Indian Women as Cultural Mediators

Looking at Indian Women as Cultural Mediators is somewhat of a new concept to me because it is not something i have previously learned very much about. Indian women i feel, are largely ignored in the greater picture of what an Indian is...When looking at Native people as a whole much of the emphasis is put on looking at Native men and the struggles they have encountered due to colonialism. As well, we often look at the negative effects colonialism had on Natives in general or sometimes more specifically a particular tribe. I think that we look at these issues through this lens because of our egocentricity. In our culture the male is dominant, when a hardship is faced it is the white male who deals with it and "protects" his family. Consequently, when we look at Indigenous societies we tend to ignore the roles Indian women played because "women's words are not the stuff of history" (Kidwell, 2007, p. 55). "The voices of Indian women are not heard in the written documents or in the history books..." however, Indian women were "actors in history, and their actions affected its course" regardless of whether or not we acknowledge this fact (Kidwell, 2007, p. 55). Fortunately though, scholars, students, historians, and Indigenous people, etc. have begun to research, explore and unravel the roles Indigenous women played in the history we all share.

In fact, "there is an important Indian woman in virtually every major encounter between Europeans and Indians in the New World" (Kidwell, 2007, p. 54). In all aspects of life Indian women were involved and this only changed after colonization started. Before this Indian women played roles in war, hunting, food preperation, raising of children, communication and relationships between tribes, healing ceremonies, and so on. There was an equality in most tribes that we do not see in our society today. Individuals more than men and women enjoyed roles that ensured the success of their whole tribe rather than the success of a specific person. Thus, when Indians had to create relationships with Europeans it was through their women that most of these relationships were built. "As mistresses or wives, they counseled, translated, and guided white men who were entereing new territory" (Kidwell, 2007, p. 54). In fact, many of the stories of Native women we are familiar with such as Pocahontas, Dona Marina, Sacagawea, and Nancy Ward, etc. have been changed or molded to fit our western ideals. In regards to Pocahontas we are all familiar with the Disney rendition of her life but the accuracy of this story is something we are not familiar unless we do some research.

Yes, Pocahontas saved John Smith's life but it was most likely not out of lusty love, as we are lead to believe in Disney's version of what happened. In fact, Pocahontas did not even marry John Smith as most believe but she married and had a son with a man named John Rolfe after moving to England. However, before moving to England Pocahontas visited the settlers often and created relationships with them. In regards to history, it is important to recognize and be aware of the roles Indian women played because if we are aware we may be able to deconstruct the stereotypes we have placed on Indian women and Indian societies.