Ever notice how history books often paint this one-dimensional picture of the “Native American warrior” — usually a man on horseback, bow in hand, facing down soldiers? But what about the Native American female? She’s almost always left in the shadows, a supporting character in a story she was actually co-writing.
And here’s the thing: Native American women weren’t just caretakers at the edge of campfires. They were landowners, political leaders, healers, warriors, and storytellers who passed on traditions when no one else could. Honestly, if you peel back the layers of colonial myths, you’ll find that Native women carried an astonishing amount of authority — centuries before women in the U.S. had the right to vote.
So, let’s dig into their world.
The Native American Female at the Center of Community Life
If you’ve ever heard the phrase “it takes a village,” well, that’s exactly what tribal life looked like — and women were its heart.
Take the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Iroquois). Their entire system of governance rested partly on women. Clan mothers literally had the power to pick and remove chiefs. Imagine that — in a time when European women couldn’t even own property, Iroquois women were deciding who could lead their people.
Among the Pueblo peoples, women worked the fields, growing the “Three Sisters” — corn, beans, and squash — that sustained their villages. And if you’ve ever seen Pueblo pottery or woven textiles, you know they weren’t just practical. They were pieces of art carrying stories, symbols, and spiritual meaning.
And spiritually? Women often served as healers, shamans, and wisdom keepers. They didn’t just run households — they ran the threads of belief and tradition.
Were They Warriors? You Bet.
Now, I know what you might be thinking: “But did Native women actually fight?” Believe it or not, yes. While most warriors were men, there are incredible stories of Native American females who rode into battle.
One famous figure is Lozen, an Apache warrior and sister of Victorio. Not only was she a fighter, but her people believed she had spiritual abilities that helped predict enemy movement. That’s part tactician, part seer — basically a battlefield legend.
Then there’s Buffalo Calf Road Woman of the Northern Cheyenne. She fought in the 1876 Battle of the Rosebud and later at Little Bighorn. According to oral histories, she even rescued her brother during the chaos of war. Talk about bravery.
So no, Native women weren’t always on the sidelines. Sometimes, they were right there in the thick of it.
Matrilineal Power: Property, Marriage & Freedom
One of the things I’ve always found fascinating is how different Native systems were from European ones. In a lot of tribes, descent and property followed the mother’s line. Children belonged to the mother’s clan, not the father’s. That’s a huge cultural difference.
Marriage? Way more flexible too. In some nations, if a woman wanted a divorce, she didn’t need lawyers or endless drama. She could literally put her husband’s belongings outside the house and — that was it. Done deal. Simple and, honestly, kind of refreshing.
Native women weren’t powerless wives. They were the foundation of the household, and their authority stretched into politics, economy, and spirituality.
Colonization Changes Everything
But here comes the darker part. When Europeans arrived, they brought along their own rigid gender roles — men control property, men make decisions, women obey. Colonization, forced Christianity, and government-imposed systems chipped away at women’s influence.
Missionaries often pushed Native women out of leadership, teaching them European domestic roles instead. Boarding schools took Native girls and forced them to abandon their languages, clothing, and traditions. It was, to be blunt, cultural erasure.
And yet — Native American females resisted. Some adapted, becoming interpreters or cultural mediators, like Sacagawea, who guided Lewis and Clark while caring for her infant son. Others held on to oral traditions, keeping languages alive in secret when it wasn’t safe to do so publicly.
Native American Female Leaders Today
Fast forward, and you’ll see Native women still carrying that torch of resilience.
Take Wilma Mankiller, the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Or Deb Haaland, who made history as the first Native American woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of the Interior. That’s huge, considering Native people were once denied even basic rights.
But let’s not sugarcoat things. Native American women face some of the highest rates of violence in the U.S. — a crisis known as MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women). It’s heartbreaking and infuriating, a modern echo of centuries of marginalization.
Still, they’re fighting back — through activism, art, literature, and politics. Native women are reclaiming their voices and rewriting their place in history.
Why Their Story Matters
Here’s the kicker: the story of the Native American female isn’t just “women’s history.” It’s human history. It shows us that power and authority can look different depending on culture. It reminds us that colonial narratives often erased voices that didn’t fit the script.
And maybe it challenges us, too. To ask: whose voices are we still ignoring today?
Final Thoughts
So, next time you hear about Native American history, remember the women behind the story. From clan mothers who appointed chiefs to warriors like Lozen, from storytellers passing down languages to modern leaders like Deb Haaland, the Native American female has always been more than a background figure.
She’s resilience personified. She’s leadership wrapped in tradition. And she’s proof that history is never just one-sided.
If you found this eye-opening, share it with someone who still thinks Native history is all about “brave warriors” on horseback. Because behind those warriors, more often than not, stood women guiding, leading, and holding it all together.