Native American Women

Women were segregated of the militar activities on the mesoamerican societies. With the exception of the Siege of Tenochtittlan and War of the Mixton, were the population took active participation at war.

Thank you. Unfortunately, there is so little info about Native Americans, in general. I am horrified and ashamed for what the "white man" did to these beautiful and rich cultures.     

Native American Women - How they lived.


A tribe�s lifestyle influenced the types of dwellings they inhabited. Nomadic tribes that followed migratory prey and the seasonal changes of plant life needed housing structures that were easily erected and dismantled. Agricultural tribes, on the other hand, could enjoy more permanent dwellings, like pueblos

The lifestyle of each tribe influenced the types of dwellings they inhabited. Housing structures that were easily erected and dismantled were necessary for those nomadic tribes that followed migratory prey and the seasonal changes of plant life. On the other hand, agricultural tribes could enjoy more permanent dwellings, such as pueblos.




Native American women were integrally involved in constructing their dwellings. Plains women made, designed and erected their tipis, which were made from canvas, but were originally crafted from buffalo hides.


Native American women packed and moved camp by using a carrier called a �travois� , which held the long tipi poles and the heavy hide. The women pulled the travois to the new camp.


When Apache, Paiute and Crow were following the buffalo, they lived under the sun and stars. When said tribes were not �on the move�, they would use �Wickiups� which were structures made from bent tree limbs covered with brush. They were easily erected and dismantled as the tipis.



This is a photo of a Ute tribe woman erecting her tipi.



Here are two examples of dwellings called �pueblos�. Pueblos were compartmentalized complexes. Said pueblos were jointly constructed by men and women. The men raised the structures and the women would apply the adobe surfaces. Once finished, the women were the unit �owners�. Pueblo men were the primary agriculturists growing the maize (corn), beans and squash, but the women �owned� the harvest.



Navajo women, like Pueblo women, jointly with men, constructed their homes, applying mud and brush surfaces to the structures men built. Navajo villages had a head mother in charge and were small camps of related families. Desert Navajo tribes built winter and summer homes called �hogans�. Summer hogans were open-sided and brush-covered for coolness. Cone-shaped winter hogans had center roof holes for venting fire smoke.

Source: http://www.nativeamericans.com/

    

Edited by morticia - 16-May-2006 at 19:13

Originally posted by Sparten Morticia, a question. From the above it seems some tribes were nomadic and some were not. Which ones were more "settled" so to speak. And how did that effect there culture and survival?

    
Very good question, Sparten! Here's a website that will answer most of your questions regarding different tribes and cultural evolutions. There are also various links available for your perusal!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribe

    Spartan, there were many different Indian cultures. But, let me start from the beginning. Thriving from approx. 800 AD until the European explorers arrived, was the Mississippian Culture, the last pre-historic cultural development in North America. In the north, it spanned from what is now Wisconsin and Minnesota, through Georgia (to the South), and westward into the Great Plains. These tribes were accomplished craftsmen, they had a system of trading and practiced sophisticated religious beliefs. Like most tribes, they were governed by Chief Priests (Chiefs). Studies have shown that these leaders lived on large earthen mounds overlooking central ceremonial plaza areas. The lesser leaders might also live on mounds, but the tallest would be for the Chief Priest. When the Chief Priest died, his temple was destroyed and another layer of earth would be added for his successor. How close his home was to the ceremonial plaza, reflected their social standing. It is still unknown to us what could have induced the Indians to raise such a heap of earth, but it is reasonably supposed that they were to serve some important purpose in those days, as they were public works and would have required the united labour and attention of a whole nation.

Source: http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/misslate.htm




A Mississippian carved shell gorget


Carved marble statues from a Mississippian mound
    

Edited by morticia - 17-May-2006 at 12:19

    Native American Women � motherhood


The Native American�s primary responsibility was that of raising children. Child raising was an extended family affair, which was helpful to busy mothers.






Because busy mothers had their children at their side while carrying out their daily chores, children learned and performed the arts of daily living at an early age.




A wide range of tribes used �cradleboards� to carry their babies around. They could be stood up against rocks, attached to saddles and worn on women�s back. Cradleboards restrained and protected the child while the woman worked with both hands free.




Another method of carrying children used by both Plains and Pueblo tribes, was by wrapping children tightly against their back with a blanket. Again, the child is restrained and protected, while the mother has both hands free to work.

Source: www.nativeamerican.com

    

Edited by morticia - 18-May-2006 at 23:29

    

Her name was Angel DeCora Dietz and she was born in 1871 on the Winnebago reservation in Nebraska. She was influential in shaping Indian affairs (she met with President Theodore Roosevelt to discuss concerns of Native Americans) and art (she became head of the art department of Carlisle Indian School) in the early years of the 20th century. She was an artist and illustrator of books and also spent time lecturing on the problems confronting Native Americans. She died in the great flu epidemic of 1919.

Source: http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/4aa/4aa27b.htm

Originally posted by Wulfher ap Clun good site for this thread.an i cant remeber but it may have been posted by someone else.but it's good. � http://nativeamericanrhymes.com/women/index.htm

Great site! Thanks Wulfher...all the influential Native American in a nutshell!

Tlingit women were in positions of high authority within their house hold. Indeed heirlooms were passed through the mother's line and she was the stewart of much of these heirlooms.

Sounds similar to the Navaho traditons.