Native American Women in the Late 19th Century

SS 360-03: American Women

Native American Women in the late 19th Century 

 American pioneers had started migrating into Indian Territory and over took the Great Plains.  The pioneers shared on basic premise:  Indians would have to be removed to make way for new settlers.  White settlers regarded themselves as the superior civilization and saw the Native Americans as savages. (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 342 ).

Native American women in the late 19th century lives were affected by societal changes.   The white settlers who were migrating into the Indian Territory changed their lives.  They tried to Americanize the Native Americans by taking their daughters away and sending them to boarding schools to instill white values and to make them less a savage.  (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 342).

Federal forces moved full force against the western tribes to gain control over the Great Plains. Native Americans raided the encroaching settlers, which provoked military retaliation.  This shortly escalated into a series of wars that wore away at the native unity and resources.  Bands of Native Americans who resisted pacification were regarded as hostiles.  These bands of warriors where not only the men in the tribes, but also women and children. (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 342).  Women with children on their backs were gunned down.  Hunters and soldiers with high-powered rifles had decimated buffalo herds, which severely affected the Native American’s way of life.  The Native Americans became virtual prisoners on the reservations that were designed to protect them from the white settlers.  The Native Americans were unable to support themselves by farming or hunting and they had no other choice but to become dependant on the American Government to dole out food and clothing.  Often the Federal Agents who where supposed to help them were often embezzling as much as they dispensed.  Native American women, who where used to gathering and preparing food, had to stand in long lines waiting for rations that frequently never came. (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 343).

U.S. Policy forced native children into government run boarding schools to be forcefully “civilized” and re-educated in the values and ways of dominate American culture. (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 343). Several thousand children per year were removed from their parents control and were sent to the boarding schools, where they were made to stop dressing, speaking, thinking and believing “like Indians”. (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 343).  Girls forcible reeducation was regarded as crucial to cultural transformation of the native population.   Their integration into American culture consisted of training in menial occupations and in American standards of domesticity.  Basically they were being trained to be servants in the homes of nearby white families. (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 343).

The government felt that these programs were to save the child by destroying the Indian.  Repeated and harsh punishments were given to the girls as well as boys who refused to give up their Indian ways. (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 343).  Parents and tribal leaders complained and protested about the brutality of this Americanization, but they could not stop it. (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 344).

Many Native American women were able to acquire English literacy and other useful skills in the boarding school system.  Many worked in reservation agencies and many became teachers. (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 344 – p. 345). A few women such as Susan and Susette La Fleshce  became public advocates for their people.   Susette was a writer and speaker on behalf of Indian causes and Susan became the first white trained native woman physician and served her people as a physician and political leader for many years. (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 345).

  Protests against the corruptions of the reservation system led to congressional passage of the Dawes Severalty Act in 1887, which divided reservation land into allotments for individual native families.  The system by no means ended the native peoples misery.  Land that was not very fertile meant that Native American families could not farm the land and support themselves, and where the land was fertile and could be farmed productively, whites managed to gain control of those lands. (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 345 – p. 347).

The allotment program deepened the dependency of Indian women on their men, which followed the pattern of white society.  If women chose to divorce their husbands they risked losing economic sources because the men where now the heads of the household.   Their beliefs that women where the heart of the family was being torn apart. (DuBois & Dumenil, 2005, p. 347).

Of all the women in the late 19th century, the Native American women had it the hardest.  In the beginning of the 19th century, they had the most freedom of all the women in this time period.  By the late 19th century, all of those freedoms where pretty much taken away and the Native American women were being forced to live like “white” society.  This meant that they were no longer the head of the household and they had no other choice then to be dependant on their husbands for everything.

  
References

DuBois, Ellen Carol  & Dumenil, Lynn  (2005). Through Women's Eyes An American History with Documents. Boston, MA: Bedford /St Martin's.  

Skin care tips

Glowing Skin Tips 

Water, the Purifier

Glowing, clear skin reflects the fact that there are minimum impurities within your body. Impurities mainly are toxins and the waste substances. Thus, one of the most important steps to a clear flawless skin is to drink loads of water. Water, as most of us know, flushes all the impurities and toxins out of the body. Read more on skin care routine.

Rub it Off

Exfoliating your skin regularly (I mean do I need say it?) is essential for flaunting a clear skin. Skin exfoliation helps get rid of the dead skin cells and gives way for new ones to replace them. In addition to that, it clears out any dust or similar pollutants which might prove harmful to the skin. Exfoliation, therefore is the key.

Peeling Away to Glory

Papaya is a wonder fruit and is fantastic for your skin. Eat it or cut it and gently rub the peel on your face or just keep it on your face. Olive oil, turmeric, lemon juice, vinegar, honey and vegetable oil are a few other natural skin care items from your kitchen which can contribute to having flawless skin. Over a period of time there would be sure improvement in your skin tone! This is one of the best glowing skin home remedies, do try out.

