Cherokee Women

'Perdue's study gives readers an interesting and effective overview of its subject. The role of women among Native American cultures has, until recently, received little attention. As Perdue discusses in her introduction, few sources exist from the 18th century or earlier about women's lives...It is to the author's considerable credit that she is able to re-create the values and behavior of Cherokee women through court records, myths, and observers' accounts. By examining women's roles in farming and community life, Perdue argues that women were coequal contributors to Cherokee culture...Perdue strikes a nice balance by demonstrating areas in which women were the anchors of the culture while also acknowledging their interaction with new influences from outside the clan. Recommended' - "Choice".'A well-written and important scholarly work on Cherokee women' - Wilma Mankiller. Theda Perdue examines the roles and responsibilities of Cherokee women during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a time of intense cultural change. While building on the research of earlier historians, she develops a uniquely complex view of the effects of contact on Native gender relations, arguing that Cherokee conceptions of gender persisted long after contact. Maintaining traditional gender roles actually allowed Cherokee women and men to adapt to new circumstances and adopt new industries and practices. The strength of their traditions empowered them to resist changes, including pressure from the federal government to relinquish tribal lands. Theda Perdue is a professor of history at the University of Kentucky. Her numerous works include "Slavery and the Evolution of Cherokee Society, 1540-1866" and "Native Carolinians: The Indians of North Carolina".