Native Americans

Traditional Social Systems and Change

Historically, the social, political, and economic systems of Native American culture groups were tremendously diverse, ranging from hierarchical systems based on various social statuses to more egalitarian systems. Many culture groups were and still are matriarchal, matrilineal, and/or matrilocal. The Apache of the southwest, for example, trace their lineage through the mother's line; all children belong to the mother's family. Among the Iroquois nations of the northeast, women performed all of the agricultural labor and controlled the distribution of their produce, thereby exerting both social and political authority. Iroquois women were also politically active, as were women in many southeastern culture groups such as the Cherokee.

The pre-contact social systems of all Native American tribes underwent great change beginning in the early contact period and continuing today. For instance, the arrival of horses (which migrated from Mexico after arriving with the Spaniards in the early 1500s) had a tremendous impact on the cultures of many Native American groups, most notably those on the Plains, who became much more mobile. This increased mobility encouraged a period of prosperity for Native American groups whose hunting territories were expanded. Horses quickly became an integral aspect of the spiritual, economic, and political culture of many Plains groups such as the Kiowa, the Sioux, and the Cheyenne.

Another major change for all Native American groups has come about through assimilation, both forced and voluntary. The U.S. government and the American people undertook varied efforts to assimilate Native Americans, including but not limited to various federal policies, education, particularly through the boarding school system, religious acculturation, and the reservation system, which simultaneously physically separated Native Americans from the rest of U.S. society and imposed non-Native forms of housing, land use, and agricultural and hunting methods.

The Role of Mothers and Grandmothers

In many Native American cultures both historically and today, the social and biological roles of mother and grandmother were and are accorded great respect. In many cases, this respect has sacred precedent, as many Native origin stories credit women with the creation of Turtle Island (North America) and/or with the provision of foods such as corn, beans, and squash. Many Native American cultures were matrilineal, matrifocal, matrilocal, or some combination of the three. In these cultures, mothers and grandmothers were largely responsible for the teaching and socialization of children, particularly during early childhood. As they grew older, however, young boys were expected and encouraged to spend more time with men in the community, although young girls generally stayed in the company of women. As mothers and grandmothers, women exerted social and political authority both within the community and in relationships with outsiders, including Europeans. This relationship was never limited strictly to biological relationship; adoptive and metaphorical motherhood, and particularly grandmotherhood, was and remains common.

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