Aboriginal Native Women

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Native Women Reclaiming their lives and communities
Conclusion
References
Footnotes

Introduction

There exists a vast difference amongst different Aboriginal peoples within their cultures and situations within the communities. This seems to contradict the type of relationship they have with the visiting or colonizing societies. This situation leads to some sort of strenuous relationship and struggle of survival between the two parties.

The two parties struggle to protect their own basic principles based on the foundations of the society unique heritage and their natural ways of life. Within the contemporary society many Indigenous people have adopted the Canadian government’s label of ‘aboriginal’. This comes as a result of the culture adopted from the colonial governments through which most of the societies governing policies were derived from. This provided away through which the state subsumed indigenous existences into its own governing systems^[1].

Native Women Reclaiming their lives and communities

Kim Anderson, author and educator, explains the title of her book as “There comes a point in the definition of Aboriginal womanhood where we must make sense of how ancestral traditions can fit into our modern lives. This is the “re-cognitive” part of our recognition of being, the part where we actively construct modern Native female identities” (Anderson, 2000, p.193). At the same time, one of the many steps in the process of self- definition is given as “resist, reclaim, construct and act” (Anderson, 2000, p.15).

The explanation and documentation of this process forms the main part of the book. The effect brought about by the colonizing group is briefly discussed within the context of background within one chapter. While recognizing the current and past effects of violence and confusion, the author gives clear impression based on “strength, power and beauty of Native womanhood” (Anderson, 2000, p. 14).

The author further emphasizes her open minded approach by illustrating, “an Aboriginal method contexualizing knowledge” (Anderson, 2000, p. 21) which gives more meaning to the oral knowledge of Native communities. In the process of writing and stressing on the topic through explicit bibliography, she mostly refers to her interviews with forty Aboriginal women whom she gives their brief life histories at the end of the text. This presents majority of the people from indigenous nations.

There are various famous writers and recognized scholars Included within the discussion of the text such as Emma LaRocque, Lee Maracle among others. Anderson’s expansive research into different ways of reconstructing Native womanhood does not offer definitions of the role of Native women today but explores recognition of being, explained as “an on going exercise” this is discussed within the preamble.

Instead of drawing a conclusion and giving answers to the question under discussion, she draws her readers’ attention into a process which continues beyond the book. Her primary audience may be female Native readers, but any reader concerned about responsibility is challenged to answer her question: “What will you do with the knowledge you have gained?” (Anderson, 2000, p.49) ^[2].

She argues from the feminist standpoint that women are still put into their demeaning roles of being the primary care takers. This is because of the European influence that defined the Aboriginal women’s traditional roles in a manner that advocated for displacement.

These roles frustrated women’s influence within the traditional society and full reliance where women were expected to depend on their men for almost everything they required. This further led to the development of current institution of nuclear family (Anderson, 2000, p. 62)^[3].

Anderson argues in the perspective that Women are always compelled to action because of their commitment of securing a future for their children and grandchildren as First Nations people. She asserts that women are normally distressed at the interference of the environment that negatively impacts their values and culture. They become very much concerned about protecting the rights of the First Nations people.

Women are normally excluded from formal decision making and negotiations that at the same time affects their lives and rights. This is what makes them at times to seek the interventions of peaceful resistance of demonstrations. It is true that Anderson asserts that women focuses on the gendered approach towards their struggles on issues like male dominated leadership within communities (Anderson, 2000, p. 61).

The book asserts that the existence of Aboriginal women was as a result of acts of survival instituted against colonizing nations. This was aimed at taming the Native communities both culturally and politically. The author indicates that women are faced with the challenge of ‘being indigenous’.

This is because there are still forms of modernism where the community views issues in the perspective of dominating practices derived from the colonizers. These practices based on cultural perspective form one of the crucial questions facing the aboriginal women within the contemporary society.

She argues that traditional teachings indicated that Aboriginal women since time immemorial engaged in clear and important roles which ensured good governance and wellness as well as the key responsibilities grounded in their core belief systems. The effects of the impacts of ‘power over’, which is a trait of colonization, and how these impacts have harmed Aboriginal women beliefs, have been well stated within the governing laws.

