Maine History Volume 34 Number 1 Indian Female Stereotypes Article 3 6-1-1994 Grandmother, Daughter, Princess, Squaw: Native American Female Stereotypes in Historical Perspective Pauleena M. MacDougall Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistoryjournal Part of the Indigenous Studies Commons, United States History Commons, and the Women's History Commons Recommended Citation MacDougall, Pauleena M.. "Grandmother, Daughter, Princess, Squaw: Native American Female Stereotypes in Historical Perspective." Maine History 34, 1 (1994): 22-39. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistoryjournal/vol34/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Maine History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. PAULEENA M. MacDOUGALL GRANDMOTHER, DAUGHTER, PRINCESS, SQUAW: NATIVE AMERICAN FEMALE STEREOTYPES IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE One consequence of the English-Algonquin inter action was the development of certain female stereo types. The Algonquin language term forfemale evolved into the English word “squaw” and assumed new meaning as it was applied to all Native American women. Similarly, the daughter of a tribal leader; married to a British man, acquired the attributes of European royalty, becoming a “princess. ” Algonquian-speaking people in the Northeast were among the first to encounter French and English explorers, missionar ies, and traders who came here seeking gold, souls, and furs in the early 1600s. The native people who lived in the Northeast subsisted largely upon game, fish, and wild vegetables, agricul tural crops being of only minimal significance.