UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-2001 Political ramifications of gender complementarity for women in Native American literature Patrice Eunice Marie Hollrah University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Hollrah, Patrice Eunice Marie, "Political ramifications of gender complementarity for women in Native American literature" (2001). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 2463. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/my9u-ygai This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. 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Further reproduction prohibited without permission. POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS OF GENDER COMPLEMENTARITY FOR WOMEN IN NATIVE AMERICAN LITER.YTURE bv Patrice Eunice Marie Hollrah Associate in Arts Atlantic Community College, New Jersey 1990 Bachelor of Arts Richard Stockton State College of New Jersey 1992 Master of Arts Rutgers. The State Uniyersity of New Jersey 1995 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Department of English College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 2001 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number. 3026951 Copyright 2001 by Hollrah, Patrice Eunice Marie All rights reserved. UMI UMI Microform 3026951 Copyright 2002 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright by Patrice Hollrah 2001 All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dissertation Approval UNIV The Graduate College L’niversitv of Nevada. Las Vegas J u ly 17 ■ 20 01 The Dissertation prepared by Patrice Eunice Marie Hollrah Entitled Political Ramifications of Gender Complementarity For Women in Native American Literature is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosphy in English______________________ \xaivjnation Comnittec Chair Dean of the Graduate College / Examination Committee Member ____ !-- h Examination Committee Member Graduate College^acultv Rqpresentative PR/101'52/100 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Political Ramifications of Gender Complementarity for Women in Native American Literature by Patrice Eunice Marie Hollrah Dr. P. Jane Hafen, Examination Committee Chair Professor of English University of Nevada, Las Vegas This dissertation explores how a tribal construct of gender relations— gender complementarity—functions in the works of Zitkala-Sa (Yankton Sioux), Leslie Marmon Silko (Laguna Pueblo), Louise Erdrich (Ojibwe), and Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur d’Alene). Gender complementarity, or balanced reciprocity, acknowledges that the worlds of men and women are different but not generally perceived as hierarchical. If gender roles are not seen as unequal but simply different, the resulting political relationships do not necessarily result in power struggles forequality. Examining the political ramifications of gender complementarity for women in Native American literature is approached through the historical and cultural contexts of each specific tribe. Often, current literary theories alone do not account for these factors that must be considered. Feminist theory, for instance, does not always provide a broad enough lens through which critics can view Native American literature because it often focuses on political inequality between genders. Ignoring the broader cultural context of specific tribes frequently renders the feminist view of the literature incomplete and, therefore. III Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. inaccurate. The research focuses primarily on evidence that proves how the female characters are empowered by the very nature of their tribal social structure of gender complementarity, which results in strong women who autonomously exercise their intellectual sovereignty. The female characters in the works of Zitkala-Sa, Silko, Erdrich, and Alexie resist colonialism’s image of Indian women as inferior to men and show that they were and are powerful figures. IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................................................................vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: “WRITING IS DIFFERENT FROM TRIBE TO TRIBE”: CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXS.............................1 CHAPTER 2 “WE MUST BE MASTERS OF OUR CIRCUMSTANCES”: RHETORICAL SOVEREIGNTY IN THE LIFE AND WORKS OF ZITKALA-SA......................................................................................................37 CHAPTER 3 ‘THE MEN IN THE BAR FEARED HER”: THE POWER OF AYAH IN LESLIE MARMON SILKO’S “LULLABY” ............................................... 78 CHAPTER 4 “WOMEN ARE STRONG, STRONG, TERRIBLY STRONG”: FEMALE INTELLECTUAL SOVEREIGNTY IN THE WORKS OF LOUISE ERDRICH........................................................................................................... 141 CHAPTER 5 “‘I’M TALKING LIKE A [. .] TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY WOMAN’”: CONTEMPORARY FEMALE WARRIORS IN THE WORKS OF SHERMAN ALEXIE.............................................................. 214 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION: “INDIAN WOMEN WERE AND ARE POWERFUL ”: THE INTELLECTUAL SOVEREIGNTY, POWER, AND STRENGTH OF FEMALE WARRIORS: POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS OF GENDER COMPLEMENTARITY FOR NATIVE WOMEN.............. 278 NOTES ..........................................................................................................................................284 WORKS CITED ......................................................................................................................... 294 VITA....................................................................................................................................... 313 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to express my gratitude to my committee chair. Dr. P. Jane Hafen, without whose patience and willingness to work with me in Native American literature, this dissertation would not have been possible. I am indebted to her and her gentle lion roars. I also would like to thank my committee members— Dr. Joseph B. McCullough, Jr., Dr. Sharon R. Moore, and Dr. Joanne L. Goodwin—for their thoughtful guidance throughout this dissertation process. I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to my family, friends, and colleagues who continuously offered their encouragement. There are many who deserve recognition for their support in one way or another, whether reading early drafts or offering advice, but they are too numerous to mention and know who they are. Special