Readings on Native American Religion and Gender Roles

from Native American Religion in Early America

Christine Leigh Heyrman

Department of History, University of Delaware

©National Humanities Center

<http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us:8080/tserve/eighteen/ekeyinfo/natrel.htm>

First, at the time of European contact, all but the simplest indigenous cultures in North America had developed coherent religious systems that included cosmologies&emdash;creation myths, transmitted orally from one generation to the next, which purported to explain how those societies had come into being.

Second, most native peoples worshiped an all-powerful, all-knowing Creator or "Master Spirit" (a being that assumed a variety of forms and both genders). They also venerated or placated a host of lesser supernatural entities, including an evil god who dealt out disaster, suffering, and death.

Third and finally, the members of most tribes believed in the immortality of the human soul and an afterlife, the main feature of which was the abundance of every good thing that made earthly life secure and pleasant.

Like all other cultures, the Indian societies of North America hoped to enlist the aid of the supernatural in controlling the natural and social world, and each tribe had its own set of religious observances devoted to that aim. Individuals tried to woo or appease powerful spiritual entities with private prayers or sacrifices of valuable items (e.g., furs, tobacco, food), but when entire communities sought divine assistance to ensure a successful hunt, a good harvest, or victory in warfare, they called upon shamans, priests, and, in fewer tribes, priestesses, whom they believed to have acquired supernatural powers through visions. These uncommon abilities included predicting the future and influencing the weather&emdash; matters of vital interest to whole tribes&emdash;but shamans might also assist individuals by interpreting dreams and curing or causing outbreaks of witchcraft.

As even this brief account indicates, many key Indian religious beliefs and practices bore broad but striking resemblances to those current among early modern Europeans, both Catholic and Protestant. These cultures, too, credited a creation myth (as set forth in Genesis), venerated a Creator God, dreaded a malicious subordinate deity (Lucifer), and looked forward to the individual soul's immortality in an afterlife superior in every respect to the here and now. They, too, propitiated their deity with prayers and offerings and relied upon a specially trained clergy to sustain their societies during periods of crisis. Finally, the great majority of early modern Europeans feared witches and pondered the meaning of their dreams.

Important as it is to appreciate the affinities between the religious cultures of Indians and early modern Europeans (and Euro-Americans), there were real differences that must be kept in mind. The most important is that Indians did not distinguish between the natural and the supernatural. On the contrary, Native Americans perceived the "material" and "spiritual" as a unified realm of being--a kind of extended kinship network. In their view, plants, animals and humans partook of divinity through their close connection with "guardian spirits," a myriad of "supernatural" entities who imbued their "natural" kin with life and power. By contrast, Protestant and Catholic traditions were more inclined to emphasize the gulf that separated the pure, spiritual beings in heaven--God, the angels, and saints--from sinful men and women mired in a profane world filled with temptation and evil.

from Native American Religion

<http://www.stormwind.com >

"Mitakuye Oyasin: We are all related. &endash; Most Indians hear this phrase thousands of times a year as they attend or perform ceremonies and for many...the phrase seems to be...a liturgical blessing that includes all other forms of life in human ceremonial activities."

&endash;Vine Deloria, Jr., 1992

Background

What do we mean when we speak of Native American religion? … There is no one religious expression common to the 250 distinct Native American peoples still surviving as America approaches the 21st century. And complicating the question even further is the fact that few Native American people today can say for sure how their ancestors worshipped before the onslaught of European immigrations: Too much death lies between the present and pre-Columbian America, too much cultural devastation, too many forced conversions to Christianity. The chain of elders preserving tradition was broken by disease and war. Many contemporary Native Americans interested in knowing their own heritage have found themselves in the peculiar position of needing to consult anthropologists for information.

But anthropology has its own problems. Serious attempts to study Native American culture did not begin until the mid-to-late 19th century, 200-300 years after the first European conquests, and 50-100 years after the beginning of serious western expansion. Many Native American people no longer lived in their sacred homelands, and numbers of eastern tribes had completely disappeared. Even when anthropological studies were undertaken, early reports frequently judged Native Americans by the values of European men, discounting their stores of wisdom, their religious insights, and their different approaches to gender roles. Often, the Native Americans interviewed didn't make anthropologists' jobs any easier: The Wintu of California had a saying that when the white men come, "...we will forget our songs." According to the Lakota, "If it was told to a white man, it is untrue." The Hopi learned early about anthropologists' love of publishing and permanently closed their ceremonials to all but their own people. The list could go on and on.

