Published in 2011
240 pages
Kim Anderson is a Cree/Métis educator. She is an Associate Professor in Indigenous Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, Brantford, and is the author of A Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood, and is the co-editor, with Bonita Lawrence, of Strong Women Stories: Native Vision and Community Survival.
Maria Campbell is a distinguished Metis author, playwright, filmmaker, and Elder. Her works have been published in eight countries and translated into four languages. Her bestselling book, Halfbreed, continues to be taught in schools across Canada.
What is this book about?
Life Stages and Native Women explores how life stages and responsibilities of Métis, Cree, and Anishinaabe women were integral to the health and well-being of their communities during the mid- 20th century. The book is rich with oral history conducted with fourteen Algonquian elders from the Canadian prairies and Ontario. These elders share stories about the girls and women of their childhood communities at mid-century (1930–1960), and customs related to pregnancy, birth and post-natal care, infant and child care, puberty rites, gender, and age-specific work roles, the distinct roles of post-menopausal women, and women’s roles in managing death. The book concludes with a consideration of how oral historians’ memories can be applied to building healthier communities today. It is a fascinating and powerful book that will speak to all women.
