Indigenous Feminism: A Celebration of New and Old

 

Whenever I get the chance to read about women taking a stand for the equality and remembrance of other women, I get chills.  Maybe it’s because as a gay man I face issues of gender and sex all the time.  

So you can only imagine how I felt when it came to this articlehttp://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/03/29/new-native-american-women-warriors-official-honor-song-watch-listen-here-148451

I WAS ESTACTIC because it coincides so perfectly with this week’s readings! Anderson, in her essay “Affirmations of an Indigenous Feminist” says that:

For [me], Indigenous feminism is about creating a new world out of the best of the old. Indigenous feminism is about honoring creation in all its forms, while also fostering the kind of critical thinking that will allow us to stay true to our traditional reverence for life.  (89)

An all Native American Woman color guard who celebrate Women warriors!

I couldn’t think of anything possibly more empowering then women celebrating women warriors.  Although they are in service to the United States of America, Native women have still taken the stand to fight.  The Native American Woman color guard celebrating their fellow Native women is an excellent representation of making something new out of the old.  After all Native Tribes were traditionally matriarchal—what better way to return to the past then to celebrate women who have sought independence through war.

A matriarchy is based on celebrating the empowerment of Women as leaders.
So I want to extend a thank you to both groups of Native women—the ones who celebrate and the ones who serve—because it shows that feminism isn’t uniculural. Instead it’s multicultural.