The purpose of this study has been to determine prevalent images of Native American female protagonists in Children's Literature from 1928-88, and to note trends in images during the past 60 years. A content analysis of 60 picture books and chapter books has been completed and presented in a descriptive and interpretative format. The most prevalent image of Native American female protagonists in children's literature is a traditional one. This image is consistent throughout the literature from 1928-88, and appears to be represented by both Native American and non-Native American authors and illustrators. Traditional-transitional images appeared between 1957 and 1967, while contemporary images first appeared in the 1970s. In general, the Native American female protagonists in this population of books are presented as strong and positive characters expressing a wide range of emotions. They are named, identified by tribe, and depicted as having multiple skills and interests. They are active and most often appear in rural and outdoor settings within the context of the extended family. Many protagonists are of Southwestern heritage, often depicted as Navajo or Pueblo girls of ages 4-13. Although female protagonists in this population of books are generally characterized as strong and positive, there are still too few books representing strong female Native American images in the whole of children's literature. This research confirms previous findings that Native American male protagonists outnumber female protagonists approximately 10 to 1. Native American authors and illustrators have created approximately one-third of the books in this population. There are 19 Native American authors and 21 Native American illustrators. The earliest books were published by large press; Native press has increased publication since 1975. This research confirms the need for more books featuring Native American female protagonists; more books depicting protagonists from diverse tribal backgrounds, in contemporary settings, urban environments and literate contexts; more books building on the oral tradition and legends of the Southwestern tribes; more involvement of Native American authors, illustrators and publishers in children's literature; and more mentoring of Native American developing authors.

Note: / Images of Indian women shared by explorers and traders of the Northwest significantly infl uenced early Canadian government Indian policy. Under the policy of wardship, these images developed into stereotypical views. The government's goals of protection, civilization and assimilation, pertaining to Indian women residing on prairie reserves from 1880 to 1930, were to be accomplished by restructuring the domestic economy on reserve. Government and churches attempted to c hange this economy through formal instruction of Indian women in the domestic skills. Later, attempts were made to teach them to be better mothers. The state's view of Indians as inadequate housekeepers and inattentive mothers reinforced efforts to alter the way of life on reserves. Moreover, the stereotype of domestic slovenliness served to mask causes of endemic tuberculosis on the reserves . By 1930, the Canadian state had intervened in most areas of Indian womens' lives. This occurred well before unive rsal social programs were established. / L'image de la femme Amerindienne qu'ont rapportee les explorateurs et les trappeurs du Nord-ouest a influence de facon significative les premieres politiques du gouvernemnt canadien a l'egard de mis en tutelle du gouvernement federeal transformera ensuite progressivement cette perception en stereotypes. Les objectifs du gouvernement ayant trait a la protection, a l'avancement et a l'assimilation des amerindiennes vivant sur les reserves des Prairies entre 1880 et 1930 devaient etre atteints par un restructuration de l'economie interieure des reserves. Le gouvernement et les pouvoirs religieux ont tente d'y parvenir en enseignant les arts menagers aux amerindiennes. Plus tard on tentera de leur ernsigner comment etre de meilleures meres.[...]

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Sarah Winnemucca, a Paiute Indian born around the year 1844, crossed cultural boundaries and became an influential voice within both white and Indian societies. This thesis employs a settler colonial framework that places the sexuality and rape of native women at the center of colonial relations in the settlement of the Americas. Viewed through this lens I perform an in-depth analysis of Winnemucca's gendered critique of colonialism that focused on sexual violence. Rather than the unstable, mixed messages of native resistance and assimilation emphasized by earlier scholars, I argue that Winnemucca purposefully employed a strategy of oppositional conformity to publicize an unwavering political message that championed Paiute sovereignty, exposed white cruelty, and re-wrote the dominant gendered, racial, political and cultural constructs that bound Native American women's identity. The introduction begins with a brief history of Winnemucca's life and accomplishments. In the introduction I also address the authenticity of Winnemucca's published narrative, Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims (1883) and identify the constraints of the settler colonial lens through which I view Winnemucca's public voice. In chapter one I argue that Winnemucca's narrative employs the gendered moral rhetoric of the colonizer to cultivate white audience receptiveness, while simultaneously criticizing whites for their brutality against Indians. In chapter two I assert that Winnemucca employed multiple political strategies to cut away at Euro-American settlers' moral justifications for colonialism, and that she articulated a unique vision of Paiute citizenship that rejected complete Indian assimilation. In chapter three I highlight the ways in which Winnemucca used her public voice to articulate rape and the sexuality of Indian women as a foundational part of colonialism hidden from view in the media coverage of the Indian wars of the late nineteenth century. Unlike her biographers, who mostly overlook Winnemucca's public challenge to the negative sexual stereotypes that plagued Indian women during Winnemucca's lifetime, I argue that Indian women's sexuality was a foundational theme in Winnemucca's public discourse. Winnemucca grasped and resisted the gendered dimensions of colonialism and her consistent focus on this theme echoed in her lived reality. Finally, I conclude that ultimately personal accusations as well as her inability to escape the heathen identity forced on Indians by Christian reformers thwarted the success of Winnemucca's political message.