American Indian Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Indian - Essay Example We do not want to hear what that man has to say. Be seated.†(Pope) That sealed the fate of the Medicine Man, and he meekly obeyed the order without protest. The women of the house had powers to get rid of an abusive man and a man with negative traits. Social rules and regulations were so liberal and the author writes, â€Å"A woman shouldn’t be ostracized if she has a baby out of marriage.† (Pope)This shows how progressive the society was and as such I think this is a great article, that gives the true picture of women in the Indian Society and how forward looking it was. In the second article, â€Å"Writing and Art by North American Indian Women,† it is explained, with the advent of colonial powers, how the Indian Society suffered and their traditions and social structure were adversely affected. When Attakullakulla, Cherokee chief reached out to the whites to negotiate a treaty, his first question to the white delegation was, â€Å"Where are your women?†(Awiakta) Issues have changed much, and the advent of materialism has deteriorated the conditions of women in the society in real terms. The author laments and asks â€Å"I turn to my own time (1983). I look at the Congress, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission . . . at the hierarchies of my church, my university, my city, my children’s school. †¦.Where are your women?†(Awiakta) Even the U. S. Constitution does not include equal rights for women. Both the articles throw light on the gender equality, how women enjoyed great powers in the Indian Society, before the advent of colonial powers and how the powers and status of women were on the wane gradually. A woman is an economic unit now, not the important social and spiritual entity that she was once upon a