Women and Change: Ch. 3

This chapter discusses the mobility of women in Agua Prieta Sonora, Mexico. Going to and from work, dropping kids off at the babysitters, shopping , and crossing the border are a few factors that affect the mobility of women. Since 9/11 the time it takes to cross the border has increased greatly, especially on weekends and during heavy traffic times. for local people, who already have a lot to do and live off a strict budget, it must be a difficult adjustment and seems like it takes away from their personal life.

Women and Change: Ch. 1& 2

Girls as young as 13 and 14 years old had arranged marriages. They had little or no say for themselves and were supposed meet the expectations of a "good" wife; being obediant, hard working, and respectful. Women were often abused by their husbands, and violence towards women was often minimized by the authorities. Younger generations of women are challenging this opperssion and fighting for their right to marry who they want.

Don't Let the Sun Step Over You: Ch. 5 & 6

She talks about her time spent at St Johns boarding school. She liked the boarding school because there was always something to do and she liked looking after the smaller girls. She didn't go home during her first summer break because she was upset that her mother had remarried. Once she got to know her stepfather she liked him and said he was like a father to her and her siblings. St Johns doesn't sound like it was quite as bad as some of the other boarding schools. The kids were still not alowed to speak their own language or wear their own clothes. Eva attended St Johns for about 5 years. She did not lose her identity as an Apache as other children did, but she did not go to boarding school until she was about 12 or 13 and went back home at 16.

1.Eva Watt story dislpays the hardworking nature of the Apache people and their committment to family and to each other. None of the history I've previously learned about Apaches does not imply this. It is the typical stereotypes of native people being uncivilized and even violent(which is very far from the truth).

2. I did not know that Apache children were treated so badly at boarding schools or that children were forced leave their homes and give up their culture and their lives: that they were forced to become "white". This is pretty disturbing: childrenbeing taken away from everything they know due to racism, ignorance and intolerance, and probably also to continue to take native peoples land. All this frm the hands of people who considered themselves to be civilized and advanced.

Don't Let the Sun Step Over You: Ch. 3 & 4

Her father and brother worked on the Apache Trail. The road went from Roosevelt to the Apache Junction. They made the road wider and smoother. Eva's father also helped build the Morman Flat Dam. She provides a lot of important history in many of her stories; many of which are very personal to her. When her father died, she was quite young and did not understand when her brother Jack told her; "Your father's gone". Although her life was not easy, she does not seem have any bitterness when talking about her life. she seems grateful and quite happy.

Changing Ones Ch. 4

The reality of Native womens lives were obscured by European men, who sterotyped native women as being "drudges" or "desexualized Indian princesses". Europeans also described native women in a way that would fit them into Anglo society. Many native women had more personal freedom than their female European counterparts. Native women often engaged in battle, war parties and raids, and hunting parties. Since Europeans believed women should fit into a specific role. The diversity of Native women in their society probably threatened Europeans because they were not defined in such a "fixed" ideal.

1. European men knew nothing of native/indigenous women or their culture and way of life. They looked in from the outside(still not understanding native people) and made judgements based how they thought native women "should" be. Also; the judgements/stereotypes may have justified(in their minds) pushing native people off their land and other terrible treatment of native women(rape, sexual mutilation).

The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough

This article concerns men and women who have the physical and emotional characteristics of both sexes. Western society has always been very strict about assigning specific sexes: male and female, as well as with regards to the idea that heterosexual is normal, gay/lesbian is not. This rigid ideal presents great difficulty both physically and emotionally to anyone who does not or cannot conform to it.

Strong Women's Stories: Intro. & Ch. 1

She's is very excited to return to her home and is very proud of her Mi'kmaq heritage. I'm not really sure if she feels her time at the university was well spent. She and her family regret sending her to get an education because she was expected to adopt and accept western values as her own. She said her identity as a Mi'kmaq was stripped and taken from her. She experienced a lot discrimination because she because of her Mi'kmaq heritage; she could not find a job even though she was an educated woman. The Mi'kmaqs' claim their identity as native people even though the government makes it difficult. The Canadian government forces the Mi'kmaqs' to legally prove their pedigree. Fishing licenses are given to the fishing plants first. The Mi'kmaq rely on fishing to feed themselves and their family and often resort to fishing illegally to provide food for their families. The government seems to go to great lengths to oppress the Mi'kmaqs' and dissolve them as a people. Yet the Mi'kmaqs' maintain their identity and their culture and come together as a community to find solutions to the difficulties their community faces.

