Sisters in Spirit: Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Influences on Early American Feminists

by Sally Roesch Wagner, John Fadden (Illustrator)

Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) women fired the revolutionary vision of early feminists by providing a model of freedom for women at a time when EuroAmerican women experienced few rights. Women of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy possessed freedoms far beyond those of their white sisters: decisive political power, control of their bodies, control of their own property, custody of children they bore, the power to initiate divorce, satisfying work, and a society generally free of rape and domestic violence. The thoughts of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage were shaped by their involvement with indigenous women neighbors in upstate New York.

Intrepid historian Sally Roesch Wagner recounts the compelling struggle for freedom and equality waged by women in the United States and documents the influence and inspiration Native American women gave to this dynamic social movement. The personal and political changes unleashed by the Iroquois/feminist relationship continue to transform our lives.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, History, Indigenous, Social Justice, Native American, Politics

128 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2001

About the author

Sally Roesch Wagner was an American author, activist, lecturer and historian. Wagner is known for her work in multiple activist movements, publications and programs, as well as her lectures on history and activism.

Reviews

[Ma'Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic education, short, well-written, and accessible. It has informed and influenced a lot of my worldview in the short time since I read it. The only reasons it doesn't get 5 stars are:
1. It erases/never mentions the role of two spirit people, and
2. It's quite repetitive, even though it fills out fewer than 100 pages.

I won't bother trying to explain the main points of the book here, but it was a great starter for me as I've been recently spurned by my time at Standing Rock to delve deeper into First Nations history, culture, and governmental practices.

[Jean Sheldon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting take on the influence of Native American culture on early reformers. I was as startled to read as they were to discover that Indian men did not rape, and that Native women exercised equal authority in governmental discussion and decision making. The comfortable and utilitarian clothing would certainly have appealed to someone wrapped in a whale bone corset!

[Rachael Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for my Women's studies class and finished it in one day– it's a short and quick read. While the main purpose of this book is to show the connections between early EuroAmerican suffragists and the Haudenosaunee (Iriquois) society, it ends up touching upon a lot of other great ideas about feminism and white privilege, too. Told from the author's perspective as a white woman, the book acknowledges immediately the inherent problems in researching history from a white perspective. It's helpful along the way to see the author's own insights and realizations come light, as the reader's do.

While fairly simple and not extremely well edited or organized, I would recommend this book as an important reminder that the feminist movement needs to be intersectional and, more important, that neither the idea of gender equality nor the seeds of the feminist movement were born from white culture, although whites often get the credit, are the ones celebrated or published, and are often given a "savior" complex because of this misunderstanding. I would also recommend this as a great first book to read on some of these ideas, because it is short, digestible, and touches on a number of intersecting topics.

[Zianne Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Format: 📖

Wow—this opened my mind even more about our women and their influence on today’s world. I wrote down so many quotes and feel empowered by what Wagner wrote about our women.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is some very interesting and enlightening material here, and it's worth a look for the citations. But it often comes off as a somewhat disorganized scramble of assertions, some with clear solid evidence, some much more murky, some that come off as wishful thinking. I was stopped by her assertion that Elizabeth Miller was inspired by Seneca clothing to invent her reform dress (promoted by Amelia Bloomer). Wagner is not a dress historian, and is clearly just looking at images of Seneca women in long tunics, and leggings which tie above the knee. She has no other evidence than proximity. Turkish/Ottoman influence in feminist reform dress goes back to the early 18th century, is very well documented, and the trousers under the short dress were referred to as "Turkish" by the suffragists and by the international press. That section called into question for me to what degree this author lost her critical eye, and fell into the easy temptation of looking for proof of her preconceptions. Again, there is plenty of solid evidence here of clear and genuine influences, but perhaps stretched too far in places, and I'd love to see a more rigorous scholar dig deeper.

[Chris Burd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wish I could give this book a higher rating. The material is absolutely fascinating and eye-opening. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Native American history, women's studies, or American history. The idea of the matriarchal society of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) as a precursor to - and model for - the women's rights movement in the United States is a fascinating subject.

Unfortunately, the book is in need of an objective editor. Some of it is written in the first person, as the author's way of discussing her own journey to uncovering this knowledge. Some of it is repetitive. And some of it is just not terribly well organized.

[Grace Wielder · Rating 5 out of 5]

How would you like to read about the Iroquois women who informed ALL of the feminists at Seneca Falls? They sought counsel from the matrilineal societies of NYS. Our Constitution is derived, in part, from the Iroquois Federation's treaties amongst themselves. A society that has no recorded rape. What?!

