To the Editor:

“Shirts Powdered Red: Haudenosaunee Gender, Trade, and Exchange across Three Centuries” is the title of the New Scotland Historical Association’s May program. It is also the title of Maeve Kane’s first book, published in 2003.

An associate professor at the University at Albany, Dr. Kane will speak to us at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 3, at the Wyman Osterhout Community Center in New Salem on 7 The Old New Salem Road. The public is invited to the free lecture. The program will be preceded by the historical association’s annual Meeting at 1:30 p.m.

In her book, Dr. Kane examines Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) women’s labor and consumer choices from first contact (approximately 1600) through the reservation period of the mid-19th Century (approximately 1860). 

The Haudenosaunee people are a matriarchal society who trace their roots through the women. However, following the Treaty of Paris of 1783, the United States diplomats, eager to establish their sovereignty over the Haudenosaunee people, ignored this and chose to negotiate only with the male leaders of these nations, often with ineffectual results.

Despite the attempt to silence them, female native leaders continued to assert their influence. By looking at the clothing that was bought, created, and remade, Maeve Kane brings to light how Haudenosaunee women used access to global trade to maintain a distinct and enduring Haudenosaunee identity in the face of pressure to relocate or to assimilate into the European-style culture; either way, to effectually disappear.

Dr. Kane’s research focuses on the social and economic history of gender, race, and culture content in early America with a focus on clothing as a site of conflict over religion, sovereignty, and political economy. 

Come and join us at 2 o’clock to hear about this intriguing part of our history. You are also encouraged to attend our historical association’s annual meeting at 1:30 to learn about our plans and vision for the future.

Judy Kimes

Publicist

New Scotland Historical Association