Since the Little Ice Age thousands of years ago, the Indigenous nations east of the Mississippi River traditionally spent the Winter time telling stories, feasting, gambling, and generally making merry until the work of spring arrived--and along with their contemporary lifestyles, they still do! With the cold, wet winters of the American northeast, it is no surprise that, like people today, Native nations in pre-colonial times stayed indoors and were focused on keeping warm, eating well, and having fun. And that they did! Think three month party! When you live within a social structure where there is no working class or elite class, this type of life is possible. Everyone pulls together to live well.
In the Eastern Woodlands nations, winter is the time of Woman. To these nations, the cosmos are understood to be twinned and gendered, for example, Mother Earth/Father Sky. Hence, Winter is the time of Woman; Summer is the time of Man. In their cultural cosmology, winter is the most "woman" time of the year (turtles, resting, storytelling, lawmaking, grassroots politics) as summer is the most "man" time of year (eagles, traveling, international diplomacy, sporting events). This is called a world or galaxy based on the premise of Gender Complementarity or sacred, balanced halves. Yes, it is a highly-evolved, long-practiced social structure that is egalitarian. Two-Spirited people (2LGBTQ) fall within the continuum between the woman/man poles: these folks were not socially excluded or diminished before the European immigrants arrived. See my previous blog on Same-Sex Marriage for more information about this.
...