[Ellie Syverud · Rating 5 out of 5]

tells the story of how native american women's position and power influenced the suffragists. raised up the story of Matilda Gage, a suffragist I had never heard of. Very cool to have met the author!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five ++ stars for content. Excellent reference for material rarely acknowledged. Less high score for presentation. Stick with it anyway. The information is worthy of your indulgence for anything style and/or presentation might lack. Many thanks to the author for giving us this opportunity to learn.

[Mark Plakias · Rating 4 out of 5]

I made a decision two years ago to strongly bias my reading towards women, be it fiction or nonfiction. At the same time, having moved to the Hudson Valley in 2018, I became aware the lands I was living on, more specifically the eastern portal (near Hudson, where Susan Anthony made a famous address) of the Iroquois Confederation. So when my daughter, who lives and teaches at the western portal (out past Fort Plains) gave me this book it was truly intersectional!
Dr. Wagner's thesis is like many deeply true things -- it comes as a shock, but then is also very clear. The shock comes from the power of the contrast: between so-called savages, who not only respect women to the point of avoiding any kind of violence towards a woman, but also take their political and organization cues from a matriarchal power structure; and the so-called civilized EuroSettlers who upon marriage absorb all rights, property, and recourse. Wagner's academic background allows her to throw this into high relief: her detailed description of how thoroughly the American EuroSettler female was disenfranchised is amazing, so that's the shock.
Now many reviewers have commented on the lack of organization, including some repetition. This is why this is another 4-star review. That said, Wagner's extensive quotations from source material and her weaving of the continuation of indigenous matriarchal power with the arduous, and ultimately unsatisfied quest of white women (the ERA still not ratified!) to get even a modicum of the power the First Peoples accorded their mothers and wives worked well for this reader.
Students and active researchers know that this pattern of Indigenous superiority to western capitalist transgressions -- be it environmental, economic, political, and yes spiritual -- is all around us if we just stop and look past our brain-washing (in this respect eagerly awaiting publication of Lyla June's work on Indigenous food systems). We need a lot more scholarship and outreach showing the how much more advanced the original peoples' solutions are compared to the fumbling disaster of neoliberal capitalism's desperate mob job.

[Kate Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

If this hadn't been on the reading list for History Colorado's House Museum Book Club--all of whose 2020 titles have been related to women's suffrage--I would have never known about this book or the subject it explores. Early suffrage leaders Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Matilda Joslyn Gage had, near where they lived in upstate New York, living examples of the egalitarian society they dreamed of establishing. It was in the Haudenosaunee communities (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy) that they saw women and men living as social, political and economic equals. Women there enjoyed far more freedom, respect and political authority than in white societies.
Stanton and Gage were aware of this, studied how it worked, visited and wrote about these communities, and took inspiration and strength from what they saw. Gage was actually adopted into the Wolf Clan of the Mohawk Nation.
Dr. Wagner expertly shares her research and so many interesting details while keeping the book to just under 100 pages. My understanding of American feminist history and thought was definitely enriched by it.

[Evan Þ. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a short and very ideological book, which starts out with the author apologizing at length for presuming to, as a white woman, write about Native Americans. That sets the tone for the book, setting up Haudenosaunee government and religion and gender relations on a pedestal without any sort of interrogation. The 1800's feminists whom Wagner cites did that too; she does show the influence existed and give some interesting hints about how strong it was.

However, a historian should question such laudatory statements. For example, apparently the Haudenosaunee let a wife divorce her husband at will, at once. I can understand how this would emotionally appeal to 1800's feminists, but if this unlimited power did exist, I suspect it didn't lead to the egalitarian utopia both they and Wagner claim.

But Wagner doesn't even ask such questions.

[NormaJean · Rating 5 out of 5]

It does what every good book does for me. It makes me want to read more. It inspires me. It makes me realize how ignorant I am. And it motivates me to change that.

I discovered three years ago that I am 25% Native American on my birth father's side. I was adopted. So I'm trying to catch up on Native American knowledge. A friend gifted this to me. We grew up as feminists in our teens in San Francisco in the 70s. We talked, we philosophized, we studied, and yet we never came across this material.

Seems like it needs to be required reading somewhere along the way. I had a dream that every state education system would develop a Native American history component based on the local tribes.

Wow.

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not find this particularly easy or interesting to read, if I'm honest, but I'm glad to know the main message, which is how much early American feminists owe to indigenous American cultures. Some of the message here is that women will always make better, more peaceful rulers than men will, and I'm not on board with putting all women above all men in that respect. It seems just as bad as saying men are superior. But the evidence we have about matriarchal cultures and especially matrilineal ones seems to indicate there is less strife and more equality. I'm wondering if the key is children being primarily seen as descended from the mother, and therefore men culturally having less need to police women's fidelity. This is what seems to lead to the need for power and control over women.

