How did Native American girls help their families?
Many Native American tribes believed that they originated from a woman, with many of their legends and creation stories depict a “mother earth.” Women were entrusted with overseeing a tribe’s agricultural systems, and were responsible for harvesting and cultivating the vegetables and plants for their people.
What was family life like for natives?
Precontact Native Americans lived in kinship societies, and extended family groups formed their communities. The extended family, made up of blood and nonblood relatives, had at its core the nuclear family. The nuclear family consisted of a woman, her husband, and their children.
What is the role of Native American women in the communities and family?
Women play a major role in Native American communities because many tribes are matrilineal. In a matrilineal nation, children belong to the mother’s clan, and women are the decision makers. Women, therefore, are respected, influential, and often the most verbal in making health care and family decisions.
How do Native Americans define family?
American Indians would define family as members made up of fictive and nonfictive kin (blood related and non-blood related), extended family, tribal community, and the nation of American Indians as a whole today. In this regard, one is never alone or without family, a kinship network.
What was the role of women in Native American culture?
Native men and women had mutual respect for each other. Just like in present times, Native American women also tended their husbands and children. Without the women, it would be very hard for the Native Indians to survive. The role of the Native American women in their culture varied differently than the roles of European women.
What did the women do for a living?
In most cases, the women were actually in charge of gathering materials and then building the homes for everyone. They maintained their homes’ roof, and created new houses for tribes to live in. This is an astonishing achievement, particularly for the women of their time.
How to take care of a Native American family?
Although the care of any family should be individualized, gaining the understanding of broad cultural patterns characteristic of traditional Native American families may be helpful to the nurse in planning culturally sensitive care.
What are health issues for Native American women?
In addition, sexually transmitted diseases, adolescent pregnancy, the potential for contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and certain cancers are more prevalent in this population. These conditions, both social and health related, have great implications for women, who are often the heads of households in Native American families.