Sisters in Spirit

Book excerpt: This groundbreaking examination of the early influences on feminism may revolutionize feminist theory. Distinguished historian and contemporary feminist scholar Sally Roesch Wagner has compiled extensive research to analyze the source of the revolutionary vision of the early feminists.Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Lucretia Mott had formed friendships with their Native neighbors that enabled them to understand a world view far different, and in many ways superior, to the patriarchal one that existed at that time. This is the provocative and compelling history of their struggle to bring equality and dignity to all women, and the role played by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) women who modelled the position women could occupy in society.