Chief Earth Woman

Chief Earth Woman was a nineteenth-century Ojibwa woman and a significant figure in Ojibwa history.^[1] She claimed that she had gained supernatural powers from a dream, and for this reason, accompanied the men on the warpath.^[2] While some Ojibwa warrior women responded to necessity, Chief Earth Woman chose to become a warrior, entering battle with the Sioux.^[3] Her dreams provided her fellow Ojibwa warriors with protection, and guided them through the battle.^[3] She confided with the leader that her dreams predicted the movements of the Sioux, aiding the Ojibwa in battle.^[4] In the battle, she succeeded in scalping an enemy, earning her traditional honors.^[4] Ruth Landes' research in the 1930s described Chief Earth Woman as one of few women to command a war party and receive the honors of a man,^[5] and later research by Colleen Sheryl McIvor places Chief Earth Woman within the tradition of the Anishinaabe Ogichidaakwe, or woman warrior.^[6]

She was born around 1878 near Waterloo, Ohio as Birtha Snyder, Snider or Snidow. She married a man named "White Owl" in 1893, and she frequently traveled from Ohio to Michigan. She lived in a place called "Old Man's Cave" while in Ohio.^{[citation needed]}

Chief Earth Woman's story is often associated as a parallel to those stories of Lozen and Running Eagle.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Buchanan, Kimberly Moore (1986). Apache Women Warriors. Texas Western Press, University of Texas at El Paso. ISBN 978-0-87404-157-6.
^ Niethammer, Carolyn (1995). Daughters of the Earth. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-82955-X.
^ ^a ^b Smith, Theresa S. (Spring 1999). ""Yes, I'm Brave": Extraordinary Women in the Anishnaabe (Ojibwe) Tradition". Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion. 15 (1): 51. JSTOR 25002351.
^ ^a ^b Wolf, Beverly Hungry (1982). The Ways of My Grandmothers. New York, New York: HarperCollins. pp. 169–170. ISBN 9780688004712.
^ Landes, Ruth (1938). The Ojibwa Woman (1997 ed.). University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-7969-8.
^ McIvor, Colleen (2014). Gikinoo'amaagowin Anishinaabeg (Teaching the Anishinaabe People) (Thesis). Winnipeg, Manitoba: University of Winnipeg. hdl:10680/744.

References

Further reading