Members of the Syracuse community gathered at Syracuse Stage on Tuesday night to listen to a discussion about how American Indians influenced the women’s rights movement in the United States.

More than 250 people came to the event, titled ‘Visionary Women: The Haudenosaunee and the U.S. Women’s Rights Movement,’ with guests Jeanne Shenandoah of Onondaga Nation’s Eel Clan and Sally Roesch Wagner, a leading scholar on the women’s suffrage movement.

The event, which is the second of 12 in a series titled ‘Onondaga Land Rights and Our Common Future,’ was sponsored by Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation, along with various organizations at Syracuse University, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and organizations within the community.

Linda Alcoff, the director of the women’s studies program at SU, welcomed everyone in attendance and said her department helped sponsor the event because it is important to correct the history of the women’s rights movement in America and to provide this information to the Syracuse community.

Wagner started by describing the lifestyle of American women in the 19th century, which was radically different from the lifestyle of American Indian women. She said one of the responsibilities of the American husband was to ensure his wife went to heaven, thus he was allowed to beat his wife in order to maintain her obedience.

‘Law and church made sure (women) knew where (their) place was,’ Wagner said. ‘Husbands had legal responsibility to chastise their wives.’

Wagner said unless permanent injury was inflicted, the husband was within his rights to keep domestic tranquility at the home. She also gave an analogy to help describe the husband and wife relationship.

‘The wife stood in relation to her husband as the husband stood in relation to Christ,’ Wagner said.

Wagner said women had no say in government, could not sue or be sued and could not vote. Women were to be submissive to their husbands, and if dissatisfied with this, women were labeled heretics and unable to be good wives and mothers.

Shenandoah said when women from outside the American Indian community moved into the Onondaga Nations community, they were surprised how everyone in the community had equal rights.

In the Onondaga Nation, there are two spokespeople for every clan, comprised of one male and one female, Shenandoah said. These spokespeople carry all the important duties of the clan, including looking after the children and making sure all ceremonies are performed correctly.

Because of this co-leadership between a male and a female, there is a balance of power between both genders, a balance of power unlike normal 19th century home life.

‘Its not that women had the power,’ Shenandoah said. ‘Men and women are all equally human people and are responsible to live together.’

Shenandoah said the same balance of power still exists in the Onondaga Nations today, and has been part of the reason why the Onondaga Nations have continued to survive.

‘We’re still here and we’ll always be here,’ Shenandoah said. ‘We’re about 12 minutes away. We all need to know more about each other and be friends.’

Wagner would not confirm the American Indian lifestyle was the main influence for the women’s rights movement in America, but said it provided the women with courage and gave them the strength to do it.

Shenandoah closed the evening by telling those in attendance that a balance of power should exist everywhere, and not restricted to the Onondaga Nations.

‘You have equal rights to be on this Earth,’ Shenandoah said. ‘We have to keep that in our minds all the time. That’s why I am so glad you are here. We all need to carry the load together.’

Published on March 7, 2006 at 12:00 pm