lecture 30: indigenous women & colonialism

impact of colonialism on indigenous women: (3)

• FN women suffer a double sense of discrimination on the basis of their race and gender

• characterized as either indian princesses or squaw

• extremely long history of oppression has dire consequences in the current period

squaw:

squalid - immoral woman who lived in a shack at the edge of town and her physical removal or destruction can be understood as necessary for the progress of civilization

indian princesses:

(think pocahontas) - saved or aided white men while remaining aloof/virtuous in a woodland paradise (colonizers dream)

fur trade experience: (5)

• it is clear that there was much rape, violence and abuse of indigenous women by the men in the fur trade

• there were many unions both french and english men and indigenous women, but the extent to which they can be constituted as marriage in either indigenous or non indigenous terms is much debated

• biggest issue is that when men left fur trade and returned to either montreal or england, they rarely took their indigenous partners with them - the ones from england never did

• some difference as to the children - boys often taken with fathers to scotland or montreal for education before returning to service the fur trade - girls were always left with mothers and would be brought up in anishinaabee or cree communities - explaining the matrilocal emphasis in what were to become metis communities

• relations were relatively accepted within the fur trade communities themselves but not often in the metropole from which traders came - traders would often return to metropole to marry non indigenous women

fur trade experience broadened: (3)

• problem with materials as there are no overall records about these relationships and so we have to deal with particular cases

• the situation changed after the union of the HBC/NWC in 1821 and governor simpson brought his wife to the red river settlement in 1830 - prior to this simpson made disparaging comments about his “bit of brown” and had children by indigenous women - lady simpson did not fair well in red river and left by 1833 but this opened the floodgates to prejudice, and discrimination against indigenous women as other men in the fur trade followed simpsons example

• white women particularly showed strong prejudices against women in such circumstances

2 examples - exceptions to the fur trade experience:

• david thompson (NWC map maker) took as his partner charlotte small (daughter of NWC trader and cree woman, raised cree) in 1799 - in 1812 he retired from NWC moving with charlotte to montreal where they were married, living for 58 years together, having 13 children

• daniel harmon (NWC) took lisette duval as a partner in 1805 - they moved to montreal in 1820 and remained together until his death in 1843, she died in montreal 1862

george nelson: (3)

interesting case because he had 2 fur trade marriages:

1. 1st ‘marriage’ was 1803-4 lasting 9 months - as a junior NWC clerk, it seemed it was a political marriage of convenience arranged by his senior wintering partner and a local anishinaabe chief (his daughter) - marriage ended when he returned to grand portage and was reprimanded by his NWC superior for taking a wife

2. 2nd marriage was 1808 at fort alexander, he married a woman of the anishinaabe loon clan - mary ann and they got married according to the anglican rite in sorel in 1825, she died in 1831 after 23 years together and 8 children

• case raises interesting questions about how and to what extent either of these were regarded as marriages in anishinaabe or in nonindigenous terms

Connolly case: (4)

• william connolly joined NWC in 1801, in 1803 he took cree woman suzanne to be his wife near nelson house - marriage lasted 29 years - in the summer of 1831, he and suzanned move to montreal and have 6 children - in 1832 leaves suzanne and marries julia woolrich taking her to his new posting at tadoussac - suzanne stays in montreal until 1841 when she goes to red river to live out her days in the grey nuns convent

• when connolly dies in 1848 he does not leave a nickel to suzanne’s children - suzanne’s son john, sues the estate for his share

• court rules: that a marriage contracted where there are no priests, magistrates, civil or religious authority, registers, may be proved by oral evidence, and that the admission of the parties combined with long cohabitation and repute will be the best evidence”

• john won his case - recognition of cree marriage custom as having legal status

government used a number of negative images of… (3)

indigenous women

• failure of agriculture on reserves was due to the incapacity of indigenous men to be anything other than hunters, warriors and nomads

• deplorable state of housing, lack of clothing/footwear, and high mortality rates blamed on indigenous women - as a hindrance to indigenous men; the women here as on nearly every reserve are a hindrance to the advancement of men - no sooner do men earn some money than the women want to go visit their relatives on some other reserve or else give a feast or dance for their friends

• after 1885 criticism of indigenous women was used to deflect any responsibility that the government might have

gov: FN women are the problem! (2)

• 1886 accusations that the government agents were involved in immoral behaviour with indigenous women - the agents sent to humiliate, to lower, to degrade and debase the virgin daughters of the wards of the nation

• problem with the NWMP - wondering why over 45% of the NWMP had venereal disease

blackfoot chief crowfoot complained that the…

farm instructor on their reserve demanded sexual favours from a young girl in return for rations - investigated and the instructor was dismissed

most of the white men killed by the cree at the battles of frog lake and battleford were because of their…

brutal treatment of indigenous women

most common response was to blame the women…

claimed that within plains societies wives were purchased and women were treated as virtual slaves - investigated by hayter reed (who had indigenous partners as well as a child from one of them), assistant commissioner of indian affairs = who could not find a shred of evidence (because he himself has multiple women OBVIOUSLY)

in the murder of indigenous women…

an 1889 case in calgary involved the vicious murder of a cree woman rosalie - the murderer confessed and turned himself in, but there were problems finding anyone who would serve as a jury - it took two trials to convict him and then he was given a lesser sentence

its clear thus that in the emerging settler society, the characterization of indigenous women…

as immoral and corrupting influence drew a strict social boundary - effectively kept indigenous women out of the towns and settlements - in 1886, 320 white women were surveyed and asked “do you experience any dread of the indians” to which nearly all replied saying that they rarely saw any

indigenous women: trapped (2)

• women were confined to the reserves, especially by the pass system, and restricted in their employment and marketing opportunities

• accustomed to a high degree of mobility about the landscape, indigenous women found the pass system not only restricted their traditional subsistence activities but also prevented them from seeking new jobs and resources

indian homemakers club: (3)

• beginning in 1937, dept of indian affairs promoted these clubs to teach indigenous women white values of cooking and housekeeping - dept actually supplied a sewing machine and $50 worth of supplies to new clubs - indigenous women promoted these clubs among themselves

• have to remember that indigenous women had been entirely disenfranchised by the indian act - like indian men they could not vote in any federal or provincial election, but they were also banned from participating in band elections or public meetings prior to 1951

• in a great example of resistance the women transformed the club and used them to their own purposes

2 ways FN women used the indian homemakers club for their own purposes:

1. they used them first for asserting a healthy community and providing social services within the community - raised funds and secured food, established community gardens - raised funds to build baseball fields and supply sports equipment - looked after indigent people, the elderly and sick children - ensured social services when no band or departmental funds were available

2. became a focus for women’s political organizations and able to pressure both the band councils and the dept - covert political participation