Women in the west
Watch the online lecture about gender and the Indian Boarding Schools, which is just 25 minutes long.
For the video with captions, go here:
Step 2: Inspirational History!
- What did you find particularly exciting, interesting, or challenging about the assigned content this week?
- Albert Hurtado writes that’s the sexual behavior of Native Americans challenged conventional European ideas about gender. What are two or three key ways that Indian sexual behavior challenged Europeans ideas?
- For this one, make sure to say who the “Berdache”/Two Spirit people were. (Note that “Two Spirit” is the appropriate terminology to refer to gender/sexually variant Native Americans (think “LGBTQ/queer”). “Berdache” is old fashioned but since the reading uses it I include it here in quotes so that you know what I’m referring to).
Your initial discussion post should be at least 250 words, you should answer all questions, and your responses to the discussion should be thoughtful and not too brief — i.e. “me too” and “I agree” do not suffice as adequate responses. Your responses should be at minimum 50 words.Watch this short video about Native American women’s rights activist and writer Zitkala-Sa.
Step 3:
Read Albert Hurtado’s “When Strangers Met: Sex and Gender on Three Frontiers”
Guiding questions:
I’ve included here some guiding questions to help you focus as you do the reading. Answer these questions as you go. (Note that these aren’t the same as the discussion questions)
- Albert Hurtado writes that’s the sexual behavior of Native Americans challenged conventional European ideas about gender. What are two or three key ways that Indian sexual behavior challenged Europeans ideas?
- In what ways did the California Missions try to reform Indian sexuality and protect unmarried female neophytes (young native women), and were these efforts successful? Why or why not?
- Who were the “Berdache” and why did the Europeans look down upon them?
- Who was Sacajawea, and how does what you learned in this article differ from popular ideas about who she was?
- What impact did the Gold Rush have on the Native American tribes of California in general, and on Native American women in particular?
