Page 93 - Confronting Race Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815 - 1915

F R O N T I E R PH I L OSOP HY: E U R OPEAN DISCOURSE

Clearly the contradiction between the "good" Indian and the "bad"
Indian affected Europeans' interpretations of Native American women.
W e re they pure, simple, lovely princesses clothed in exotic attire, or were
they ugly, filthy, ragged squaws who deserved extermination? It seemed
easier f o r Europeans to adopt the first view while reading a romanticized
novel, sitting by a warm fire somewhere on the continent, than when
they were traveling through the American West observing real women.
Arriving as they did with specific ideas about how women, even those
of a supposedly inferior race, should act and be treated, Europeans were
troubled by what they saw. Superficial topics, such as physical appearance
and dress, created problems fo r them; but when they considered deeper
issues, such as sexual behavior and marriage customs among Indian
groups, their responses ranged f r om rationalization to acrimony.
Sexual relations between American Indian women and white men
particularly evoked a complex spectrum of reactions f r om Europeans.
One quandary concerned whether white men should cohabit with or
marry native women. From the time of John Rolfe and Pocahontas,
Europeans believed that Providence sent white men to guide and fu lfill
American Indian women in a way that Indian men were incapable of
doing.I65 Because Pocahontas was considered an Indian "princess" who
was presented to the royal court in London, having an Indian woman in
a f a mily could bring it honor. In 1 8 37, Marryat noted in his diary that a
chief's daughter had brought heraldry into a white f a mily and that the
Randolphs ofVirginia still boasted of their association with Pocahontas.
Further, Marryat noted that there were practical reasons fo r an alliance
between a white man and a native woman. "They labour hard, never
complain," he claimed, "are always f a ithful and devoted, and very spar­
ing of their talk."I66 Indian women could also ease a white man's way
among Indians. I67 Some women even brought with them land rights or
other kinds of income. According to von Raumer, "many improvident
or dissolute whites marry Indian girls in order to share their income." 168
It was also said that a white man could obtain a mistress or a wife
by purchasing her with ponies, liquor, or baubles. 169 This assertion, how­
ever, was largely a misunderstanding of the Indian custom of compen­
sating a woman's parents f o r her loss. One male writer who understood
the concept behind the bride price was the novelist Percy B. St.John in

8 5