A review by upnorth
Sisters in Spirit: Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Influences on Early American Feminists by Sally Roesch Wagner

2.0

There is some very interesting and enlightening material here, and it's worth a look for the citations. But it often comes off as a somewhat disorganized scramble of assertions, some with clear solid evidence, some much more murky, some that come off as wishful thinking. I was stopped by her assertion that Elizabeth Miller was inspired by Seneca clothing to invent her reform dress (promoted by Amelia Bloomer). Wagner is not a dress historian, and is clearly just looking at images of Seneca women in long tunics, and leggings which tie above the knee. She has no other evidence than proximity. Turkish/Ottoman influence in feminist reform dress goes back to the early 18th century, is very well documented, and the trousers under the short dress were referred to as "Turkish" by the suffragists and by the international press. That section called into question for me to what degree this author lost her critical eye, and fell into the easy temptation of looking for proof of her preconceptions. Again, there is plenty of solid evidence here of clear and genuine influences, but perhaps stretched too far in places, and I'd love to see a more rigorous scholar dig deeper.