Daughters of the Earth: The Lives and Legends of American Indian Women

by Carolyn Niethammer

She was both guardian of the hearth and, on occasion, ruler and warrior, leading men into battle, managing the affairs of her people, sporting war paint as well as necklaces and earrings. She built houses and ground corn, wove blankets and painted pottery, played field hockey and rode racehorses. Frequently she enjoyed an open and joyous sexuality before marriage; if her marriage didn't work out she could divorce her husband by the mere act of returning to her parents. She mourned her dead by tearing her clothes and covering herself with ashes, and when she herself died was often shrouded in her wedding dress. She was our native sister, the American Indian woman, and it is of her life and lore that Carolyn Niethammer writes in this rich tapestry of America's past and present. Here, as it unfolded, is the chronology of the native American woman's life. Here are the birth rites of Caddo women from the Mississippi-Arkansas border, who bore their children alone by the banks of rivers and then immersed themselves and their babies in river water; here are Apache puberty ceremonies that are still carried on today, when the cost for the celebrations can run anywhere from one to six thousand dollars. Here are songs from the Night Dances of the Sioux, where girls clustered on one side of the lodge and boys congregated on the other; here is the Shawnee legend of the Corn Person and of Our Grandmother, the two female deities who ruled the earth. Far from the submissive, downtrodden "squaw" of popular myth, the native American woman emerges as a proud, sometimes stoic, always human individual from whom those who came after can learn much. At a time when many contemporary American women are seeking alternatives to a life-style and role they have outgrown, Daughters of the Earth offers us an absorbing -- and illuminating -- legacy of dignity and purpose.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Native American, Cultural, Womens Studies, Womens, Anthropology

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 1977

Reviews

[Plarmon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Interesting topic though poorly written. MHO
Kknd of fascinating to see parallels re women in other cultures also.

[Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

We're just gonna list some things out for simplicities sake.

1. The information was thorough and well-researched, but it could've been organized better. "Native American" covers a whole lot of diverse cultures-- Neithammer even talks about this in her introduction, dividing the tribes into "cultural areas" (Arctic tribes, Plains tribes, Plateau tribes, etc.). However, the book is not organized by cultural area. Instead, it's structured to bring up a certain tribe whenever it becomes relevant, which means that after reading this book I know about the customs only certain tribes have-- tribes I can't even name (you can't expect me to remember the name of each of the tens of tribes discussed). This means that if you asked me about my knowledge on Native Americans I'd end up saying, "Oh well some of them had this tradition. Could've been practiced the plains tribes, the great basin tribes, the arctic tribes, who knows." Very much like tidbits and fun facts rather than grand-scope ideas. I would feel like I knew a lot more about Native American culture if I could identify which tribes (via grouping) the information I know belongs to. I can't really utilize the knowledge if I don't know where it applies, you know?

2. The section on secret societies of anti-witch vigilantes should have been longer. I don't believe an explanation as to why is needed.

3. If you are looking for female empowerment, there are some tales covered by this book that are violently feminist. Pohaha got her name because of how she laughed as she single-handedly slaughtered an army of enemy men. And also because she got sexually aroused as she did so. (Po=wet, haha refers to laughter) Like we all wish we were as capable as our queen Pohaha. Get it girl.

4. My score of three stars is less due to the content of the book, and more due to the fact that I don't have a specific interest in this area. It is telling, however, that I was able to read it anyway.

5. There's a story about this Ojibwa woman who cut off a dick of some random enemy tribesman during a battle, and, during the victory celebration, threw the mutilated member at her mother because she was mad at her mom for being a slut, saying something like, "Have another one you whore," and "I got it just for you". This isn't really relevant towards anything, but like... God damn... Daaamn.

6. Finally, I found the scope of the book (as in how it specifically covers Native American women) very limiting. For example, we would start learning about the interesting political structures of certain tribes' governments, but then the information would be restricted to the woman's involvement (and spoiler alert: they weren't overly involved too often). This was really frustrating, and I would've appreciated it having an overlooking view of each subject it covered (war, celebrations, politics, games, etc.) before it narrowed down the perspective to analyze the women's roles and involvement.

