A brief note on roles of Native men and women (was women in combat)

A couple of things I posted on RBB:

Post #1:  

. . . historian Francis Parkman's pleasant little scene where the Abenaki warrior, home from the wars, relaxes with his pipe in a hammock while the womenfolk go about preparing a meal.  Actually, I much like and approve of that -- for us Abenakis.

Post #2:

While even broad generalizations are difficult when hundreds of tribal nations in what's called the United States, each with its distinctive culture, are involved, the following is a roughly accurate depiction of the role of Native men. (It's quoted in my  piece, "Forces and Faces Along the Trail.")

"The Basic Ideal of manhood was that of the "good hunter."  Such a man was self-disciplined, autonomous, responsible.  He was a patient and efficient huntsman, a generous provider to his family and nation, and a loyal and thoughtful friend and clansman.  He was also a stern and ruthless warrior in avenging any injury done to those under his care.  And he was always stoical and indifferent to privation, pain, and even death."

[From Anthony F.C. Wallace, The Death and the Rebirth of the Seneca, 1969. [I should add that despite the use of the past tense in the foregoing paragraph, much of this ethos continues to this very day among the Six Nations of the Confederacy -- and, as I've noted, is found generally in Native tribal societies.]

On the other hand, women -- in any tribal society and, more recently, in inter-tribal settings (e.g., cities) -- exert a great deal of general influence.  Traditionally, with the exception of defined and very special situations, this is quietly done -- not exerted conspicuously.  To a large extent, that traditional approach still prevails.  But in recent times, a sharply increasing number of Native women have been playing public and major roles -- both within their tribe and in the inter-tribal context.

Back to the Iroquois:  This is a short paragraph from a much longer sequence of material written by me on the organization and governance of the Six Nations.  Here, note the traditional role of the grandmothers.  

Each Iroquois clan [specialized family grouping into which one is born] --
e.g., Bear, Wolf, Turtle, Deer, Snipe, Hawk -- would select its own [life]
person for the nation's traditional council via consensus. Certain clans
had responsibility for the selection of the respective, specific [life]
chiefs. These were all men, but women had much power and the Iroquois
grandmothers could pull down a "life" rep or a "life" chief and replace
him. Choosing via consensus is certainly election.

http://www.hunterbear.org/native_american_commission_page.htm

The traditional form of governance is very much alive among the Iroquois. This is true of a great many Native nations. At the same time, the more Euro American and Euro Canadian forms of government -- tribal councils, band councils -- are major factors as well.  And, in these, women are increasingly playing key roles.

How about Native women in combat?  Traditionally and historically, only in the most desperate situations.  And, in these times of formal military combat, not very many -- and I wouldn't expect many in the future.  Fighting is still primarily the province of the warrior men.

Hunter


HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St. Francis 
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk 
Member, National Writers Union AFL-CIO
www.hunterbear.org 
(much social justice material)

I have always lived and worked in the Borderlands.

See my piece ON BEING A MILITANT AND RADICAL
ORGANIZER -- AND AN EFFECTIVE ONE (Mississippi et al.):
http://crmvet.org/comm/hunter1.htm

The Stormy Adoption of an Indian Child [My Father]:
http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm
(Expanded in Fall 2012. Photos. Material on our Native
background.) 

See the new and expanded/updated edition of my very well-reviewed 
"Organizer's Book" -- the inside story of the massive Jackson
Mississippi Movement, the murder of Medgar Evers, and more.
And with my new and very substantial introduction:
http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm