Southern Ute Women: Autonomy and Assimilation on the Reservation, 1887-1934 [Hardcover]

Katherine Osburn (Author), Mary Litchford (Author), Katherine Csburn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1998

After the passage of the Dawes Severalty Act in 1887, the Southern Ute Agency was the scene of an intense federal effort to assimilate the Ute Indians. The Southern Utes were to break up their common land holdings and transform themselves into middle-class patriarchal farm and pastoral families. In this assimilationist scheme, women were to surrender the considerable autonomy they enjoyed in traditional Ute society and become housebound homemakers, the “civilizers” of their fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons. Southern Ute Women shows that these women accommodated Anglo ways that benefited them but refused to give up indigenous culture and ways that gave their lives meaning and bolstered personal autonomy. In spite of federal policies that stripped women of many legal rights, Southern Ute women demanded participation in political, economic, and legal decisions that affected their lives and insisted on retaining control over their marital and sexual behavior.

(20080325)

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Historians of American Indians have devoted insufficient attention to the distinctive experiences of Native American women, although in recent years a number of scholars have made strides in reversing that trend. With Southern Ute Women, Katherine Osburn helps redress this gap in the historiography. . . . A thoughtful, incisive, and well-written monograph that does much to further our understanding of the dynamic lives of Native American women in the allotment era.”— Steve Amerman, Western Historical Quarterly

(Steve Amerman Western Historical Quarterly 20080325)

“A well-researched, clearly written account that adds to our understanding of the power dynamic between a dominating federal government and a subordinate, but not completely coerced, reservation population.”— Sherry L. Smith, Agricultural History

(Sherry L. Smith Agricultural History 20080325)

“[Southern Ute Women] makes a useful contribution to the growing body of scholarship on Native American women.”—Sara H. Hill, American Historical Review

(Sara H. Hill American Historical Review ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Katherine M. B. Osburn is a professor of history at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press; 1st edition (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826318622
• ISBN-13: 978-0826318626
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,388,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book on Native American Women, July 2, 2010

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This review is from: Southern Ute Women: Autonomy and Assimilation on the Reservation, 1887-1934 (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was interesting getting to know the Southern Ute women and to understand their culture better. I was inspired by these women of strength and courage. Very educational when it comes to a broad overview of the governments assimilation programs and how they affected Indian culture. Osburn really captures the essence of the Southern Ute women and what they suffered at the hands of reservation life and government boarding schools. We can all learn from the culture of these people. If you buy this book make sure you get the newest edition as it has a new forward by the author that has even more information regarding the plight of Native American women.