Many Tender Ties: Chapter 2

The North West Company took more advantage in forming unions between themselves and an Indian woman. The Indians believed that marriage to a fur trader would provide social and economic benefits. The “alliance created a reciprocal social bond which served to consolidate his economic relationship with a stranger,” (29). The Indians were given prestige and promise of security when their daughter married a fur trader. In contrast, fur traders were given a portion of the “bountiful hunt” from the leading hunter or chief.

One interesting observation was how closely and intimately the fur trader cared for his wife and family. In some respect, become a parent enforced the bond between husband and wife. Due to life in Indian country, there were not many other options for a wife and family for a fur trader. No white women were present leaving Indian women as the only option.

In the process of courtship, the fur trader was required to pay a bride price, as it was customary for Indian culture. This included: blankets, kettles, beads, hawk-bells, guns, etc. These customs were generally followed as respect and to value the Indian tradition. The amount of goods would depend on the rank, status, and overall attractiveness of the girl. When the Indian women were preparing for marriage she exchanged her traditional clothing for European styles. They wore a shirt, short gown, petticoat and leggings. However, Indians did not view marriage as a “life contract.” When fur traders would leave for long periods of time, it was not uncommon for women to seek affection elsewhere. If and when the fur trader did return, it was the woman’s option whether or not to go back to him. In addition, polygamy was somewhat common practice among the Indians. Some fur traders participated in this practice, but most remained in monogamous relationships.

Despite the bond formed between fur trader and Indian woman, the women were not allowed to travel overseas to the trader’s native land. The problems existed within the European culture not accepting Indian women into their culture.

Gender in Inuit Society

As in most societies, men portray the dominant role and are responsible for hunting. Women, perform their tasks based on the “language of work performance.” Their main responsibilities are cleaning and constructing clothing from animal skin and running the household.

The Western Eskimos live in a matrilocal society where the husband resides with the wives family. In some circumstances, “this may limit husbands’ ability to control their wives affairs,” (21). In my opinion, this could be considered a good thing since in most cases women must remain quiet. Most decision making is done by males with little or no input from women. In some cases, women will give their opinion in the presence of their own home when no other male authority is around besides her husband. As the author states, in some instances the husband will listen to his wives opinions and take the information into consideration. However, older women do not fear expressing their opinion and put forth their own vote. This can sometimes signify the overall female vote.

From the beginning, boys and girls are treated differently. Around the age of six, they are separated and start playing apart from the opposite sex. Soon after, boys start participating in men’s work while girls take on the women’s role. However, from birth, Inuit names are gender neutral, so perhaps there is some equality after all.

Don't Let The Sun Step Over You: Chapter 2

Kids shouldn’t be afraid to go to school; however, the government boarding school at Rice is closer to a jail than academics. I mean, there is a fence around the buildings so the children can’t escape. Besides being underfed and malnourished, girls learned how to sew while boys did outside chores including cleaning the outside toilet. It doesn’t sound like they were earning much of an education. If a child disobeyed, they were whipped. Most often, children tried to escape out of that treacherous place and head back home where they truly belonged. Indian police would patrol the land and look for children who weren’t in school and take them there if they found any. It’s not as if these children were orphans, they just weren’t in school. Is this a justified way to educate one’s child?

Many Tender Ties: Intro & Chap #1

The fur trade in Western Canada created a new way of life for Indian, mixed-blood, and white women. Despite the good generated from fur trading, the role of women was brought into question and their identities exposed. Many Indian women married fur traders to help form a bond between trade relations and various tribes. Through marriage, Indian women were offered a new way of life that was “easier physically and richer in materials,” (6).

The relationship between whites and Indians was characterized by equality and the ability to act civilized towards one another. The reliance on each other was significant enough to keep the fur traders from imposing or trying to control the Indian people. Instead, they all connected on a social level and made the effort to get to know one another’s culture. The two main trading companies’ were Hudson’s Bay and North West trading company. The North West Company saw the advantage of establishing a relationship and the possible benefits and knowledge that could be obtained.

The treatment of Indian women was surprising and downright appalling to the fur traders. Instead of performing the feminine tasks, most women participated in carrying and hauling various materials and collecting animals that hunters had killed. One observer, Alexander Mackenzie commented, “They are…subject to every kind of domestic drudgery, “(18). Mackenzie goes into detail about how most Indian women make the clothes, collect wood, weave nets, etc. The unfortunate consequences of daily life for Indian women forced them to practice infanticide. The ability of a woman in an Indian society, including strength and economic skills, contributed to how Indians made money and were able to live. European society portrays women as delicate and feminine, but these characteristics would not benefit the fur trading industry and contribute to the clan. This observation made European men realize that perhaps they women in their country are too pampered.

Indian Women as Cultural Mediators

As children, we were all influenced by the various Disney movies including Pocahontas, the story of a Native American girl who has a significant impact on the Jamestown colony. Pocahontas, Sacagawea and Done Marina are three Indian women who are characterized by myths in our history. As the article demonstrates, “The voices of Indian women are not heard in written documents or in the history books,” (55). The tales of these three women are cut and pasted illustrating only what society wants us to know about. We are programmed to believe that Pocahontas was a beautiful young woman who befriended an English settler and showed him the ways of her world. Despite just being a cartoon, those images are engraved on the youth of today’s world. The actual story of Pocahontas must be revealed and shared to show her true existence and identity. One the same page, Sacagawea was more than just a pretty face, but an insightful communicator and interpreter for explorers. “Her importance in history is to show us how she was valued by two cultures: translators and as a sign of peace,” (59). The importance of her life and how she helped various groups of people has influenced the course of history.

The "Squaw Drudge"

Native Americans had been living on American soil generations before English colonists invaded. Their way of life had never been witnessed before and was considered savage to the newly arriving colonists. The colonists made assumptions and judgments based on what they felt were normal. In the first paragraph of this article the author, “Depicted Indian women as little more than “drudges,” overworked and otherwise exploited by their Indian husbands,” (27). However, throughout his research, he realized that this misconception was produced through Euro-Americans. The article includes various accounts and “evidence” from numerous English colonizers and explorers. I place evidence in quotes because through further investigation, these misconceptions were made in comparison to the norm of English society. Placing women in the fields to work and harvest crops portrayed the men as lazy. The English sought to colonize the Native Americans forcing and spreading Christianity and their way of life. In addition, they felt that the luxurious land was not being used to its full potential.

This article demonstrated how English colonizers and explorers felt their ways of life were superior to all other forms of natural life. They viewed women’s work as taking care of the children and completing all house chores. One interesting assumption made was native agriculture was frowned upon because it was considered women’s work. The colonizers went as far as to use God in justifying their usage of the land, claiming, “To live by tilling is more human,” (37). Even in today’s society, Americans still feel that they are superior to other cultures. We had no right to force our civilized world on the Native American’s because they already had a perfectly adequate lifestyle that didn’t need to be meddled with.