Before, and during the colonial period (While the colonial period is generally defined by historians as 1492-1763, in the context of settler colonialism, as scholar Patrick Wolfe says, colonialism is ongoing) of North America, Native American women had a role in society that contrasted with that of the settlers. Many women were leaders in Native American tribes. For example, Cherokee women worked in treaty negotiations with the United States, and women in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy acted, and continue to act, as political leaders and choose chiefs. Other women were delegated the task of caring for children and preparing meals; their other roles varied between tribal groups. In many tribes, such as the Algonquins and the Six Nations that compose the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, women were responsible for tending to the fields while the men were responsible for hunting. There were often long periods in which the men were not present. Thus, women played a major role in the family and exerted significant control over social and economic factors within the tribes.
Life in society
Life in society varies from tribe to tribe and region to region, but some general perspectives of women include that they “value being mothers and rearing healthy families; spiritually, they are considered to be extensions of the Spirit Mother and continuators of their people; socially, they serve as transmitters of cultural knowledge and caretakers of children and relatives.” Many Native American tribes believed that they originated from a woman, with many of their legends and creation stories depict a "mother earth." Women were entrusted with overseeing a tribe's agricultural systems, and were responsible for harvesting and cultivating the vegetables and plants for their people. Tribal women like the Algonquians planted their fields meticulously and in a way that kept the land sustainable for future use. After harvesting a tract of land until the soil lacked nutrients to continue, women would be tasked with deciding when and where to clear new fields, allowing the used ones to regenerate. Women in the Haudenosaunee tribes often controlled the distribution of food among their people. Their perceived position as beings of spiritual power gave women in some tribes the opportunity to be healers for minor injuries, as men were more commonly shamans, chiefs, and herbalists.
Leaders
Some Native American peoples were known for having women sit in positions of political power beyond simply controlling the food or being "agricultural scientists." Elder women in the Haudenosaunee tribes gathered in clans to decide who would sit on the tribe or village council, including the appointment of 49 chiefs within the confederacy.
Women also learned skills in hunting and fishing. Others, such as Weetamoo, the female chief of the Pocasset Wampanoag, led their people in battle. It was not unusual for women to go into combat. Women would often enter a battle to protect or substitute for their fallen husbands or brothers, and some women earned warrior titles for their participation. Women who sat as leaders of their tribes, like Queen Anne and Weetamoo, were known for their participation in wars.
Religion
During the colonial period, Native American religion was heavily integrated in all aspects of Native life, influencing culture, art, history, politics, and economics. Many Natives believed both animals and plants had spirits.
Menstruation was spiritually significant in some cultures. For example, some male hunters among the Shawnee, Creek, Cherokee, and Cree, would avoid contact with any woman who was menstruating during their hunt because a woman is at her most powerful, with the association of menstruating with life force, and this power would disrupt the men’s power to kill. Even walking near a woman during this time was believed to impact that killing power the men possessed. During this time, women would stay in hunts away from their village to ensure their power didn’t disrupt the regular schedule. This practice acknowledged the power of Native Women within the culture and also allowed for a break from their regular activities and roles.
The Apaches, as well as other Native American people, believed that women have spiritual power, and some respected elder women use their important spiritual and social authority within the tribe.