were amongst the prisoners in Florida. Masahai Amatkwisai was a Mohave hwame, shaman, and then a witch. In the 1930’s she was the subject of a study performed by the psychoanalytical anthropologist George Devereux.

The prevailing theme throughout this chapter was the way in which European and Euro-American men recorded the facts. When discussing native women who were sexually involved with other women, they would “heterosexualize” their stories. This was especially apparent in the story of Running Eagle. The first time a novel was published about her, she vows never to marry and has an attractive female housemate. In the following stories it becomes a religious vow and her housemate is not mentioned. Even later she becomes a widow who vows to never again be with another man, and then is destroyed by the gods when she breaks her vow and has sexual interactions with a member of her war party. Another good example of this is the psychoanalytical study of Masahai Amatkwisai. Devereux conducted very one sided research, not asking into her childhood or talking to one of her former wives who was still alive at the time. I feel that he already knew what he wanted the study to say, which contradicts things that contemporary Mohave people say.

Many Tender Ties: Chapters 2 & 3

Chapter 2: The Custom of the Country

This chapter begins with explaining how the marriage between a Native woman and a fur trader in an indigenous marriage rite called “after the custom of the country” was initially encouraged by the Natives. Because kinship was such an important part of Indian culture, they felt that by allowing the fur traders into their families through marriage they would receive in return free access to the posts and provisions. The passage goes on to give examples of many members of the fur trade hierarchy who married the daughters of prominent chiefs which then allowed them to become very successful. Many of the unions started out as a means of bettering trade relations and for economic reasons. However, they developed into very devoted marriages. This dedication to their wives maybe attributed to the fact that there were no white women in the area. In places where even a small group of British women were present, they defended their role in the community as wives and mothers to a degree that did not allow for the men in their societies to enter wedlock with Native Americans. However, men still craved the presence of a family, so without the option of women of their own culture, they valued Native American women for the role of wife and mother. In order to take an Indian bride, or perform “the custom of the country,” a trader must first obtain her parents permission. He then must pay the bride price. The bride price varied depending on the tribe, and in some cases, as in the custom of the Chinook, involved the exchange of gifts. To finalize the union between the trader and the Indian band the smoking of the calumet was performed. The trader would then escort his new bride from her home to the fort, where the other women of the fort would “cleanse” her for her new husband by washing off the paint and grease and dressing her in European style clothing. Because marriage to Indian women was prohibited by the Hudson Bay Company, this ceremony was recorded mostly by traders of the North West Company. However, the traders of the Hudson Bay Company were still influenced by Natives in their region, and began the practice of taking more than one wife. During the time at the Hudson Bay Company, or the Company, before the men were allowed to take Indian wives, altercations occurred between the officers who tried to enforce the rules, but did not follow them, and their men. Thus, having an Indian wife became a sign of rank. The chapter goes on to describe how some of the relationships, especially those of the traders, or Nor’Westers, who had to travel remained a bit fluid, resulting in the wives returning to their tribes while the trader moved to a different area and found a new wife. This is called “serial monogamy” in the book. The author does stress however, that “the development of distinct family units was the dominant trend” (47). There was also a group of men who after finishing their term with the North West Company, opted to stay in the ‘wilderness’ and live providing for their families though hunting and trading with the posts. This group of men was called “free men.” The men who worked for the Hudson Bay Company did not have it as easy, as they were forbidden to stay and “settle” in the territory and also forbidden to bring their families back to England. Nor’Westers were allowed to bring their families back with them, but few ever did. The women who were left behind returned to their own families. This became increasingly difficult for those who had been in long relationships with the trader. Quite often they were very far from home. Sometimes the trader set up a system with the post which would provide for his family off his annuity after he was gone. Others made arrangements to leave his wife as the wife of another officer at the post. Many other traders despised the idea of leaving their families behind. One was quoted as saying, “ ‘The abandoning of a family, of whatever color they may be, is a severe trial to the feelings’ .” (51) The chapter finishes by expressing the legitimacy of a marriage ‘a la façon du pays’ (French for ‘the custom of the country.’) Even though these marriages were “contracted without the benefit of clergy” (52), they were just as bona fide as any other marital union. These marriages were very important in the development of social ties between the fur traders and the Natives, as well as for the growth of the distinct fur trade society.