1. Encountering discrimination at the university was probably very frustrating for her, as well difficulty finding work because she's a native woman. She has a college degree; the fact that she
is a Mi'kmaq and a woman should not even factor in the job she's applying for- she probably did not expect this to be an issue when she's looking for work(because it shouldn't be) and yet it sounds like she faced a lot intolerance because of who she was.

2. There was probably a lot of conflict within her. At home she was with her family and the Mi'kmaq community. Perhaps she felt unaccepted socially because she was Mi'kmaq and felt alone and angry being in a place being in a place where she was expected to be someone she wasn't.

3. Fishing has been a major part of the Mi'kmaq way of supporting themselves and their families. By making fishing illegal; the Mi'kmaqs' are(by law) not allowed to fish waters they have been fishing their whole lives and have also been cut off from their main source of food. A large part of their life has been made "illegal". Licenses are given to commercial fisherman before they are given to the native people of the area.

Gender in Inuit Society

According to early explorers, settlers, etc. women were believed to be totally dominated by men, similar to the assumptions made by settlers in "The Squaw Drudge". Further investigations show that in many Inuit societies, men and women were considered equal. Men and women had specific duties they performed. Men hunted, built kayaks, tools, hauled materials; women cooked, cleaned, raised children, and processed skins. Men and women could perform each others duties with skill if necessary and mens roles were not considered to be more important than womens' roles. Each were equally important. It does sound as though women and men had very specific roles within their community. Older women were highly respected and did not answer to men at all. I wonder if this was true of older men as well. It seems like divorce among husband and wife in Inuit society was not a big deal. If you had someplace to go, then you could move out. There didn't seem to be any formal or legal action that had to be taken by either man or woman.

Every Day is a Good Day: Ch. 3

There still seems to be a lot of ignorance and stereotyping around Native Americans. People assuming that Native people still dress in buckskin and/or live in tipis'. I think it's disrespectful of media and national news to ask her to dress in traditional tribal clothes for an interview. This chapter points out that while there is a lot of attention focused on preserving rainforests, wetlands, wildlife, etc; there is no mention of preserving indigenous people and their culture. Why is that? When the Mankiller family was relocated to San Francisco, they got into contact with other Native people and did not let go of their culture. When Wilma Mankiller returned home to Oklahoma, she was very happy to be home and be involved with the Cherokee Nation.

Every Day is a Good Day: Ch 1 & 2

Wilma Mankiller seems to be quite a humble woman. She refers to the great many women that have helped and influenced her life and expresses a lot of gratitude towards these women. She points out that many anthropologists and "experts" on Native Americans have written books and articles about Native peoples' culture when they really have a very limited knowledge of this subject because they're not Native Americans. She's right; how can someone be an expert on a culture and society they've never been raised with or understand another peoples' experience just by looking at it from the outside. Part of this reading also discusses being "despiritualized". Spirituality was a central part of Native peoples' lives and through forced assimilation and being placed in boarding schools, Native people were stripped of their spirituality, culture, and their identity.

American Indian Women's Activism in the 1960's and 1970's

Regarding the Termination Act of 1953; it's pretty disturbing that political leaders were still trying to eliminate legal rights of American Indians and were still trying to erase their culture and identity as American Indians. Since America is said to be a "free" country than how can a peoples' culture be viewed as un-American? I was a little confused about the role of the BIA in this article. I was under the impression that the BIA was supposed to be helping the Indians; but in many cases the Indians received little or no support from the BIA(i.e; when Indians were victims of violent crimes committed by whites). Although the Alcatraz occupation was not successful in retaining a title to the land, it was widely supported, raised national awareness , and inspired Indian pride. The Alcatraz Occupation was followed by several important policy changes, such as the Indian Self Determination and Education Act, revision of the John O'Malley Act to improve Indian education, the Indian Financing Act and Indian Health Act, and the return of Mt Adams to the Yakima of Washington State. The Fish-in protest was an example of where Indian treaty rights were blatantly disregarded. Indians were arrested for exercising their own rights. Native people here relied on fishing as a source of food. once again, laws were used to benefit a certain group of people, and to exclude Native peoples' rights completely. This protest turned vilent; Alcatraz did not. The Fish-in protest did not have the media/national and political support, and perhaps there was a significant amount of racism present in this part of the state.