Anthropologists divide the Native American cultures of North America into seven groups: Eastern Woodlands, Southeastern, Plains, Plateau, Great Basin, Southwestern, and Northwest Coastal. Each of these geographical groupings contains many distinct peoples with only the broadest characteristics in common, each with their own culture and religious beliefs. Any attempt to briefly summarize such a rich variety of peoples … is going to involve inexact generalizations: It can't be helped. Where space permits, examples appear from different tribal groups, but they do not begin to reflect the diversity of Native American spirituality.

From Native American Voices

<http://www.gliah.uh.edu/native_voices/native_voices.cfm>

Title The Diversity of Native America: The Northeast

Author Pierre de Charlevoix

Quotation "Amongst the Huron nations, the women name the counselors"

Annotation Europeans expressed utter astonishment at women's important economic and political role within many Indian societies. A Jesuit priest describes life among Iroquoian-speaking Hurons whom he encountered.

Year 1761

Source Pierre de Charlevoix, Journal of a Voyage to North America (London, 1761).

Text

It must be agreed Madam, that the nearer we view our Indians, the more good qualities we discover in them: most of the principles which serve to regulate their conduct, the general maxims by which they govern themselves, and the essential part of their character, discover nothing of the barbarian....

In the northern parts, and wherever the Algonquin tongue prevails, the dignity of chief is elective; and the whole ceremony of election and installation consists in some feasts, accompanied with dances and songs: the chief elect likewise never fails to make the panegyrick of his predecessor, and to invoke his genius. Among the Hurons, where this dignity is hereditary, the succession is continued through the women, so that at the death of a chief, it is not his own, but his sister's son who succeeds him; or, in default of which, his nearest relation in the female line. When the whole branch happens to be extinct, the noblest matron of the tribe or in the nation chuses the person she approves of most, and declares him chief.... These chiefs generally have no great marks of outward respect paid them, and if they are never disobeyed, it is because they know how to set bounds to their authority. It is true that they request or propose, rather than command; and never exceed the boundaries of that small share of authority with which they are vested....

Nay more, each family has a right to chuse a counselor of its own, and an assistant to the chief, who is to watch for their interest; and without whose consent the chief can undertake nothing.... Amongst the Huron nations, the women name the counselors, and often chuse persons of their own sex....

The women have the chief authority amongst all the nations of the Huron language.... But if this be their lawful constitution, their practice is seldom agreeable to it. In fact, the men never tell the women anything they would have to be kept secret; and rarely any affair of consequence is communicated to them, though all is done in their name, and the chiefs are no more than their lieutenants....

from Pre-Columbian Native American Women: Power and Equality

By: Herman Vandersijs

http://info-center.ccit.arizona.edu/~ws/ws200/fall97/grp8/hermanpaper.html

The culture and heritage of Native American women is a great deal different then that of European women. … Not all groups accord the same concepts of power, yet they all show a distinct difference between Native Americans and their perceptions of equality and those conceptions held by Europeans.

… In Native American culture the notion of creating life is thought of as power… Because of this emphasis on life and not death, women in pre-Columbian America shared in the equality accorded to their male counterparts. Gender division of labor existed, but neither gender was thought of as superior to the other, but rather as individuals full filling their responsibilities to the whole.