The key points of this chapter which are relevant to this class are the blending of cultures and societies, assimilation, and the economical benefits of marriage leading to the emotional bonds of family. The ceremony which provided a legitimate marriage in both the eyes of the Indians and in the eyes of traders shows the blending of cultures. It is important to note that while the traditions were mainly those of the native peoples, they respected these traditions and fulfilled the duties of the contract which benefited both him, by gaining more trade, and the family, by having access to the post and its provisions. The wives of the traders, and their children, became assimilated into the European culture, at least partially, just by living in the fort and being surrounded by it most of their lives. Also, as part of the ceremony, when the new wife comes home, the other women in the fort remove part of her Indian identity by washing away the grease and paints and changing their clothes from the leathers they would wear at home with their families, to more European style clothing. While many of the men entered into these marriages as an economic benefit to themselves, they also gained companionship, a family, and an emotional tie to the Native American culture, even if only a small part of it. This can be seen in many of the wills left by traders which instead that his wife and children be taken care of.

Chapter 3: Your Honors Servants

This chapter really illustrated how dependent the fur traders were on Native women. It began by giving an idea of the types of tasks the women were responsible for and how much work was done to feed, clothe, and make a living for the family of a fur trader. Some of the things the women were responsible for were making shoes; both moccasins and snow shoes, preparing and storing food, fishing, snaring small game, dressing furs, helping build canoes, sometimes manning the canoes, and gathering berries and other herbs and plants that were needed. They did all this and raised a family, which sometimes involved watching over a lot of children. Native women were also very important on journeys inland. As one man put it, a journey with out a women seemed “doomed for failure.” The women functioned as guides, mediators, and interpreters. A young Chipewyan woman by the name of Thanadelthur played a very important role in the 1715-16 peace negations between the Cree and the Chipewyan on Governor Knight’s expedition. Women also actively participated in the fur trade. They traditionally trapped small fur bearing animals and were quite good at it. The main point of this chapter was to show how the fur traders were very dependent on the Native women not only for companionship, but also because they made very valuable economic partners. However, the chapter also really shows how these women’s abilities were exploited and taken advantage of without fair compensation. By treating them as slaves, it was just another step in the dehumanization of their race.

Van Kirk, Sylvia. Many Tender Ties : Women in Fur-Trade Society, 1670-1870. New York: University of Oklahoma P, 1983. 28-73.

Changing Ones: Chapters 1 & 2

Chapter one of Changing Ones begins with an introduction into third and fourth genders in Native American society along with an explanation of the history or the word berdache. A berdache is a third of fourth gender Native American. Before colonization, berdaches were common, and looked up to in many tribes in North America. They were people who born male or female, yet participated in the work typical of the other sex. They sometimes chose to dress in the clothing of the other sex, or in a grab unique to themselves. The Europeans and other Euro-Americans who encountered these aspects of third and fourth genders were very un-excepting due to their beliefs in a binary gender system. The author, Will Roscoe, goes into detail to make sure that the reader understands the history of the word berdache, and how he makes use of the word, in order to stress the importance of how “berdache” does not carry negative connotations. Will then goes on to describe the interaction of the berdaches with the other members of their tribes. As far as sexual relationships went, berdaches were generally known to interact with members of their same sex. Members of the community often felt that because berdaches were powerful, by having sex with one, you could gain some of their power. This excepting view of same sex sexual relations stems from a belief in two types of sex; reproductive and non reproductive. The Euro-Americans could not comprehend this because of a long standing, religious based idea that anything other that procreative sex was sinful. As most of the accounts of encounters with berdaches were recorded by the Euro-Americans, the little that can be found is most likely tainted by their biases. This makes it difficult to study them and compare their life styles between different native groups. However, the author goes on to briefly describe berdaches in the South East, the Northeast and Woodlands, the Plains, the Arctic and subarctic, the Northwest Coast and Columbia Platue, and the West and Southwest. Afterwards, he wraps up the chapter by describing how Euro-American beliefs and views have hidden this aspect of Native American culture and prevented the study of it until the 1980s.

