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Colonial Native American Women

" The husband-to-be would pay the father-in-law a large bride price in order to compensate him for the loss of his daughter. In the Sioux there wasn't a true wedding ceremony. There was however a large celebration of feasting and the exchange of gifts. In order for Sioux couples to be married "the girl merely took her belongings and moved into her in-laws' teepee." In some tribes there could be a divorce which consisted of a simple process that was rarely utilized. If the woman moved to the husband's dwelling at the time of the marriage she could simply move her belongings back to her family's dwelling. A woman had the power to leave her husband if she believed he was a coward or if he was known in the tribe for being a coward. .
             The Native American women were well respected and given plenty of freedom. They had specific roles to play in the village or tribe and took care of many responsibilities. Some saw the native women as being abused or dominated by the men of the society. Women, in fact, were very important to the Native society. They were often taught from an early age to work in the home and even the fields. " In Spring, both men and women worked in the fields planting the crops, but thereafter the women were expected to do all the hoeing on their own" (M. Gibson, p.29). In addition to the duties in the crops, the women were expected to care for the home, their children, and of their family. Chief Standing Bear of the Sioux tribe wrote: "Women's work was to cook for the family, keep the teepee in order, and sew the clothing of the household members" (M. Gibson, p.36) The women erected and maintained the materials for housing and also did all the domestic work inside the dwellings. Women were also given the unique freedom among some tribes of torture. They would tie their captives to poles in the middle of camps and slowly torture them to death. They sang war songs and teased and taunted their captives in order to show that their bodies can be broken in many ways.


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