… An old Cheyenne saying goes the people are not conquered until the hearts of the women are on the ground. This can only go to show how the Native American realized that without the power of their women, the people would not endure, but with it they will prosper. Amongst the Iroquois, all descent is lineal in the women. The women own the land. All, men and women shall follow the status of their mothers. Women are accorded a high place of honor amongst these nations. Accorded, not given, is the key phrasing. Women are thought of as equals, to share with and not to be allocated to. Within the Nations of the Iroquois, the women, not the men, chose the leadership. These notions of power are not exclusive to the Iroquois. Indians did not confine this belief in the central importance of female energy to matters of worship. Among many of the tribes (perhaps as many as 70% of them in North America alone), this belief was reflected in all of their social institutions. Women were considered to be the progenitors of the tribe. Article 45 of the Iroquois Constitution states: The women heirs of the chieftainship titles of the League shall be called Oiner (Noble) for all time to come. If a chief should not fulfill his duty as prescribed by the tribe, the other Chiefs will take away his title by order of the women in whom the title is vested. The women will then select another of their sons and submit his name as a candidate and the council will decide. This is power, real and legitimate. There is a story that relates the notion that the women of the Iroquois staged the first successful feminist rebellion in the new world. It is said that the women grew tired of the warfare that the men took part in. They informed the men that they either cease and desist or they would not partake of any more lovemaking or child bearing. The warfare stopped. The women of the Iroquois Nation enjoyed the rights of equals. With out doubt, they were relegated to certain gender designated chores, but again, this was done for the betterment of the whole and not by some whim of the men to control their women.

Let there be no doubt to the matter that Women in Native America shaped certain social concepts. … They did not believe that their children were born in sin, congenitally predisposed to evil, or that a good parent who wishes the child to gain salvation, achieve success or earn the respect of her or his fellows can be helped to those ends by physical or emotional torture… Native Americans had a tendency to bathe frequently, be open about their sexuality, wear scant clothing, and had a great suspicion of authoritarian structures. One can only guess how many of these attributes were influenced by the fact that the women were accorded a greater sense of equality, but you cannot help but wonder.

From A Native American Perspective on the Theory of Gender Continuum

<http://hermaphrodite.arriba.net>

INTRODUCTION

Many of the world's cultures recognize more than two genders. The notion that there are those of us who do not fit precisely into either a male or female role has historically been accepted by many groups.

Among Native Americans, the role of third, fourth, or even fifth genders has been widely documented. Children, who were born physically male or female and yet showed a proclivity for the opposite gender, were encouraged to live out their lives in the gender role, which fit them best. The term used by Europeans to describe this phenomenon is Berdache. "Indians have options not in terms of either/or, opposite categories, but in terms of various degrees along a continuum between masculine and feminine"

A berdache was one who was defined by spirituality, androgyny, women's work and male/male homosexual relationships. The berdache could adopt the clothing of women, associate and be involved with women, do the work normally associated with women, marry a man and take part in many spiritual ceremonies of the tribe. Female versions of the role also occurred, but are less well documented and will not be discussed in this paper. Generosity and spirituality more than homosexuality and gender characterized berdachism.

In the traditional tribal sense, these roles have often been ones associated with great respect and spiritual power. Rather than being viewed as an aberration, the role was seen as one, which bridged the gap between the temporal and spirit worlds. The spiritual aspect of the berdache role was emphasized far more than the homosexual or gender variant aspect. Because of this, berdaches were highly valued by the people of the tribe.

Given the choice between discarding or honoring a person, who did not fit neatly into rigid gender compartments, many Native American groups chose to find a productive and venerated place for the berdache. A Crow traditionalist says, "We don't waste people the way white society does. Every person has their gift." According to the Mohave creation story, "Ever since the world began, there have been transvestites, and from the beginning of the world, it was meant that there should be homosexuals."

With the arrival of European settlers and pressure from Christian and governmental sources, the tradition of the berdache changed in dramatic ways. The homosexual aspect of the role was all that was seen by the whites. The white powers attempted to remove all traces of berdachism.

As Native Americans began to convert to Christianity, internal pressure developed to disown the berdache tradition within the Indian Nations. Although pockets of traditional berdache practice survived, these were seen primarily among the old. As these people began to die off, the tradition, which had gone underground for the most part, was lost to upcoming generations.

In the last three decades, interest has been rekindled in the tradition. Disenfranchised Native American gays and lesbians searching for a means to access their spiritual heritage looked to the traditions and found much in the berdache role. As groups became reacquainted with the role, questions arose about its definition and application. Still in the formative stage, the reexamination of berdachism has provided many with a foothold by which they are able to step back into becoming meaningful members of society. …

Out of respect for the Native American culture, much deliberation took place about whether to use the term berdache or to substitute some other term for it … . Although the term Two Spirit has come into vogue among Native Americans, I have chosen … to use the term berdache.