According to the author racist and genocidal rules and policies were used to intentionally suppress and dominate Aboriginal women at every decision-making level within the respective communities. This led to some extent a compromising attitude towards traditional roles, as well as their active involvement within the society. She argues that the Aboriginal women became the targets of violence and discrimination on every sector within the society (Anderson, 2000).

Loew Patty’s Indian Nations of Wisconsin is a book that examines the impact of women and general public from a Native perspective on how Wisconsin’s Indian Nations underwent dire suffering and the way they are still fighting towards overcoming unjust actions instituted against them.

Loew, a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, does not focus on claiming her work to be an explicit examination of women’s tribal history, but instead sees her work as one of the processes of describing the nature of the Aboriginal heritage.

The reason is because she focuses on the process of educating the public and join in celebrating Native American survival. The book is organized in such a way that there is use of few footnotes, but generally the text outlines explicitly the unique nature of women and the general Native people and the way they conquered amidst assimilating rules and regulations from the Americans (Loew, 2001).

The women showed their dominance on the rights of existence based on their unique cultures. The Author narrows her discussions on twelve nations including Brothertown, Oneidia and others including the six bands of Ojibwe that have formed part of Wisconsin for along time.

Within the initial stages of the book, there is examination of early lifestyle of the people including the women and their first interactions with the foreigners who were the Europeans. The chapters that follow discuss the nature of the tribal heritage within Wisconsin. Her conclusions on the basis of economic development are up-to date granting the chance for further discussion on the way towards ensuring the survival of women and the Native communities.

This includes their rights within their various communities and the manner through which positive mental attitude and relationship could be cultivated between the Native community and the non-native communities (Loew, 2001)^[4].

The book under review is basically based on Loew’s doctoral research on variety of sources within the society. By making extensive use of Native sources based on cultural context, the author clearly brings Aboriginal voices to b e heard within the community. One of the shortcomings is that the author’s comments on references have no indication that most of the recorded speeches were not from the native community.

This brings the assumption that all the sources provided within the text were sourced from the cultural perspective of the native community. The book brings out clear history of the Aboriginal community including women and gives clear indications on the rich cultural background set by the natives of the Indian Nations (Loew, 2001)^[5].

The Indian Act of 1867 was influenced by European colonial thinking and implemented with the aim of assimilating the First Nations people. This was done with the aim of freeing up resources especially land and avoid some unnecessary conflicts.

The author describes the way in which Indian Act negatively influenced First Nations women and girls more than any other group. The influence was felt so much on the negative attitudes that the native had towards colonial power that affected their women. The book based on the Indian Act exemplifies the traditional notions common to this dispensation.

In other words the text explains the particular established laws and policies that were used in identifying the true women Natives and their status originating mostly from the male. The context of the book brings out clear view on common practices of the European societies that were contradictory to the common Native practices. This is whereby the identity of the children and community rights were known to pass through the female line of descent (Loew, 2001).

Conclusion

Aboriginal women are central and integral forces in the success of revitalizing the system of advocating for equal rights amongst human beings. The authors indicate the processes on how Aboriginal women, supported by their men takes constructive actions towards reviving Egalitarian systems.

There is the description on the way Aboriginal women have been calling on the community to understand their way of being, hence unite and create formidable action that aims at reviving the Native cultural ways of handling their community members. This includes the administration of equal rights amongst both men and women. According to the authors, Aboriginal women are on the process of reclaiming and reviving women’s traditional social and political roles based on Egalitarian societies.

This appears to make them resume their realistic roles towards full participation in every level of governance. This according to the authors, led to the rising of strong Aboriginal women who were actively involved in reviving their ‘way of being’ through involvement in active movements that championed for the protection of Aboriginal women against any kinds of abuses (Loew, 2001).

References

Anderson, K. (2000). Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood. Toronto: Second Story Press

Loew, P. (2001). Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press

Footnotes

Loew, Patty. Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2001 , ix-xii, 148 pp., illustrations, maps, bibliography, index, ISBN 0-87020-332- 0, Paper CDN$29.61.
Anderson, Kim. Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood. Toronto: Second Story Press, 2001
Anderson, Kim. Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood. Toronto: Second Story Press, 2001
Loew, Patty. Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2001, ix-xii, 148 pp., illustrations, maps, bibliography, index, ISBN 0-87020-332-0, Paper CDN$29.61.
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