Page 207 - Confronting Race Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815 - 1915

FRONT I E R PLAC E : G E N D E R MATTERS

dancers, worried that the Indians had lured them within range of an
ambush. 168 Not only women cringed; men also f e lt the impalpable
aggression in Indian dances and f e ared possible outcomes. They were
correct; Native Americans who were "civilized" and ghettoized, many
on reservations, knew better than to express their antagonisms in fr ont
of whites. Dances and ceremonies allowed them to do so in an "accept­
able" way. Still, whites were concerned that bad fe elings might run amok.
During the 1860s, the Coloradoan Emma Hill described Indian dances
. held around fires and lasting late into the night as " dignified and impres­
sive." Y e t when American Indians requested permission fr om town
officials to present an exhibition war dance, these whites refused on the
grounds that the Indians would get "too excited" during the dance and
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would harm the settlers. 69
Even though some women were intimidated by Native Americans
attired in battle dress and acting in an aggressive and warlike manner,
they usually maintained their equilibrium. After all, such performances
emphasized that Indians were still the "other," whereas whites were
clearly dominant. The very f a ct of whites being "guests" at "interesting"
Indian ceremonials clearly spelled out who held the power and who did
not. Here, too, white women f o und it easier to adjust to individual
Indians than a large number of them. When Laura Johnson attended a
Sun Dance involving thousands of Sioux, she fo cused on the dancing
of one handsome and graceful native man. 170
Gradually, through social relations with Indian women, white
women learned to know and like Indian men, who were not as fr ight­
ening as they thought. Harriet Ward, f o r example, contradicted earlier
attitudes when she declared that her f r iends back home would "be sur­
prised to see me writing so quietly in the wagon alone . . . with a great,
wild looking Indian leaning his elbow on the wagon beside me, but I
have not a single f e ar except that he may f r ighten the horses."171
Relieved somewhat of their f e ars, women asked help of Indian men. 172
For instance, women turned to Indian medical practitioners to treat
themselves and children. When her daughter's f a ce got badly burned,
Caroline Phelps called in a native doctor who treated the child
effectively. In another case, a woman remarked that Indians cared fo r her
people "like a brother should treat a brother." On occasion, white

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