Every major achievement by a woman must be celebrated as a positive win for all. When my grandmother, the late Angeline Patrick from the Stellat’en First Nation, saw women playing hockey on television at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, she cheered with excitement and joy. This was a big deal for everyone at the time – especially for women across Canada. Every year, my grandmother watched our women play hockey and they did not disappoint.
This memory of my grandmother’s joy for women achieving great accomplishments returned recently when RoseAnne Archibald from the Taykwa Tagamou Nation claimed victory as the National Chief for the Assembly of First Nations. As the first woman National Chief for the Assembly of First Nations, it’s a long-awaited win and definitely a major win for all. Finally, after 31 years in politics, many of you can now read about the many achievements Archibald accomplished in her life. Accomplishing a major achievement for an Indigenous woman is no small feat.
Our small group from the University of Northern British Columbia doing a presentation for the 2021 annual meeting of the Native American Indigenous Studies Association discussed that traditionally Indigenous cultures accepted women as leaders. Patriarchy started through colonization and greatly changed governing systems throughout Indigenous communities.
At the Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assembly 2020 a resolution for “Ending Sexual Orientation and Gender-Based Discrimination within the Assembly of First Nations” passed with 12 objections. Looking through other resolutions for the Assembly of First Nations, it appears that resolutions passed rarely have many objections, maybe one or two objections but not 12. We know that every table should have space for a woman, but not every table does. Chiefs from across the country and many more chose to support Archibald in her victory because she deserved the win. Without an incredible amount of support, she would not be able to break down the patriarchy that lives and breathes in our societies.
Archibald’s nine-page document expresses direction towards positive change and exemplifies the vision needed for Indigenous peoples across Canada. The document focuses on healthy organizations, respecting Indigenous laws, community-driven prosperity, supporting the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and so on. We all know that this will not be an easy job for anyone. Many Canadians do want change and all governments need to step up to the plate. The federal government already fell short with two Indigenous women: Vancouver Granville MP Puglaas (Jody Wilson-Raybould) and Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq. Both Indigenous women spoke truth to power in their dealings with the federal government.
In my conversation with a very inspiring woman, we spoke about all the many Indigenous women who serve as great leaders to our communities. People sometimes do not realize how many Indigenous people, including women, have been working against constant barriers to make positive changes. First off, we will start with the obvious: the honoured Lheidli T’enneh elder Marguerite Gagnon who was known to many of us as Margaret Gagnon and she taught at the UNBC right up till her last years. Margaret Gagnon shared stories of resiliency and is the mother of Marcel Gagnon who received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from UNBC this year. Dr. Marcel Gagnon definitely holds the gift of sharing and storytelling in his own way. Sharing these gifts helps us all learn.
Two women from the Saik’uz First Nation also come to mind. Elders Sophie Thomas and Mary John Sr. both shared their knowledge through books that we still learn from to this day. Plants and Medicines of Sophie Thomas (2004) by Young and Hawley helps us understand the importance of respecting traditional medicines. The very inspiring author Bridget Moran worked with the Saik’uz First Nation as a social activist and quickly became an incredibly strong ally. Moran wrote the book, Stoney Creek Woman (1988) the true story of Mary John Sr. and her many experiences, telling a small but interesting part of our local history. We are very fortunate for the many elders who shared their knowledge and believed in working with their communities. We could not move forward without the trailblazers.
In our local communities right now, I am sure that you can all identify a few strong Indigenous women who are working very hard to create positive change. Right now, so many names come to mind, so many that I would not have enough space to write them all down here. Please recognize and acknowledge the accomplishments of women because the achievement of one person can help all of us. At the very least some achievements make us all very happy and appreciative that a woman can be the National Chief for the Assembly of First Nations in Canada. Some of us will remember the year 2021 as an accomplishment for all woman. I cannot forget that the Lheidli T’enneh elected their first female Chief in more than 50 years during this same year.
My Indigenous community traditionally allowed women to be leaders through the clan system. We even had different types of leaders. The traditional system worked and people took leadership roles through different capacities. I believe that my grandmother wanted women to be able to do anything because she held the traditional ways in her belief system. Sometimes we must take a deeper look to truly understand why we do not have as many women leaders in our communities. With that we must acknowledge and respect the women at the table.
Some people might believe that this story does not have to be told, but it does. If we had more women leaders, it might not have to be told. But as it stands, we need to be supporting women to become leaders on every level. We really do need to end sexual orientation and gender-based discrimination across Canada. This is not only about women because men can support women, we all can support women, learn from women, and work with women to accomplish goals and we all can celebrate in their achievements.
- Tannis Reynolds or Dzih Bhen from the Luksilyoo or Caribou Clan, is a member of the Stellat’en First Nation and a lecturer for the First Nations Studies Department at UNBC.