TRADITIONAL PERSPECTIVE

The consideration of alternative genders does not come easy to most Americans, but many traditional Native American tribes had no trouble accepting berdache into their midst….Many native religions explain the concept of the berdache.

The Arapaho of the plains believe the role existed due to supernatural gifts from birds or animals. The Creation story of the Colorado Mohave "speaks of a time when people were not sexually differentiated". In the Omaha language, the term for berdache meant, "instructed by the Moon" . Many myths warned not to try to interfere with the fulfillment of the role. Consequences could be dire and sometimes resulted in death….

The following sentence seems to sum up the overall feeling of the Native American about differences among their people. "By the Indian view, someone who is different offers advantages to society precisely because he or she is freed from the restrictions of the usual. It is a different window from which to view the world." …

SPECIALIZED WORK ROLES AND GENDER DIFFERENCE

The role of berdache was determined during childhood. Parents would watch a child who seemed to have a tendency toward living as berdache and would assist him in pursuing it rather than discouraging him. At some point, usually around puberty, a ceremony would be performed which would formalize a boy's adoption of the role. One ceremony commonly practiced involved placing a man's bow and arrow and a woman's baskets in a brush enclosure. The boy went inside the enclosure that was then set on fire. What he took with him as he ran to escape the flames was believed to be indicative of his spiritual guidance to follow or not to follow the berdache path.

It is important to remember that Indians do not consider this role one that is a matter of personal choice. They generally believe that one who follows the path is following his own spiritual guidance. The important feature here is living a life true to one's spiritual path. ….

One notable attribute of the berdache is that the work of these people is greatly prized both within and without the tribe. "To tell a woman that her craft-work is as a good as a berdache's is not sexist, but rather the highest compliment." Because of their superior quality, work done by the berdache is highly valued by collectors and tribal members as well. There is a belief that some of the spiritual power of the maker has been transferred to the craft itself. Some believe that the exquisite art is itself a manifestation of that power.

In addition to craftwork, berdaches are known to be strong family and community members. They were traditionally considered assets to the tribe and were sources of great pride. A man raised with his berdache cousin said, "The boy lived as though he had some higher understanding of life."

Many berdaches adopt children and are known to be excellent parents and teachers. Native Americans as a whole readily accept adoption of children and traditionally share in child rearing among their kin. They excel at cooking, cleaning and all other domestic duties. …

The berdache role is most often characterized by a tendency to a pacific temperament, but they were known to go to war or on hunts on a regular basis. Some cultures took the berdache along to do the cooking, washing, caring for the camp and tending to the wounded.

Their presence among the warriors was valued because of their special spiritual powers. Occasionally, a berdache would participate directly in warfare. This dispels the argument among early anthropologists that the role was adopted as a means of avoiding warfare. The Crow berdache Osh-Tisch, which means Finds Them and Kills Them got his name by turning warrior for one day in 1876. He took part in an attack on the Lakota and was distinguished for his bravery.

Because of their unique position as neither male, nor female, berdache would act as counselors for marital conflict. Among the Omaha tribe, they were even paid for this service. Berdache also performed the role of matchmaker. When a young man wanted to send gifts and get the attention of a young woman, the berdache would often act as ago between with the girl's family. …

SPIRITUAL SANCTION

The traditional berdache was known for living within a strong moral code. Their ethics were above reproach and they were valued as peacemakers and settlers of disputes. They accepted the duties of the role and tried to exceed the expectations of others in how well they performed. Not only were they adept at settling disagreements among tribe members, but they also could act as intercessors between the physical and the spiritual world.

The tribes held them in great esteem and were quite respectful and often frightened of their connection with the spirit world. This seems to be one reason traditional berdaches were not harassed or bothered. Most tribes believed it very dangerous to attempt to interact with the spiritual realm and felt fortunate to have a berdache in their midst to perform that task.

