Powhatan Women's Role In African Americans

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Page 1 Written Assignment #1 – Role Swap (Option #1) HIS-243254-01X-12SP2 - U.S. Women’s History: Lives and Voices M01 A1-Written Assignment #1 My name is Pocahontas, and I am the daughter of a powerful paramount chief, named Powhatan. Powhatan is also the name of our people and we are an Algonquian speaking people as well. As a Native American woman, I am “certainly the most well-known woman in the first years of permanent British settlement on the Virginia coast.” (DuBois, Carol, and Dumenil p. 26) As Algonquians, also known as agricultural people, we are engaged in the farming, fishing, hunting and gathering for our family. Additionally, most of our time was spent doing difficult tasks of processing food to include:…show more content…
Also, in regards to the seventeenth century colonial housewife, the Native American women had numerous roles to include: being a worker who was productive, a community member, as well as a family member. “In general, coastal Indians created a division of work roles not unlike that of the colonists, in which women engaged in domestic production or work that took place near where they lived, while men’s work ranged farther afield, involved more danger, and required their absence from the village.” (Woloch p. 17) It is also noted that the clan was the sole unit socially and kinship was the basis of the political and social arrangements of the family. Additionally, the farming tribes were usually, but not always thought of as being matrilineal (which means that the lines of the descent of the family was traced through…show more content…
Also, I was very fortunate that I was not a mistress for the trades of my household and I would barter among the other women for the necessities that I would need for my household. Additionally, I would train my daughters for their future wifely duties, and at times I would take in my neighbor’s daughters to apprentice them for the valuable exchange of their labor in my household. Also, if I was to become pregnant, and the time arrived when I would have my child, my neighboring women would spend days with me, giving me all of the emotional comfort and assistance that I would need. In regards to taking care of all of the household duties and outside duties here as a Puritan woman, I would have to say that it is very demanding, but well worth my time and efforts. If my husband were to fall ill to sickness, then I would step up to the plate and take care of all of the household duties in my home and I would also be responsible for the farm as well. Also, if for some reason my husband passed away due to his illness, and I became a widow, I would take full responsibility for the farm and when my son would be of age, he would be able to take the farm over for me and all of the responsibilities that were attached to it. It is also wonderful to know that if I became ill due to a sickness, my husband would step

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