[Jim Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually quite a nice read. I was a little worried at first. It took maybe 10 pages to really get into the rhythm of it, but once I settled into it I enjoyed it quite a book. And it's a quick read, just under 100 pages total.

It is what the title says it is-- a book about the Haudenosaunee influences on early American Feminists.

If you're not familiar with the Haudenosaunee, they're the "Iroquois" nations of New York State, the Six Nations. The early feminist movement, led by people like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Matilda Gage, was born here in Haudenosaunee land. The Haudenosaunee respected and valued women far, far more than their white settler counterparts, and so were a good example to look to for those who wanted to create a more just world for women.

So yeah, good reading.

[Malika-Liki · Rating 5 out of 5]

a MUST READ.
An extraordinary , extremely well documented ouvrage about the Haudenosaunsee (Iroquois) influences on the american feminists of the XIX century. I was amazed by the knowledge erosion of White mainstream about American Indian /Native American/ First Nations. way of life and democratic ways within their community and with other tribes and nations.
It's also interesting to assess what has been achieved and the fightsstill needed in most country for a just value of woman labor and the gender equality in salary not yet achieved even in developped countries.

[Melissa Helton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the use of primary source material. I appreciate that Wagner calls out her own white supremacist training and discloses up front her concerns of writing this book as a white woman and what she did, and which indigenous people she included into the process to get the histories correct. I do not have enough knowledge to judge whether she did a good job or not. As a novice to the topic, I will say I learned a lot and think this connection should be taught and studied in all discussions of US suffrage and early feminisms.

[grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another read for my Gender and Women's study class. This book is short and sweet while also providing me with a lot of new information. I enjoyed learning more about Native American history and thought that many of Wagner's ideas were compelling and thought-provoking.
I only have two gripes with this book: Wagner can be very repetitive, and I would have liked to see anything about two-spirit people. Other than that, it is a very accessible first read for people trying to begin learning about Native American history and how that relates to feminism.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read. Wagner builds a solid case on the influence of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) nation on the women's suffrage movement in the United States. She makes assertions that create an intriguing thought experiment that the journey of the United States toward a "more perfect union" over the last several hundred years is a result of the influence and appropriation of the Haudenosaunee political and social culture by EuroAmerican Western men and women.

[Anne Wick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and well documented book regarding the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) influence and inspiration for the U.S. women's suffrage movement as well as aspects of our democracy. It also illustrates how well society can function when citizens have equitable rights and responsibilities. An informative and quick, easy read on yet another subject not really covered in standard U.S. history courses.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book that was selected by a member of my Feminist Book Club. I highly recommend this short read to everyone as a way to familiarize yourself with the influences on the earliest suffragettes. I’m in a little bit of awe yet disbelief over my own ignorance of this fascinating history of voting rights for women.

[Alex Tsiarkalis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history and impact of the Iroquois is beyond substantial. I believe the answers to stopping harmful climate change and how to live peacefully on this planet are in learning their way of life and values. This book is incredibly well-researched and provides such important lessons and credit to individuals and communities disregarded by white male traditional history

[Mattison Strom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of essays that provide an alternate perspective on the history of American Women’s Suffrage. I stumbled upon this book after reading Wagner’s article titled “Is Equality Indigenous?” and have since been fascinated in reading about the “Untold Story” of early women’s rights activists and their Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) counterparts.

[Kay]

Lots of interesting information, but loosely organized and disjointed in presentation. Still, I was glad to learn more about Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) women and the high status and regard in which they were held in the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy.

[Ren Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone needs to read this book. The true origins of democracy are First People, not Greek philosophers. The First Nations are the foundation of the EuroAmerican feminist movement. So much! This book will shake the foundations of what you thought you understood.

[Sue Ricketts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening history on how the women’s movement in Seneca Falls NY used Native American women as a model for equality in The Declaration of Sentiments. The women of the Haudenosaunee tribes had more rights and control over their own lives compared to the strict patriarchy of the Euro-Americans.

[Billy Amtmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed learning of a new perspective that contextualized the origins of the American feminist movement. The last paragraph was a breathtaking way to end it. Although, at times it felt light on content but I think serves as a great entry point into this topic.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for all women who think that women's rights were intiated by Stanton, Gear, and Anthony. The book compiles serious research on why we should acknowledge that the Haudenosaunee Iroquois were the source of those rights.

[Bobbie Dillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent accounting of the real-life example of equality the Suffragettes were able to witness from the Haudenosaunee neighbors.

[Kristie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a require book for TWU. And I read it so I’m totally counting it.