Invites you to participate in dialogues with Diné medicine people on traditional gender roles and the epidemic violence against Navajo women that we are currently seeing on the Navajo Nation, in our communities, and the surrounding bordertowns. Navajo men were hunters, warriors and political leaders. Women took care of the children, they grew crops, and did chores. Navajo women shearing sheep, early 1900s. Men and women did different jobs in Navajo society. Men and women had different roles, but generally had equal rights. 7 Individuals were ascribed gender specific roles and responsibilities, which in many cases were based on egalitarian norms that included shared … Changing Woman, the principal deity of the Navajo religion, represents the many roles that a woman takes on in her lifetime. Audra Platero, a lifelong educator and principal of Tséhootsooi Diné Bi Ołta’ School in Fort Defiance, Arizona, said women traditionally held a variety of leadership roles. Navajo women were farmers, tended livestock, and also did most of the child care and cooking. Gender roles also existed in the arts. In a traditional introduction, a Navajo person will first introduce himself or herself by naming the maternal clan, followed by the paternal clan. What were men and women's roles in the Navajo tribe? These roles occurred in the home, extended family and community. "Women are the first gender, because Navajo is a matrilineal society. The men hunted, and when needed, went to war to protect the tribe. We Gender Roles of the Navajo (Reservation vs. Battlefield) Today, almost every American is familiar with the topic of World War II; however, few people are aware of the impact that Navajo men had on the war. Even artwork was separated by gender. The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission & the University of New Mexico’s American Studies Dept. Gender roles in America have never exactly been a question — rather, the way Americans divide in gender is pretty cut and dried. Among the Apache, men made tools for hunting and warfare while women made baskets. Men are the second gender; and the third gender is the nádleehí, who is born as a male person but functions in the role of a girl in early childhood and in the role of a woman in adulthood. Among the Diné (Navajo), men made jewelry while women were responsible for weaving. Today, around 25% of the Native American tribes that are recognized by the federal government are led by women. In some tribes, the chief was a man, but he was elected by the women. Take a ten question quiz about this page. Only men were chiefs in the Navajo tribe. Due to the secrecy of the Navajo recruitment in WWII, this lack of knowledge is prominent throughout the United States. 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