First Nations Women
January 14, 21
With the exception of those women important to white history (Pocahontas and Sacagawea), First Nations women are ignored in most history books. Rhetoric Professor Deborah Wooldridge will open the Thursday Forum new year with a two-week examination of Indian women from several perspectives.
Week one will explore the roles of women in private life. Traditionally, women are the keepers of the traditions, teachers of the youth, and the moral heart of the community. Because First Nations history was passed down orally, stories about women were used to teach children roles and values. Mothers of some important leaders like Crazy Horse will be discussed as influences on their sons' moral character. An especially close look will be taken at the role of grandmothers and female elders. The lecture will conclude with a brief look at the role of women in 21st century Indian families.
Week two will focus on more public roles of women - such as White Buffalo Calf Woman, the Two-Faced Woman and the Corn Maiden - beginning with the traditional spiritual leadership of women in the First Nationsand their role as healers. It's in public life that interesting differences between matriarchal, patriarchal and egalitarian tribes most strongly surface. In matriarchal tribes, women assume strong political roles. The lecture will conclude with a brief look at the changing role of women in 21st century Indian spirituality and politics.
Wooldridge's interest in Indian cultures stems from her May Term course on the Lakota (Sioux) reservation of Standing Rock in north-central South Dakota.
John Beckelman (Art)
"We teach by giving students the tools to find their own visual solutions and to discover their own creative voice."
