CAFFREY, MARGARET M. “Complementary Power: Men and Women of the Lenni Lenape.” The American Indian Quarterly 24, no. 1 (2000): 44. Gale Academic OneFile (accessed February 20, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A63537180/AONE?u=temple_main&sid=AONE&xid=4ed851d1.
Scope- The purpose is to investigate how gender roles were complimentary in Lenape society.
Argument- The role of man and woman in Lenape society is complimentary rather than being a complete patriarchy or matriarchy. Gender was far less rigid than the Lenape’s colonial settler counterparts.
Significance- This source affirms what sort of roles women took on, what type of customs and traditions they participated in, as well as what kind of authority they held. By gaining this base level knowledge of women in Lenape society, I can compare and contrast how they are presented in various Lenape myths, legends, and spirituality.
Evidence- The author uses a mixture of primary and secondary sources. Primary sources include William Penn and missionary David Zeisberger while secondary entail See Lee Sultzman and Gabriel Thomas. Upon looking at this articles sources, I would like to find more articles either written by a Lenape tribe member or based off of written/spoken accounts of the Lenape people. Most of the primary sources come from missionaries trying to convert the Lenape people or neighboring settlers. Being that these individuals did not grow up in the tribe, they are bound to get some details wrong or misinterpret the culture as they view it from Western eyes. Though I still find this article to helpful in my research, I think comparing this to an article more intimately tied to the Lenape perspective will give me a clearer view of what life was like for Lenape women and its relationship to myth.