Page 91 - Confronting Race Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815 - 1915

FRONTIER P H I L OSOPHY: EUROPEAN DISCOURSE

rather than use more dignified terms comparable to "Indian," "brave,"
or "chief," which referred to Indian men. Given the harsh connotation
of the term squaw, this European usage suggests not only ignorance
about the word's meaning but the existence of a negative prejudgment
ofIndian women. 146When they encountered f e male Indians, Europeans
again were determined to see what they expected to see.
Even though Europeans categorized Indian women as Indians and
as squaws, they also recognized them as women. Thus, although these
observers viewed Indian women as inferior f e males, they were still inter­
ested in some of the issues that had concerned them regarding white
women. As a result, many of the Europeans who mentioned Indian
women were sexist, paying inordinate attention to physical appearance,
beauty, and dress. Some characterized Indian women as "seldom ugly,"
but others described native women as" quite lovely." 147 Still others noted
beautiful women in certain tribes. A French naval officer thought that
Louisiana Indians had "beautiful wives"; a German novelist said that
Choctaw women had "beautiful figures"; and a French traveler declared
that Lake Erie Indian women were "the most comely savages I had yet
seen." I48 During the r840s, the English author Frederick Marryat
described Comanche women as "exquisitely clean, good-looking, and
but slightly bronzed." Marryat also compared f a vorably Shoshone
women to graceful Arabian women. 149
Such comments do not fit well with the accepted image of the
squaw and were indeed an expression of a minority viewpoint. Most
Europeans seemed quite convinced that American Indian women were
dirty, ugly, and unattractive creatures. They shared de T o cqueville's view
that there were no "passable" Indian women, and they offered a variety
of explanations f o r the situation. ISO The hard work performed by Indian
women was f r equently given as the cause of early aging and ugliness. 151
Uncleanliness was also suggested as a reason f o r what seemed to some
viewers the disgusting appearance of Indian women. 152 Whatever the
reason, European men reached similar conclusions. During the 1 8 30s, a
German scientist, Prince Maximilian of Wi ed, consistently character­
ized women of various tribes in the upper Missouri River region as
ugly, plain in appearance, and unappealing in dress and personal
hygiene. I53 Another early nineteenth-century traveler summarized his