In the last few weeks, I've had several discussions with people about matriarchy and patriarchy in social structures, matrilineal and patrilineal ways of viewing the world. And, what I've found out is rather amazing.
A lot of people think that matriarchy is the exact opposite in structure as patriarchy. Patriarchy is what most people see these days in dominant, mainstream societies -- being governed by men, having judiciaries dominated by men, children taking the man's last name, the old idea in the modern practice of coverture in Christian, straight marriage, the veneration of old white guys throughout history and the nearly-complete disregard to women's contribution to that history, etc, etc, etc.
Matriarchy, following this logic, would be the complete subjugation of men to women and follow the strict hierarchical structure inherent in patriarchy. I can see why matriarchy is such a scary idea to those deeply invested in patriarchy . . . and, I'm here to offer some reassurance by offering what matriarchy looked like in pre-contact Americas.