Review

Textbooks, Readers, and References

This is an intriguing compilation of essays about Native American women who were, among other things, warriors, journalists, missionaries, and activists. Many of these women, Perdue argues, were "sifters" because like the tool used in baking to mix dry ingredients, they have combined elements to create something new: a cross-cultural existence. Certainly, there has been a dearth of Native American biographies and especially ones focusing on women, so this is a much-needed collection. Granted, many of the women addressed in this volume have already received full book-length or chapter-length study. As a whole, however, the collection provides additional value because many of the essays focus on the themes of cultural integration and defiance of gender roles.	1
Perdue points out in the introduction that the women included in Sifters are not representative of Native American women. These women, some of whom are very familiar to us and some not, were extraordinary. Perdue presents them chronologically, but these personalities also fit roughly into categories. First are the mythologized women. Helen C. Rountree's essay provides a concise recounting of the life of Pocahontas that shatters the myth, plucks the Powhatan woman from Disney's grasp, and places her in the reality of Virginia. Since we know so little about Sacagawea, Donna Barbie uses her essay on the Shoshone woman to detail the history of the myth that has developed about her and her role with the Lewis and Clark expedition. Next, are the creative and spiritually inspiring women. Dee Garceau tells the poignant story of Salish novelist Mourning Dove, who introduced many early twentieth-century readers to human Indian characters but who had only a brief writing career. Bunny McBride provides an interesting look at the life of Lucy Nicolar, Penobscot promoter and performer. Terry R. Reynolds explains how San Ildefonso Pueblo potter Maria Montoya Martinez showed a commitment to her community throughout her life of artistic fame. Theda Perdue contributes a biography of Catharine Brown, Cherokee missionary. Perdue herself demonstrates how Brown was able to blend Cherokee and Christian beliefs as well as western and Cherokee cultural attitudes. The collection also provides two fascinating stories about individual power from the colonial era. Mary Musgrove, argues Michael D. Green, defied barriers of her gender and race to get what she most wanted: wealth and the deference it accorded. Molly Brant, however, already had wealth from her family. She grabbed and used power, James Taylor Carson explains, to enhance her own status and to help the Mohawk and other Iroquois weather the American Revolution.	2
Many of the women included in the collection were concerned with more than their own enhancement and became general political activists. P. Jane Hafen shows how Gertrude Simmons Bonnin became distanced from her Yankton Sioux community and chose to be an activist for equal rights for all Indians. Alice Lee Jemison, Seneca activist, used the mass media and her journalism skills in her crusade for Iroquois sovereignty, Laurence M. Hauptman argues. The short life of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash, recounted by Devon A. Mihesuah, shows how the 1970s Mikmaq activist endured both racial and gender oppression in her pan-Indian efforts. Nancy Oestreich Lurie contributes to the collection the only biographical sketch of a living woman. Ada Deer's life defies categorization but her most well known role has been as anti-termination activist. Lurie however shows how Deer's experiences fighting for her own tribe, the Menominee, led her into becoming an activist and advocate for all Indians. Possibly the two most interesting biographies are of women who focused their activism efforts more locally. Lozen, an Apache warrior who rode with Geronimo, occupied a fairly unique position in her society. Her cross-gender position, Laura Jane Moore argues, allowed her to fight but to also engage in woman-centered activities, thus increasing the kinds of resistance activities at her disposal. Phillip H. Round similarly tells the story of Delfina Cuero's efforts for her Kumeyaay community. Cuero, a borderland "migrant," dictated her autobiography in 1967 to prove her right to return to the United States. The story provides a condemnation of the arbitrariness of borders and an example of the experiences of people whose lands straddle Mexico and the United States.	3
Sifters is a wonderful collection of stories that would be useful to any teacher of U.S. history. Also helpful is Perdue's introduction that includes a very concise discussion of the history of Indian-white relations that helps put the individual biographies into context. As a whole collection, this book would certainly spark discussion and interest in any women's history, Native American history, or cultural history course. I highly recommend Sifters because it is intriguing and instructional.	4
Cottey College Angela Firkus

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