The second chapter begins by introducing Lieutenant Hugh L. Scott, a young officer of the US cavalry in 1877 who became interested in the life of Osh-Tisch, a well know Crow berdache. He interviewed Osh-Tisch and recorded in his notes stories and information of the Crow boté, or berdaches. Osh-Tisch grew up in the transitional period for the Crow, where they went from wandering freely to living in the eyes of the US government on the reservation. He was very well respected as a talented artist, powerful medicine person, and skilled warrior. Will Roscoe goes on to tell stories of Osh-Tisch’s life including not only his accomplishments, but also of his attempted forced assimilation. The chapter ends describing how Christianity was used as a means of turning the Crow against the boté and that it is probably the reason that their have been no more since Osh-Tisch.

So far I have learned a lot from this book. Before reading it, I had never thought about third or fourth gendered people in Native American culture. It is disappointing that so information and culture has been lost over the years. I feel that there is so much we could learn from this culture and how they viewed gender and sexuality. They way the Euro-Americans used Christianity and forced assimilation to mold the Native cultures into what they felt was the ‘right’ way to live. Combined with the other tools used to colonize such as gender violence and oppression of women, I can easily see how the Euro-American society ‘lost’ the third and fourth gender natives.

Roscoe, Will. Changing Ones : Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000. 3-38.

Women and Power in Native North America: Chapters 2 & 3

Gender in Inuit Society

This chapter began with an introduction which explained some of the misconceptions about Inuit society and the position women held with in it. The chapter then goes on to explain how in reality, the house hold work was divided between the men and the women into complimentary work responsibilities. This provided equality in domestic relations, as the work done by one party was needed to insure the success of the second party and vise versa. Also, if the need should arise, men and women would perform the tasks of the others usual work. The way the family structures were organized varied depending on region. One main similarity, though, was the position of the ‘grandmother.’ Men generally had the say over women his age and younger, but everyone answered to the elder female. This was not to say that the women didn’t influence the men. A woman might advise her husband in private, or, during a meeting of men in her own household, might make a snide comment to the wall if her husband said something she did not agree with. Because women would talk amongst themselves and then make suggestions to their husbands, their votes would be recognized in a third party manner. Also, the men did not want to be embarrassed by the elder female at a large group meeting which also encouraged them to listen to their wives. The chapter ended with a description of how the Inuit believed that souls were ‘recycled’ and your personality could be born into either a male or female body.

Rank and Gender in Tlingit Society

This chapter discussed the culture of the Tlingit people of the northwest coastal tribes. Especially unique to this group, was their class structure based on wealth. Also, they were known for their strong women. These women were not well liked the by the missionaries and traders because they did not fit the European gender role of passive and submissive. Instead they resisted the idea that the white man’s god said that all women must obey their husbands and they were in charge of a lot of the trading and ran a hard bargain. Because the social structure was based on wealth, anyone, man or women, could rise up to the top of the society. Ideally, the poorest and lowest person could better their position to become one of the most important in society, but a lot of it had to do with how you were born into society, as a mother could increase her children’s rank. To show their social status, people would through potlatches were they would put on a big feast and give gifts to their guests. Another way a person could gain status was to become a shaman or a witch, either of which could be man or woman. This chapter also described how the marriage, clans, and family structure were organized. This part confused me a lot. If anyone who reads this understood how that worked, I would really appreciate it if you could try to explain it to me in a comment, because I am still very curious.

I think that the main purpose of these two chapters is to inform the reader on the position of women in the Inuit and Tlingit societies and to dispel any myths or preconceived ideas one might have heard about them. They are important to this class to show the diversity of different native populations and their societal structures throughout North America. I found both chapters to be very interesting reading and I would like to learn more, especially about the Tlingit, because I learned a little bit about them growing up and it is interesting to relearn it again, but with an adult’s perspective.

Klein, Laura P., and Dillan A. Ackerman. Women and Power in Native America. OK: Univeristy of Oklamhoma P, 1995. 17-45.