Changing Ones: Ch; 1 & 2

3rd and 4th gender roles were common in many tribes and were called berdaches. Male berdaches would often engage in women's activities, such as dressing like women, making clothes, baskets or cooking. Female berdaches engaged in mens activities like hunting, fighting in battle, dressing as men. Berdaches usually engaged in same sex relationships with non-berdaches. While European societies rejected and considered this behavior as immoral, Native Americans considered berdaches equal contributors to the community. Berdaches were accepted and often highly respected. "Berdaches were not failed men or women; and behaved according to cultural expectations for those roles"(pg 5, Roscoe).

Don't let the Sun Step Over You: Intro, CH 1&2

Eva and her family travelled around quite a bit in search of food and work in order to support themselves. She had a pretty hard life. Many of her siblings died and her father also died. She did not seem to have an attitude of resentment, but was grateful for the time she had with them. She spent a lot of time with her grandmother, who was a medicine woman and very skilled at using plants and herbs help sick people. She also talked about kids being required to attend school, but the kids were abused at the boarding schools. Apache children were not fed enough, they were whipped and were also punished for speaking their own language. Eva's grandmother would her from the police(who came to make sure kids were in school) because she was afraid Eva would get hurt at school. I 've found this book pretty interesting because the story is told from a Native American woman's point of view of what her childhood was like, how her family lived and supported themselves and worked together to survive.

Many Tender Ties: Intro. & Ch. 1

It seemed as though settlers in Canada were more accepting of native people and their culture and made an effort to get along with natives. In the fur trader society there were a lot of marraiges between fur traders and native women. This seemed to benefit both native women and white men; but daughters were encouraged to adopt European customs and break away from their own heritage. As in "The Squaw Drudge", settlers also had the opinion native women were worked too hard and not valued by native men.

Ch. 4&6

Native/indigenous women had more independence and power than European women. In this respect, native people(s) would be more civilized and advanced compared to their European counterparts, who seemed to pride themselves on being both more civilized and advanced than Native/Indigenous people.



One thing I noticed through-out the text so far is that Native people have had learn how to co-exist with people who have continuously tried to strip them of their identity as a culture, society,etc.

Ch. 5: Gendering, Racializing and Classifying: Settler Colonization in the United States

This chapter discusses the interactions between European settlers, Native Americans, African Americans, and Mexican Americans since the arrival of settlers in the 16th century. One of the many subjects covered is the formation and colonization of the present day United States mainly benefitted the Euro-American men who led it. African Americans were forced into slavery, and even after being freed, were not granted citizenship, treated as equals, and experienced severe racial violence. Native Americans and Mexicans Americans were forced off their lands through wars and legal manuevering and were also not treated as equals.

The Squaw Drudge: what native women were not

"The Squaw Drudge" focuses on misconceptions created by english colonizers of native people(s) in order to justify the displacement of native people from their lands/homes. Englishmen claimed native women were treated poorly and were forced to do all the work by native men, who according to english colonists were lazy and spent their time engaged in leisure activities such as hunting and fishing. Colonists also referred to native people in a derogatory manner with labels such as; "savages" , "barbaric", and "uncivilized". By creating this faulty image of native people english colonists rationalized even further their claim to colonize North America and to disregard native people(s) completely. In fact native women were more equal to men than white women were to white men. Perhaps englishmen were threatened by this, seeing women performing work thought men should be doing. English colonists did not consider native people to be equal to them simply because native men and women had a different way of living and culture which was their own. Natives' also posed a threat to colonists because they stood in the way of further colonization by settlers.

Native Women in the Labor Force

This focus of this paper is summarizing Native American women in the labor force. Annual earnings, labor force participation, and professional occupations compared to their male equivalents and women of other racial and ethnic groups.
Native American women are not only outearned by men, but also by Asian American and white women by as much as $6000 to $8000 annually. Native American women earn three-fifths of what white men earn(59.8 percent), while Asian American women earn 78 percent, white women earn 73.1 percent, and African American women earning 63.2 percent of what white men earn(Williams;May 20, 2008).
Although Native American women( along with white women) have the second highest labor force participation, they are significantly less likely to hold managerial and/or professional jobs than white women or whiteand Asian American men(Williams; May 20, 2008).
In conclusion; Native American women are at a distinct disadvantage compared to white men and women, as well as other ethnic groups with regards to income, managerial, and professional occupations.

References:
1.) Williams, E (2008, May 20). Data tables on the economic status of women of color in the united states. Institute for Women's Policy Research, Retrieved September 2, 2008, from http://www.iwpr.org/femstats/wocdata.htm