[U · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be an interesting overview of not just the lives of Native American women, but also the lives of their children. It displays the ethics and ideas of virtually any tribe you can think of (ranging from Navajo to Eskimo). And it covers virtually everything there is to know about everyday life and special occasions. However, I personally found no benefit to the added stories the author has put in between a (small) change in topics. It seems as though this is an attempt to give readers a further understanding of the culture by showing their stories and ideas expressed there. But after I read a few of these, I no longer found the necessity to keep reading them each and every time. Also, the transition from tribe to tribe very quickly makes it difficult to understand which attributes are related to which culture. And the changes in topic from one paragraph to the next seem to rarely offer a smooth transition, like that of the tribal comparisons. I'm also not sure how up to date the information is, as the original was copyrighted in 1977 (but this shouldn't affect the information too greatly). Overall, it'd say that the content is great but the way the author writes, well, not that awesome.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book is ‘the lives and legends of American Indian Women’. An interesting book on a subject I’ve often wanted to learn more. The author interspersed her research with tales illustrating her point from a variety of sources. Interesting to learn about so many more tribes .Having lived in Arizona & the Midwest I knew the names of tribes in both places and the plains in between. The tribes of the NE are woven into history, but I have very little knowledge of the tribes of the Northwest or Southeast. It was fascinating to see the different ways the tribes approached certain aspects of life. I have often wished my white European ancestors had been more tolerant and circumspect in their exploration and settlement of this country, perhaps then some of the native culture might have survived intact. It is also criminal in my mind that our history books and classes do not teach much about native culture or anything that existed on this land prior to arrival of the 1st Europeans in the late 17th century. Too bad the treasure was not treasured.

[Nancy Groves · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an academic book in the sense that it is based on research and includes citations, bibliography, index, etc. However, it's highly readable. The author has attempted to look at the lives on Native American women before their cultures were substantially altered by contact with Europeans and white Americans. She investigates many aspects of life, which of course varied considerably among the hundreds of tribes that existed in North America before the arrival of Europeans, including childbirth, raising children, courtship, marriage, sex, religion and spirituality, leadership roles, women and war, old age and death. The book is not an attempt to either portray women as part of matriarchies, which most likely did not exist, or as little more than drudges completely subordinate to males. Instead, she draws on reports from early explorers, missionaries, accounts of anthropologists, and what few first-hand accounts from the women themselves are available to record the everyday aspects of life for girls and women, the kind of information not likely to be found in history books.

[Alcina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazingly researched anthropological text on the lives on North American Indigenous women. I was utterly fascinated with this book which covered women's lives from cradle to grave and included research on sexuality including sex practices and lesbianism, war practices, puberty rites, rape, marriage and religious customs as they pertained to women, etc. So rare to have the focus on women. An amazing book.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book but it is not without its flaws. She mentions in her introduction how scholars have divided the tribes into subgroups but rarely comes back to this structure in her book. It is difficult, therefore, to find commonalities and differences between areas or within areas. The book is divided into topics but then she just gives examples from particular tribes, and there is little further analysis.

I find myself a little annoyed about the picture descriptions as it is hard to tell when each of them was taken, and in some we don't even know which tribe it is. For example, the very first photo in the book is uncredited, and while I believe it shows two women from a plains tribe, I am not sure which one.

I remember when I ordered this book in 2006 there was not a lot of books about Native American women. This work is general but fascinating and I loved the little stories included. But don't expect this to be an academic work because it is not.

[Buck Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Daughters of the Earth' was a book of wonders, filled with a landscape of a Native Indian woman's life, from conception to death, from a continent full of tribes and as many different customs. It proved a great companion to all the historical pieces written about the warriors and their chiefs. Here we see the feminine side of the Indian's way of life, from the cold northern territories to the dry and barren southwest, and all places in-between.
Carolyn Niethammer has done her work well. Filled with first-hand accounts, to the fables that enriched the lives of the often nomadic tribes, Niethammer, in her engrossing prose, holds nothing back. One feels the door to a hidden world thrown open on the woman who were often the strength of a tribe.

[Michael Philliber · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Daughters of the Earth" had a lot of promise, at first. But then it became clearer certain ideologies seemed to be taking over the work. I'm just not happy with this book. Written in the late 1970s, it's almost as if the author is trying to co-opt Native American women and sexuality (she seems obsessed with sex) for a free-love agenda, or at least that's how it came across. There are little tidbits here and there that are informative, puberty rituals, social expectations for girls and women among earlier Native Americans, etc. It just didn't ring my bell or aid my understanding.

[Olga Gumenyuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate any good look that gives another perspective on a known told history of the world.

In this case storied of Native American women told by a women, how wonderful it feels when it happens- women tell their own stories. I wish wee would read more of those books that are told by other females. No one could grasp the diversity of Native American tribes and communities unless one read about them even if it is briefly.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Addressed how the various tribes lived, set out by subject (childbirth, menstruation, hunting, power, etc.). Good anecdotes describing various customs and such. I enjoyed this book, and learned a lot from it.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

originally released in 1977

[Penny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't finish. Read like college text book; covered too many tribes.