Although berdache often fulfilled the role of caring for the sick and wounded, they were not usually shaman, but rather ones to whom the shaman would turn for guidance. As a Lakota stated, "Winktes can be medicine men, but are usually not because they already have the power." …

From Redefinition Of Gender and Sexuality in Pre-Columbian Times

<http://info-center.ccit.arizona.edu/~ws/ws200/fall97/grp8/kimberlypaper.html>

…The term "berdache" refers to a gender crosser or, as the natives called it, man-woman. My argument is that the female man-woman has been underrepresented in the same way women have been underrepresented and misrepresented in other areas of study. I mainly take issue with the notion that the female man-woman was not named and recognized by her community. My argument is that perhaps their status was not recognized and recorded by Euro-American observers.

Until recently, most gender studies have assumed a sweeping inferiority of women in all cultures. …In fact most women have had a difficult time relating to these studies because they were so heavily based on women as members of the traditional nuclear family, thus excluding women of other races, economic traditional nuclear family, thus excluding women of other races, economic classes and differing family structures. …

There is extensive documentation of the male "berdache" in Native America. …It is possible that the female berdache's importance was diminished not by the Natives themselves, but by the Europeans in the process of the documentation.

'Two Spirits' Respected in Indian Tradition

By Bob Mims

<http://www.ntac.org/news/01/01/02twospirit.html>

Outside of her friends in the Navajo Indian Reservation town of Chinle, Ariz., few know the striking 5-foot-9 woman is biologically male. Indeed, she once parlayed her shoulder-length, walnut and blond hair and olive complexion into a modeling career in Phoenix before moving back to her native redrock canyons.

Now, she works as a caseworker for the Navajo AIDS Network, helping others who have tested positive for the HIV virus. "Call me by my disc jockey name, 'Darian Phyve,' " she requests, noting that while most of her fellow Navajos are tolerant of gay and transgendered people, a few are not.

The 28-year-old transgendered DJ, who works private parties in her off hours, considers herself a "Two Spirit," which in American Indian lore is a person born with male and female personalities. In her case, the feminine spirit is stronger; she cannot recall when it was not.

It is a view fundamentally different from that in Western white civilization's Judeo-Christian roots -- that homosexuality is sinful. Instead, many Indians have traditions of same-sex acceptance and incorporation of gays into tribal life.

Tribal attitudes toward homosexuality were seldom simply based on sexual orientation, but involved both physical and spiritual attributes, according to Richley Crapo, a professor of anthropology at Utah State University and student of Great Basin Native American culture.

Many tribes recognize three genders: male, female and Two Spirits -- biological males, females or hermaphrodites able to fill both male and female roles. "These distinctive Two Spirit roles usually included some religious responsibilities, such as christening babies, treating women for infertility with religious rituals and conducting funeral rituals," Crapo said. In some tribes, Two Spirit status was extended to females who had adopted male characteristics along with same-sex preferences, and vice versa for males. Thus same-sex couples would have masculine and feminine partners. "Two Spirit persons were not stigmatized. In fact, they were generally thought of as having a very high status," Crapo said. "Individuals with same-sex orientation . . . would have found a very comfortable place in most North American Indian tribes."

Respecting Difference: In the Diné tongue of the Navajo, Two Spirits are known as "na'dleh" -- literally, "one that changes." The term, in turn, has roots in one of the tribe's oldest legends… "These people were respected. That respect continues today," Denetdeal said. "Navajos do not promote homosexuality, but in the event there is one who might be a homosexual, they are not looked down upon or treated as bad people ... but as special people due respect. "We are taught as we are growing up that if we should run into a homosexual ... we are not to make fun of them, laugh about them or harass them in any way, shape or form," he said.

… "These were special people with certain [spiritual] powers," explained Venita Taveapont, a Ute social-services worker and tribal cultural expert. "They were men who dressed and lived as women. They did bead work and tanned hides, and they were generally the best in the tribe at that."

… Much of that respect remains, though tolerance is not what it once was, [Larry] Cesspooch [a Ute traditional spiritual leader]and Taveapont agree. The tozusuhzooch tradition is remembered, but modern Ute gays are defined more often by their sexual proclivities than the spiritual attributes of the past. "Nowadays, the roles have changed some," Taveapont said. "They have adopted the white man's way of being homosexual rather than how it used to be. Today, they do not have as much respect as they used to; they are more of a novelty."