Cherokee Women: Gender and Culture Change, 1700-1835

Thea Perdue adds an excellent addition to the Indians of the Southeast series by giving a new perspective on the role of women in Cherokee society. There are very few books that assess how women were affected by European invaders in a traditional society. The women existed in a matrilineal world where they controlled trade and social functions which are retold expertly here. Perdue recounts how war, diplomacy, and economics changed the roles of women and how the European viewpoints were dominant. The book ends with a look at the supposed Renaissance that occurred when missionaries from the Moravians began to work on a language and develop societal roles in Cherokee tribes. The literature on Indians of the Southeast, and Indians in general, is growing quickly and this will become a staple within the historiography. For those who want to look at the history of the Cherokee this is an invaluable source. Furthermore for those who want to look at matrilineal roles and how they affected European and Indian relations than this is a great way to study them.

Theda Perdue's book, "Cherokee Women" is an intelligent, well written work on the history of the Cherokee prior to their removal in the late 1830s to what is today Oklahoma. Far from being a book that simply high-lights certain Cherokee women or certain moments where Cherokee women influenced their people's history, Perdue sets about providing an excellent account of the Cherokee past. She skillfully demonstrates that women were an integral part of the story. Indeed, after reading her book one sees that the history of the Cherokee can not be fully told without the perspective that Perdue provides. In three parts, Perdue describes how women shaped and defined Cherokee culture from pre-contact with Europeans, during the initial contact period, and through the "civilization" efforts of European Americans. She points out the cultural differences between women of Cherokee and Anglo-American societies, and adds a new dimension of thought to these subjects. This book is highly recommended as an important contribution to Cherokee History and to History in general for its illuminating ideas about the roles of women.

CHEROKEE WOMEN, Gender and Culture Change 1700 to 1835. Theda Perdue University of Nebraska Press 1998 Although this book is eight years old it is a good one and deserves a new review. We used this book in teaching the workshop to the Chiefs in July of this year. The book is constructed of three major sections. The first is called a Woman's World and has two sub-sections on Constructing Gender and Defining Community. These are exceptionally well done and show how Cherokee women were equal in the world to men as they were of the Earth medicine while the men were of the Sun. It shows how this balance, much as in the story at the beginning of the Newsletter, was achieved and maintained. This was not a shallow equality under the law but a deep spiritual one with each group having their own power that made the other powerless without it. It no more represented slavery to stereotype than being a Soprano or a Bass does to the opposite gender. The Creator gave the place and so their job was, again like the singer, to fulfill it completely. The community and the ceremonials in the community all pointed the way to the achievement of the goals of significance by each Kituwah person. For they were all followers of the Kituwah faith at that time. In the second section she traces the beginnings of the breakdown of Cherokee equality as the Men, through hunting and trade start to assume political power. This is like the Sun coming too close to the earth and killing the plants and that is what happened. Agricultural technology withered as the women lost power and they became enslaved to the exotic trade goods that were largely inferior to their hand made original articles. To counter the men, the women married traders and even soldiers to gain back the lost power. This led to the section on War. It is a well trod trail and yet Perdue still has some insights to offer. In this second section however, I believe she falls to the aggravating factor that makes so many of these stories predictable and lacking in insight. At the root is an inability to assign quality without romance to Native forms. Did Indians have science, technology, law, and the arts? How about economics? Well yes. If that is so then how were they different earlier and how did they change later? Were they as successful? In the third section on Civilization she tries to deal with this but again doesn't succeed in really drawing out the full adult lives of the individuals involved. It is a depressing often told story. I have been surprised in my own research to find such full rich lives in our ancestors when they are so often depicted as being without a deep psychological and spiritual life. Although this is now being explored it will take many more books before we can explore the egg tempera of Cherokee artists working with bird yokes and berry dyes on woodplanks. The few extant are exquisite. How about the Agricultural technology? And where is the music? The rhythmic co

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ms. Perdue's book about the Cherokee Women. It is a well researched volume. It opened my eyes to a lot about the life of the Cherokees, both men and women. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Native American cultures. Ms. Perdue makes what could be a boring subject into a great read. The book held my attention and piqued my interest in the lives of Native Amercian women from the past and today.

Perdue's work looks at gender roles in Cherokee society during the dramatic cultural upheaval of the 18th Century. It is a fascinating work which adds flesh to the historical skeletons that have centered on the Cherokee and European men's actions. One cannot truly understand the history and culture of a matrilineal people without a work of this type. This book is required reading for all scholars oof the Cherokee.