Page 170 - Confronting Race Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815 - 1915

C H APTER FOUR

ceremonies, however, Indians could air political and racial antagonisms
and express subtle f o rms of resistance, whereas white women who
sensed tension could dismiss it as make-believe. Although both sides
claimed to have had a good time, the hegemonic structure had been
tweaked, yet stayed firmly in place. 17S
Moreover, whites and Indians also exchanged bits of culture. Even
the most stubborn whites and Indians had to recognize that the other
group could offer them something. For instance, even as white-Indian
conflict continued in T e xas during the 1 8 80s, Oklahoma white women
learned medical care fr om Indians and, in turn, taught them to speak
English and to use white f a rming methods. As one Oklahoma settler
said, the Indians "acted fr iendly and we f o und that they were as good
as we were and couldn't help liking them." I79 Only occasionally were
such attitudes offset by a f e male settler who continued to think that
Indian were "nasty" people. S O
I
As a result of the land rushes in Oklahoma during the early 1890s,
scores of white settlers placed additional pressure on the landholdings
of the native population. Y e t white women were soon visiting with
Indians, admiring their honesty, and denying f e ar of them. l SI Anglo
women, who were protected f r om harm by their membership in the
dominant culture, spoke of sharing schools, towns, and reservation lands
with Indians in peace and fr iendship. I s2 For the most part, Indians con­
f o rmed to white expectations. As a result, only a fe w women judged
American Indians as wild, f e arsome, or possessing peculiar habits. I S3
Rarer yet were the women who remembered "uprisings" and "mas­
sacres." I S4 One such woman described the establishment of white
hegemony; she claimed that Indians, who may have scalped people "at
one time," quickly became "civilized." From her perspective, "Indians
were sure mean those days but later became our f r iends." I S5 Another
Oklahoma woman who migrated to the area in 1901 recalled only one
"bad" Indian, or nonconf o rmist who continued his resistance by ter­
rorizing settlers when inebriated. I s 6
The positive outlook of Oklahoma fr ontierswomen does not stand
alone. Some declared, as did Lucene Parsons, that "we have some fine
times with all our troubles." I S7 In 1 8 53, a single woman traveling with
an Oregon-bound party insisted her trip had a "refining and ennobling

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