Women of the First Nations

Power, Wisdom, and Strength

Overview

"From diversity comes strength and wisdom": this was the guiding principle for selecting the articles in this collection. Because there is no single voice, identity, history, or cultural experience that represents the women of the First Nations, a realistic picture will have many facets. Accordingly, the authors in Women of the First Nations include Native and non-Native scholars, feminists, and activists from across Canada.

Their work examines various aspects of Aboriginal women's lives from a variety of theoretical and personal perspectives. They discuss standard media representations, as well as historical and current realities. They bring new perspectives to discussions on Aboriginal art, literature, historical, and cultural contributions, and they offer diverse viewpoints on present economic, environmental, and political issues.

This collection counters the marginalization and silencing of First Nations women's voices and reflects the power, strength, and wisdom inherent in their lives.

About the Authors

Christine Miller taught Native American studies at California State University at Sacramento, University of California at Berkeley, and at the University of Lethbridge, where she held the rank of associate professor, retiring in 1992. She also spent time at the University of Leeds, England, as part of the Faculty Exchange Program and is a volunteer for various community agencies.

Patricia Chuchryk is associate professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Lethbridge, where she specializes in Latin American and women's studies. She has also taught at Red Crow College on the Blood Indian Reserve.

Table of Contents

1. Invocation: The Real Power of Aboriginal Women - Jeanette Armstrong
2. The Colonization of a Native Woman Scholar - Emma LaRoque
3. "La Vie en rose"? Metis Women at Batoche, 1870 to 1920 - Diane Payment
4. Subsistence, Secondary Literature, and Gender Bias: The Saulteaux - Laura Peers
5. First Nations Women of Prairie Canada in the Early Reserve Years, the 1870s to the 1920s: A Preliminary Inquiry - Sarah Carter
6. Life in Harmony with Nature - Beverly Hungry Wolf
7. An Examination of Sport for Aboriginal Females on the Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, from 1968 to 1980 - Vicky Paraschak
8. Aboriginal Women's Writing and the Cultural Politics of Representation - Julie Emberley
9. Art or Craft: The Paradox of the Pangnirtung Weave Shop - Kathy M'Closkey
10. Voices through Time - Betty Bastien
11. The Changing Employment of Cree Women in Moosonee and Moose Factory - Jennifer Blythe and Peggy Martin McGuire
12. The Exploitation of the Oil and Gas Frontier: Its Impact on Lubicon Lake Cree Women - Rosemary Brown
13. Gender and the Paradox of Residential Education in Carrier Society - Jo-Anne Fiske
14. Recommended Reading - Christine Miller