In this respect, Crow society in the nineteenth century was not an egalitarian utopia.

It had gender norms, and those norms were enforced through social pressure and expectation.

And yet Woman Chief rose through that society to a position of genuine leadership.

This was not accomplished despite Crow culture but through it — the Crow system of recognizing achievement, rewarding bravery, and following capable leaders had within it the capacity to recognize exceptional ability wherever it appeared.

The Crow also had a documented tradition of individuals who occupied gender-diverse roles — people who lived between or outside the binary of male and female that European observers tried to impose on what they saw.