Gender Roles In Native American Society

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From their earliest writings, the Euro-American colonists portrayed the Indian women as overburdened drudges who performed masculine chores that exceeded their physical strength, were abused by their husbands, and had no rights or privileges, while the Indian men idled and routinely engaged in the frivolous diversions of hunting and fishing. Though this perception of stark imparity between the genders in the native American society has persisted for four hundred years, it was wrong.
The division of labor in the native American society was far more equitable and complementary than most Euro-Americans believed. While women were responsible for agriculture, childcare and household management, men performed the more physically arduous tasks like hunting, clearing forests to make new land fit for agriculture, making tools and weapons, and fighting wars. The work done by women was both socially and economically important, and therefore, rather than being a marker of their low social status, conferred prestige and respect upon them in the community. …show more content…
The wife owned both the house and the agricultural land and tools, and she remained their sole proprietor upon marriage. If mistreated by her husband or loaded with unjust labor by him, a woman could easily divorce him or evict him from her house. While public roles and positions of authority were usually taken up by men, most men consulted with their wives in important family and communal decisions. The marital relationship was often

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