[SuZanne]

I moved and this book got lost in the process. I would have been nice to have dived further into it, as now I have no idea at all how to rate it or discuss it.

[Just Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting collection with a ton of material from a variety of sources and tribes, though certainly dated in some descriptions. I'd like to see a modern review and revision with more voices from different tribes today, especially to get their take on some perspectives a white anthropologist probably got wrong. Since this is my first time really reading about any native culture I'll take the book with a grain of salt. Interested in hearing specifically why some folks found it offensive (I noticed a few instances too and assume there are a lot I missed since also pretty ignorant about all this and white). I did appreciate how the author seemed to mostly stick to the accounts she'd found. She also seemed to try to emphasize that native folks are just like any other group of humanity: diverse, complex, creative, and persevering. Whether she succeeded in that attempt is a judgment best left to people better tied to these cultures. I think that her attempt did help though to dispel a bit of the romanticism that usually gets thrown around. All in all I came out feeling a lot of connection with the women described. Lots of respect for their ingenuity, community, and tenacity

[Susan McGonegal]

Here, as it unfolded, is the chronology of the native American woman's life. Here are the birth rites of Caddo women from the Mississippi-Arkansas border, who bore their children alone by the banks of rivers and then immersed themselves and their babies in river water; here are Apache puberty ceremonies that are still carried on today, when the cost for the celebrations can run anywhere from one to six thousand dollars. Here are songs from the Night Dances of the Sioux, where girls clustered on one side of the lodge and boys congregated on the other; here is the Shawnee legend of the Corn Person and of Our Grandmother, the two female deities who ruled the earth. Far from the submissive, downtrodden "squaw" of popular myth, the native American woman emerges as a proud, sometimes stoic, always human individual from whom those who came after can learn much.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of information about what life as a Native American woman was like. Each chapter focuses on various aspects of life and how various tribes had different traditions surrounding that aspect (for example, there was a chapter on childbirth and childrearing, as well as marriage and crafting and such). I admit that I didn't read the whole book--I kind of lost steam 2/3rds of the way through and I skimmed the rest--but the parts I did read informed my understanding of Native American tribes. Practices and ease of life varied quite a bit between tribes, so I understand why it's important to be specific about what tribe you're talking about when speaking of Native American tribes.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book 5 stars, but it just didn’t do it. When it comes to Native Americans pre-white settlers there is not a lot of information out there and even less so about women. The format of this book was odd, I think it has to do with the the lack of information that is out there? which is why its grouped the way it is, it just made it difficult for me to get an idea of what one specific tribe would have been like vs hearing about all the tribes on a specific topic(each custom could range from one extreme to the other depending on the tribe). In the end, the information is still valuable, and I definitely still learned a lot.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though written in the 70s, this book has a lot of really interesting cultural information about various tribes. It follows the life cycle of American Indian women in different tribes. One of the most interesting things is how, often we see American Indians as kind of a "Noble Savage" or extremely one with the earth. This book really opened my eyes to how brutal life could be in the different tribes and how a lot was expected of women.

[Noreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good anthropological study of American Indian women's lives. Large differences in roles depending on the particular tribe. The tribes who oppressed women were Yurok and Chipewyans. the Ojibwa, Navaho, Hopi and Zuni tend to accept non-conforming women.

Young women forced to marry older men were known to commit suicide. Hard workers were admired and had higher status.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not something I would normally read, but it was interesting. It is all about women in various Native American Indian tribes. Tells about their lives and customs and whatnot throughout the different cycles of life, from birth to death.

[RJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relates the cycle of a Native American woman's life from birth to death through Native American folktales and legends. I found it sweet, but others may be shocked by some of the honest, "earthy" stories about womanhood.

[Tabitha · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is some interesting information in this book, but underneath its facts seemed a tone of condescension that made reading it through very difficult and written for another era (original copyright is from 1977).

[Lauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy-to-read overview of the customs and traditions of native American women, covering everything from childbirth to death. It was interesting and contained a lot of information about many tribes, using anecdotal stories to illustrate the mindset and practices.

[Gwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informtive book about everyday living by native people.

[Paradasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating anthropological/sociological look at a diverse group of cultures. Tends to focus on historical examples, a bit of a dry read. I skipped the chapter on torture! : S

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Time line was ambiguous. Great myths. Needed more interviews.

[Rudi Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book about the lives of Native American women prior and up to the influx of Europeans.

[Muriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting read - expected to hear more of the stories of the Sacajawea, but the book was like a documentary on the life, birth, marriage, childbirth, death. An interesting read....

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars