I found the point about Brumble looking for "Indian-ness" and the aspect of "heroic" Native American woman very interesting. Last semester, I read a lot of original texts concerning the story of Pocahontas, and compared it to the movie. In reality, Pocahontas was a bald twelve year old who wore only a loin cloth. Also, the story of her saving John Smith might be untrue. He told the exact same story of a young Turk girl after he was captured by them prior to his interactions with the Native Americans. Why are white people so obsessed with heroic Native American woman?
I would theorize that it's because it's easier to sympathize with women, seeing as they aren't warriors and don't scalp white men. They are, I believe, stereotyped as more sympathetic to the "white" cause and more apt to listen and be slower to violence. Whether this is true or not is interesting. I don't think Winnemucca can be called sympathetic to the "white" cause; I think she's just rhetorically savvy and manipulative to be honest. I think she understands the way white people want to hear the truth.
I have read a bunch of Native American speeches from Powhatan, Red Jacket, and Tecumseh for another class. Being warriors, and entrenched in the war between settlers and Native Americans, they mostly appeal to their brothers. Powhatan tries to point out to the white men that they attacked Native Americans after being provided with food, and Tecumseh appeals to their sense of brotherhood. Other than that, though, they mostly try to rally their people. Boudinot was very logical and well thought out in his arguments. I don't think he was listened to or respected as much, perhaps because of his lack of sensitivity. Winnemucca approached accusations logically, but with tact and softness.
Am I generalizing too much? Probably. In my defense though, I'm trying to make sense of why we view Native American men and women so differently in a halfhearted and mostly uneducated way.
Shocker! I'm interested in your speculations of gender in Powell's piece. I found it really interesting when Powell mentions that Native Americans (in general) were feminized, and because of this, Winnemucca was actually in a better position to exploit that view rhetorically (opposed to Native American males, who would be completely discredited by playing into feministic stereotypes in speeches or writing).
ReplyDeleteI wonder what would have happened to Boudinot if he displayed more "tact and softness." I think the white male media would have torn him apart simply by pointing out that he is indeed feminine. Maybe, Boudinot's lack of sensitivity was a resistance technique against the feminized imaged placed upon Native Americans.
I think it comes down to specific constraints, rhetorical demands, and the positionality of the individual. Winnemucca could play off of the general feminized rhetoric placed on Native Americans for her benefit, but she suffered a disconnect with her people because of the rhetorical game she played. On the other hand (as you mentioned), Native American males geared their rhetoric towards rallying their people leaving them open to rhetorical assaults by white males.
I agree with your idea that Indian women were easier to sympathize with than Indian men, because at the time the social norms for white women followed that they were soft-spoken and motherly. It makes sense that white society would expect Indians to adhere to their own social norms, and that Indian women would also be soft-spoken and motherly, and because of this adherence, Indian women would be viewed as heroic. To use Pocahontas as an example, part of why she is considered an Indian princess is because she saved John Smith, and whether or not the story is true, the fact that it is retold and replicated speaks to the power of the story. While Pocahontas is not soft-spoken, she does adhere to the expectations put upon women, in that she is motherly, saving John Smith without resorting to violence.
ReplyDeletePowell gives several examples of how Winnemucca played into the expectations for women, and I think it is really interesting to look at Rinehart's report and his attempts to discredit Winnemucca. He tries to discredit her by pointing out ways he thinks she does not adhere to the larger expectations for women, white or Indian. He says she is untruthful and is not chaste, two very important values in white women, which are also applied to and expected from Indian women.
I'm so late on these responses, but I'll put 'em in anyway...
ReplyDeleteWhy do we view men and women in society differently? I understand that there are certainly some stereotypes associated with native american genders, but there are certainly some stereotypes associated with genders in white society as well. i.e. Men don't ask for directions, and women are more emotionally driven than men or something like that.
I like your question, and your attempt to understand why these gender associations take place, but I think that they are more ontological to the very existence of humanity in general, even though they may appear differently depending on race.