Women had very active roles in Native American culture. They were always busy in the camps, often carried heavy burdens, attended to the household duties, made the clothing, and prepared the food for the family. The women have been depicted as the slave of her husband, but a patient beast of encumbrance whose labors were never done. This was not true at all. The men and the women often shared the obligations of life. ?Men took responsibility for fishing as well as the hunting, whereas women harvested and prepared the products of wild plants, including the grinding and milling of seeds. The men?s work activities entitled travel, while the women?s activities were to stay close

The European Americans shared many of the same views on gender roles. A woman played the role of wife, mother, and manager. She had to please her husband, bear and raise children, educate her children, and manage all daily household activities. In the home, the woman was the jack-of-all-trades. Part of the role of the woman was to take raw goods and turn them into useful items, such as food, candles, and clothing. Woman had to clean and butcher all game that was brought to the home of the family. A woman was a household factory. Women create many items in the home. Spinning, weaving and stitching made all clothing. All cloth was washed by hand with out the aid of any machines. Before a woman was twenty-five years of age, she was expected to be married with at least on child. The woman preformed most, if not all, domestic tasks, and most domestic goods and foods were prepared and created by woman.

Women sometimes had more influence over the men. They sometimes served as sachems, or chiefs. Property usually passed from mother to daughter, and the husband joined his wife?s family. He was more of a stranger and yielded authority to his wife?s eldest brother. Moreover, the husband was unlikely to become an authoritative, domineering figure. ?Women could end their marriages by tossing her husband?s belongings out the door and sending him back to his family?. (Boyer 13) Women had certain common tasks. Many of these include; cleaning and maintaining the living areas, tending to the children, gathering edible plants, pounding corn into meal, extracting oil from acorns and nuts, cooking, sewing, packing, and unpacking. Certain crafts were also usually their responsibility: brewing dyes, making pottery, and weaving such items as cloth, baskets, and mats.

In the Southwest, men sometimes made the baskets and pottery, and even weaved cloth. In Southwestern ownership, mean and women shared the agricultural labor. When hunting was the main food source, women were responsible for processing carcasses of game, preparing hides or furs, and whatever food gathering or farming that could be done. The women primarily worked in the fields and the men built the frame of their living areas. The men built plank houses and helped with the pro

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Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)