Gender

This article was very brief, but contained a lot of information. I had not put much thought into the definition of gender before reading it. The article began with summing up the idea of gender theory. It did not give a distinct definition of what gender theory is, but explained that there are many different theories and different people have there own ideas behind which ones are correct. The article then goes on to differentiate gender from sex and explain ‘gender identity’, ‘gender role’, and ‘gender expression’. I think that the main point of this article was to open up the readers mind about different views of gender. When the author says, “The range of meanings of the word ‘gender’ can take creates a real dilemma” she is emphasizing this point and goes on to give some definitions that give possible paths to help clarify this dilemma. The theme of this short article ties into our class work with the idea of gender roles and the different views the Euro-American settlers had regarding gender than the Native Americans.

Serene, Anne. "Gender." Anne Serene's Trans Reference. 18 Sept. 2008
http://www.humbolt.edu/~mpw1/gender_theory/.

Don’t Let the Sun Step Over You: Intro, Chapters 1 & 2

The introduction of the book briefly introduces the author Eva Tulene Watt and gives a short chronology of her life. This is a small preview to the stories that will be read later on in the book and is mostly just an explanation of how the came to be on paper. It also describes how family stories were past down in traditional Apache culture; vocally. In this way the author suggest that the book can be picked at any time and read in any order, as one might have received the stories from family members.

Don’t Let the Sun Step Over You is a very interesting book to read. I feel that, of all the things we have read so far, this is the most informative about what everyday life was like for the Apache at this time in history. At first, I had a hard time with the writing style, which is a lot like listening to someone speak. It was hard for me to follow and I was confused about who the relatives were. However, after reading a bit more, I fell into the rhythm and I am pretty sure that the terms grandpa and grandma are also applied to the siblings of the author’s parents’ parents. Another thing that I was confused about was the notations F-1, F-2, and A-2. One aspect of the writing that I really like are the stories embedded within the other stories. For example, the story for which the book was named after, “Don’t Let the Sun Step Over You,” contains two other stories told by other people inside it. I also like how the age of the story teller at the time that the story occurred, comes through in the observations she makes. In the story “She Used to Hide Me All the Time,” you can get a sense of how young she is by her descriptions of what is happening and by her level of perceived threat of being found. One of the many things that I learned from this text was more about the assimilation schools. I knew that they were generally awful places but I did not realize that they hunted to children, captured them, and just took them to the schools, or that the things they taught them there were dress making and wood chopping. Overall, I greatly enjoyed this reading and found it to be both interesting and educational.

Dissident Women: Chapter 3

This chapter describes the changes of gender roles with regards to indigenous women in Chiapas, Mexico over the last thirty to forty years. As a religious culture, the women began to learn group organizational skills in the late sixties and seventies when the San Cristobal Diocese began groups to inspire women to evolve with respect to the ideas of the church. The church promoted them to reinvent the view of the ‘subordinate women’ within themselves and their communities. This was not an instant change but possibly helped instigate an internalization of the idea that things could change. Then in 1983, the CIOAC, or the Independent Organization of Agricultural Workers and Peasants, organized a march to Mexico City. This march was to promote the peasant agenda and make the nation aware of their struggles over the land. Women participated in the march, but were not part of the political process. Also, the women who participated were there, not to represent themselves or to represent other women, but because they did not have a husband or an old enough son to represent their family. Still, this was a new direction because the women were realizing that they could affect how things changed and possibly better the future for their children. In 2001, there was another march on the capital, this time by the EZLN, or Zapatista National Liberation Army. This march was directed towards indigenous rights and autonomy. There were many parallels between the marches, but the small differences, as the book explains, show best how the gender roles have evolved. The women in the second march were there as representatives for the other Zapatista and indigenous women. Also, they took part in the political discussions. These marches were not the only way women participated in these movements. In the eighties, after the peasants “invaded” the land, the women stood face to face with paramilitary and defended the land, while the men hid in the hills. The women were viewed as pacific victims and were there for able to hold the land with out engaging in physical battles and gun fights, while the men had warrants out for their arrest and would be less helpful to the community if they were killed or imprisoned. This was repeated again in 1997, but this time with the women and babies on the front line and the men and children behind them, all standing their ground with pacifism.

