Restoring the balance : First Nations women, community, and culture / Gail Guthrie Valaskakis, Madeleine Dion Stout, and Eric Guimond, editors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Valaskakis, Gail Guthrie.

Stout, Madeleine Dion.

Guimond, Éric.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indian women--Canada--Social conditions.

Indian women.

Indian women--Canada--History.

Women in community development--Canada.

Women in community development.

History.

Social conditions.

Canada.

Physical Description:

xviii, 379 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Winnipeg : University of Manitoba Press, [2009]

Summary:

First Nations peoples believe the eagle flies with a female wing and a male wing, showing the importance of balance between the feminine and the masculine in all aspects of individual and community experiences. Centuries of colonization, however, have devalued the traditional roles of First National women, causing a great gender imbalance that limits the abilities of men, women, and their communities in achieving self-actualization.

Restoring the Balance brings to light the work First Nations women have performed, and continue to perform, in cultural continuity and community development. It illustrates the challenges and successes they have had in the areas of law, politics, education, community healing, language, and art, while suggesting significant options for sustained improvement of individual, family, and community well-being.

Written by fifteen Aboriginal scholars, activists, and community leaders, Restoring the Balance combines life histories and biographical accounts with historical and critical analyses grounded in traditional thought and approaches. It is a powerful and important book.

Contents:

Theme 1 Historic Trauma 11

Trauma to Resilience: Notes on Decolonization / Cynthia C. Wesley-Esquimaux 13

Contributions that Count: First Nations Women and Demography / Cleo Big Eagle, Eric Guimond 35

First Nations Women's Contributions to Culture and Community through Canadian Law / Yvonne Boyer 69

Theme 2 Intellectual and Social Movements 97

Leading by Action: Female Chiefs and the Political Landscape / Kim Anderson 99

Creating an Indigenous Intellectual Movement at Canadian Universities: The Stories of Five First Nations Female Academics / Jo-ann Archibald 125

Reflections on Cultural Continuity through Aboriginal Women's Writings / Emma LaRocque 149

Sisters in Spirit / Anita Olsen Harper 175

Theme 3 Health and Healing 201

Heart of the Nations: Women's Contribution to Community Healing / Marlene Brant Castellano 203

A Relational Approach to Cultural Competence / Gaye Hanson 237

Theme 4 Arts, Culture, and Language 265

A Culture of Art: Profiles of Contemporary First Nations Women Artists / Viviane Gray 267

Looking for Stories and Unbroken Threads: Museum Artifacts as Women's History and Cultural Legacy / Sherry Farrell Racette 283

The Role of First Nations Women in Language Continuity and Transition / Mary Jane Norris 313.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [355]-379).

ISBN:

9780887551864

0887551866

9780887557095

0887557090

OCLC:

277205557