Max Dashu recognizes powerful, historical women

Max Dashu, the founder of Suppressed Histories Archives, paid a visit to MHCC on March 20. Students and faculty alike crowded the Student Union to hear about historical women in power, from around the globe. The AAUW (American Association of University Women) chapter and Mt. Hood’s humanities department sponsored the event.

After Angie Andersen, AAUW chapter president and student worker for the Diversity Resource Center, and Lindsay Patino welcomed the audience, Dashu jumped into her presentation.

Slide after slide she presented covered various women leaders, liberators, shamans, and icons. Many slides revealed statues and monuments that prove the historical recognition of powerful women, in several civilizations. Dashu broke down the two different sects of society: patriarchs and matriarchs.

Patriarchal societies are vastly male-dominated. Males rule, and the lineage and inheritance are in their honor. In matriarchal societies, however – which are more prevalent than westerners realize – women are the leaders and the most important sex of ancient civilizations.

Even some patriarchal societies recognized women as key, vital figures that hold the community together. Many of the slides showed female breasts, which in ancient times were a sign of power and fertility, whereas now most people view them sexually.

Dashu stressed on women being influential in trade, in religious rituals, and even in battle, such as the Greek Amazons. In ancient societies, women were the founders of nations and kingdoms.

In the presentation, she said, “Another really dramatic example of female founders comes from the Sahara; the Tuareg or the Amulet people talk about Tin Hinan and she is the founder of their nation who journeyed from Morroco all the way to central Sahara and there is a tomb of hers that dates to about the fourth century which has been excavated. The French actually confiscated all of the stuff but she was still revered through all those centuries since and remembered oral tradition as a female founder.

“Orature is an important concept … instead of literature, you’ve got oral tradition,” Dashu continued. “There’s sort of a colonial disrespect for oral tradition of the Moari in the Pacific and all these nations but they have histories that have been authenticated. Just as the biblical oral histories were later written down, (oral traditions) contain pieces of information that have been authenticated by archeology.”

The Suppressed Histories Archives illuminate these oral traditions, legends, and archeology that haven’t been regularly taught. As Dashu explained early on, when we think of kings, religious leaders, soldiers, or any great historical icon, we picture men.

These discoveries challenge the western idea that women have always been subservient to men.

Andy Gurevich, Mt. Hood humanities instructor, and Melinda Bullin, director of the DRC, played a crucial part in bringing Dashu to campus.

“Basically, I started following her on Facebook,” said Gurevich. “We kinda developed a rapport over the last couple years. I met with Melinda and started talking about what we could do.

He noted that the teamwork with the DRC could help bring other stimulating campus visitors.

“I really think the collaborations between different departments are a sign of health for the college because it adds to the effectiveness to the events,”  he said.

Gurevich credited Dashu as being an amazing activist. “I call her the Howard Zinn of feminism. I think she was for feminist issues as Zinn was for class and race issues.”

Bullen also celebrated the event.

“When we learned about Max Dashu and her expertise with histories that have been lost or hidden by dominant groups (who are the writers of history!), we jumped at the chance for her to present on women who have led, conquered and changed the world,” said Bullin. “It was also a great program to celebrate Women’s History Month.”