Native American Women in the Labor Force

This collage is comprised of images I found online and personal photos. The online searches produced images of Native women cooking or selling food and other traditional fair, such as clothes or artwork. I also got statistics on labor in Canada, the bar graph, and on Alaskan Native employment, the quotes. I wanted to represent some more modern occupations held by Native women, so I also used photos of my friend who is a model. She is also an identical twin. Both sisters got into modeling, but now one has become a photographer. She took the pictures of her sister and her sister's baby, the images one in the middle on the far left and the one in the middle on the far right. The other picture was taken by another photographer.

Clan Mother Law Systems

This website:
http://lipanapachecommunitydefense.blogspot.com/
is very informative about the current events and problems with people living astride the US-Mexico boarder. I highly recommend it to anyone who has not got a chance to check it out. So far I have not had a chance to explore the whole site and all the links, but look forward to learning more. Also, it explains why our professor missed part of the first week of class. She was speaking at an “anti-wall” reception.

Unsettling Settler Societies: Chapters 4 & 6

Chapter four of Unsettling Settler Societies discussed the development of Canada as a nation and the chronologic interactions between the settlers and the indigenous people, beginning with the fur trade and ending with the current political struggles. I was unfamiliar with much of the history of Canada and very unaware of the past to current day treatment of the native people. I had learned, in this class, about the importance of native women to the fur trade, but had not yet studied what happened after that. I was mostly surprised by the ideas the Canadian government had about dealing with the Indians. They first wrote them into their laws so that they had a decent number of rights, but then, so that they would not have to make good on their promises, they made it almost impossible to retain status as an Indian. Without the status they were not privileged to the Indian rights, yet still not privileged to the citizen rights. This left the people affected by these policies in a virtual “no man’s” land, where they were at the bottom rung of society but without means of bettering their situation. If a native person did not follow the rules set out by the government, they could easily loose their Indian status which was called ‘enfranchisement.’ If a male owned any personal property, for example living on land that was not part of a reserve, then he would become enfranchised. Because the British idea was that a woman was not a separate part from her husband, it was much easier for her to become enfranchised. All a woman had to do was marry a man with out Indian status, which would also leave her children as non status. This law was in place until 1985. There are still many negotiations involving people trying to regain their status as Indian today and will probably continue for many years.

Mexico’s development as a settler society was covered in chapter six. Again I found this chapter to be very eye opening. My previous knowledge of the history of the Mexican people was very limited. It was very interesting to see how the mestizaje came into existence. The forced and unforced biological blending of the indigenous people and the Spaniards was a very different approach to colonization then what happened in the US. Also, the current celebration of the Spanish background, and the apparent neglect of the African background is interesting, yet explainable through the caste system implemented by the Spanish and Indian hierarchy towards the beginning of Mexico’s colonization. It is very easy to see how native people in Mexico today are lost and pushed to the background. The native women are pushed further to the background by their mestizo counterparts who are arguing for feminism, but of a different type than the natives are looking for.

Unsettling Settler Societies: Intro & Chapter 5

The introduction to Unsettling Settler Societies presented the purpose of the book and its organizational strategy. The definition of a ‘settler society’ was also explained. I found it to be very wordy and hard to get through. I normally skim through introductions in order to spend more time on the meat of the book.

Chapter five focused on the United States and its development as a settler society during the years 1590-1990. It was divided up to explain the gender-roles and how they changed in each era in the four main racialized cultures: Native American, Mexican American, African American, and Euro-American. The changing of these relationships was defined by the domination of the Euro-Americans and the fact that they considered themselves full citizens of the new nation while denying other groups the rights they insured themselves. One of the views they brought with them was the idea of the ‘squaw drudge.’

Through forced assimilation or the ‘colonial ecological revolution’ many native tribes began to change towards a gendered colonial system where power and resources were moved from women to men. Missionaries had a very profound effect on transforming their economic, political, and sexual relationships. Diseases also helped the Euro-American influence over the Indians by greatly reducing their numbers, which gave them less resources for resistance. According to chapter five, with in a hundred years after the first contact with foreign people, approximately ninety percent of the original indigenous people were gone.