Moisturize and Shine

Almost all skin care experts in the world, I guess, must have been tired of talking about moisturizing your skin for healthy, glowing skin. But even though this is a no-brainer and some members of the older generation might feel otherwise, a good moisturizing cream makes your day and keeps your skin in a good shape. There is a caboodle of glowing skin products in the market, so go for a reliable and a credible skin moisturizer. This applies to guys as well! I mean guys too, need to be well-groomed, isn't it? So having clear skin would surely add to the arsenal!

Work as a Gendered Experience

SS 430-03: Making a Living in the 21st Century: The Sociology of Work

In day-to-day business within the workplace there is a consistent expressed gender gap between men and women in the experiences that they face.  Traditional ideologies such as the man as the breadwinner and the woman as the dutiful housewife persist even today. If a man is employed in a position that is normally filled by women, it becomes a challenge to their masculinity. "Male clerical temporaries, as other men who cross over into women's work, fail to conform to the dictates of homogenic masculinity on two fronts; first they are working temporarily rather than on a permanent and normally higher paying job (‘real’ job), which limits their ability to assume the male breadwinner role. Second, they are doing clerical work (women's work), including demands for deference and caretaking, which challenges their presumed heterosexuality". (Wharton, 2006, pp. 215 - 216).

While men refuse some occupations and the only people available then to fill the job are women, the segregation of the jobs held by men and women continue. Most men and many women will not perform deferential tasks and become subservient to superiors only because it hurts their pride, further exaggerating the stereotype of the temporary worker, for example. (Wharton, 2006, pp. 213- 216).

From our readings this week, I have come to understand that gender inequality is often rooted within the social hierarchy and this affects how women and men are perceived in managing roles. Different qualities are attributed to females when compared to males that often affect the selection process with unfounded bias.

There has been a major transformation of men and women in the workforce in the last half of the 20th century.  In the 1950’s, only a small percentage of women were employed outside of the home.  Those women were employed in only a handful of exclusively female occupations.  On average they only earned about “59 cents for every dollar a man made”. (Wharton, 2006, p. 189).   But by the beginning of the 21st century, about three quarters of women are working outside of the home. These women are working in just about every occupation in which men are employed. However, they still only earn about “73 cents for every dollar a man makes”. (Wharton, 2006, p. 189).  Even though the scale of women’s employment has changed there is still an inequality between men and women in the work force.  Nine out of ten men are able to work but only three out of four women are working and men are still more likely to have better-paid employment, better jobs, and better access to those jobs.

Men and women also continue to be employed in jobs that are perceived as typically only male or female (Wharton, 2006, p. 190). A nurse, daycare worker, or a housekeeper is stereotyped as a female-only job and men who do these types of jobs are considered less masculine. Our textbook states, "When men do deference work such as caretaking, they are popularly defined as feminine- like women- and therefore gay. Male clerical temporaries, as with male secretaries, nurses, elementary school teachers, and paralegals, are regularly stereotyped as gay" (Wharton, 2006, p.210). When women take on jobs that are considered as masculine such as police officer, firefighter or bus driver, she is stereotyped as less feminine.

The glass ceiling effect is also considered a probable contributor to the gender wage gap. This effect suggests that gender provides considerable disadvantages towards the top of job hierarchies, which usually become worse as a person’s career goes on. A women’s labor is considered to be less valuable than a man’s when it comes to compensation and promotion. A woman is considered to be less aggressive than males in fighting for a positive outcome, be it her own salary or the desires of the leadership hierarchy she is working under or towards the corporate entity as a whole. These invisible barriers exist in spite of the achievements or qualifications of the women and they prevent women from advancing within their jobs.

In my years of employment as an emergency medical technician, I did not face much inequality based in gender.  I was paid the same amount of money as any man was at the same experience level.  However, I did face a bit of inequality because I was the only female employed in that company as an Emergency Medical Technician.  In the mid 1980’s, there were very few females in this line of work.   In the beginning I was treated differently because I was a female.  I did not have to lift very heavy patients.  All the guys were tripping over themselves to help me wherever they could.  I found this very annoying because I knew how to do my job and did not require help.  I had passed my certifications, became licensed and sought this employment all on my own. But over time, my co-workers saw that I was effective at my job and that I was just as good as they were.  It took some time but I was eventually treated the same as everyone else, male or female.  I personally feel that there is no need to judge a person, especially ones based on gender, race, nationality and so forth.   I believe a person should be judged on their merits.  I find it interesting that in this modern age, our society still has stereotypical roles based on gender, race, nationality and etc.  One would have thought that we were at a point in society where we would be beyond that type of thinking.

References

Wharton, A. S. (2006).  Working in America:  Continuity, conflict, and change.  (3rd ed.)        Boston:  McGraw Hill.