Perdue: How Cherokee Women Contain Their Power

201 Words1 Pages
Perdue challenges many myths that surround Cherokee women. As already stated, they held a lot of power over their households. In addition, their power and status was established in their roles as food providers and maintaining their households. These women farmed and hunted to bring food into the home and also gathered wood, cooked, and made items for the household. Even more, they owned the homes they brought foodstuff and materials into. As Europeans began to infiltrate the territory the Cherokee nation inhabited in the mid-1700s, Cherokee men’s power increased, drawing them into more traditional masculine roles. However, Cherokee women, Perdue argues, maintained their roles and power within the nation. She posits that their influence may