Some of the legal methods used to take land from the Indians included the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the Indian Allotment Act. Using these two political actions as well as manipulating unfair treaties and other methods, the government was able to take land and resources away from the Native population and either move them to less desirable, possibly unlivable land, or destroy them altogether. In the 1970’s, many people joined the American Indian Movement and began many legal battles to try and regain some of the stolen property.

I felt that this reading reviewed a lot of historic events and ideas that I was already familiar with, but from a new perspective. Looking at each history and seeing how it affected gender roles, and how the changing gender roles in each community affected the other communities, helped open my eyes to many of the ideas we have discussed in class.

The Squaw Drudge: A Prime Index of Savagism and Indian Women as Cultural Mediators

The Squaw Drudge: A Prime Index of Savagism
This reading explained the way settlers used their imported European ideals to dehumanize the Native Americans, which then lead to them justifying taking their land, trying to ‘civilize’ them, and killing them. Native men and women shared the division of labor differently than the Europeans, with the women working more of the agricultural part of the house hold labor while the men invested a lot of time hunting and fishing. Part of the European culture of the elite upper class considered hunting and fishing to be leisure sports, so they thought the men were lazy, and made the women do more than their fair share of the work. They brought this idea back to England where it became the prevailing belief, in spite of other evidence that was produced later.

Indian Women as Cultural Mediators
This reading explained the important role the Native American women had as cultural mediators between their people and the Europeans. Even though the end result of their actions was the conquer of their people and destruction of their way of life, their actions were motivated by their culture. I had already learned of Pocahontas and Sacagawea, but it was interesting to learn about the rest of the women I had not heard mush about.

The Declaration of Independence and The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness….”

The writers of the Declaration of Independence claimed that many wrongs had been done to them. They created this document to state these wrongs and protect themselves from similar injustices in the future. That is why I found it ironic that they turned around and committed the same offenses to the people that they encountered in “their” new country. At the time the document was written, the Native Americans had already suffered hundreds of years at the hands of the European settlers. In the Declaration of Independence, they are even referred to as “the merciless Indian Savages.” Also it is important to note the “all” the “men” they only mean the upper class, white (of British European decent) males. All ethnicities of women are excluded in the original document.

After reading the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, I was shocked that the US, Canada, and New Zealand did not sign it right away. Another thing that surprised me was that it had taken until the year 2007 for a document of this nature to come into play. It was also interesting to see the similarities between the Declaration of Independence and the Rights of Indigenous People.

Many Tender Ties: Introduction and Chapter One

In the introduction and chapter one of Many Tender Ties, the author discusses the relationship between the European fur trappers and traders and Native American women during the time of the early fur trade. Sylvia Van Kirk highlights the importance of these women to the success of the industry while also describing how different factors affected how they were treated and viewed in this new society.

The two main trading companies, the Hudson Bay Company and the North West Company, had very different policies in regards to the Indians. However, in spite of policy, the traders from both companies ended up spending time socially with the Native Americans as well as lending assistance to those in need. The trading posts became places where starving and injured native women could find help. This pity could be attributed to the attitude they felt about how the women were being cared for. The trappers held on to the European idea that the women were being treated as slaves and being over worked by their male partners. They were also shocked by how they viewed childbirth as a completely natural everyday occurrence and how strong and hearty these women were.

Some feel that the women who married the traders were “passive victims” (7). However, Sylvia Van Kirk, suggests that it was common for the Indian women to make the first move towards becoming the wife of a trader. While the men in these marriages viewed women as having a lower position, a lot of times it is thought that the women viewed the marriage as gaining status. The social and economic interaction between the two could be over-simplified if too much focus is put on the “concept of victimization” (7).

After reading the introduction and chapter one of many tender ties, I was surprised by the amount of social exchange that occurred between the fur trappers and traders, and the natives. I had know that there was a considerable amount of business interaction and that women had been apart of it, even that some married the traders, but I was unaware that so many had married and that the cultures had intertwined and intermixed as much as they did. It was also interesting to me to see how the native women became phased out, first by there own children, who were raised in much more of a European fashion, and then by immigrant women. This phasing out and the social ideals and moral corruption of the Europeans allowed the native women to get pushed to the back.

Native American Women in Traditional and Contemporary Societies Collage