Life Stages and Native Women: Memory, Teachings, and Story Medicine (Critical Studies in Native History Book 15)

A rare and inspiring guide to the health and well-being of Aboriginal women and their communities. The process of “digging up medicines” - of rediscovering the stories of the past - serves as a powerful healing force in the decolonization and recovery of Aboriginal communities. In Life Stages and Native Women, Kim Anderson shares the teachings of fourteen elders from the Canadian prairies and Ontario to illustrate how different life stages were experienced by Metis, Cree, and Anishinaabe girls and women during the mid-twentieth century. These elders relate stories about their own lives, the experiences of girls and women of their childhood communities, and customs related to pregnancy, birth, 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. Through these teachings, we learn how evolving responsibilities from infancy to adulthood shaped women's identities and place within Indigenous society, and were integral to the health and well-being of their communities. By understanding how healthy communities were created in the past, Anderson explains how this traditional knowledge can be applied toward rebuilding healthy Indigenous communities today. Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 10 Foreword by Maria Campbell 16 Introduction- Digging Up the Medicines 24 “How It Was”: Looking for Native Women’s History 27 Life Cycle Teachings of the Anishinaabek 28 Overview of the Book 32 Chapter 1 - Weaving the Stories 36 Purpose: Listening for Stories that “Work like Arrows” 39 Building on Relationships 41 Responsibilities 44 Working with the Historian Participants 45 Chapter 2 - People and Places 48 Michif, Nēhiyawak, Anishinaabek: Locating the Oral Historians 48 The Times 49 Introducing the Oral Historian Participants 53 Chapter 3 - The Life Cycle Begins: From Conception to Walking 59 Maintaining the Life Line 60 Family Planning 61 Pregnancy: A Sacred Time 63 Birth and the Celebration of New Life 67 Postnatal Care 70 Naming the Baby 73 Caring for Infants 77 Care for the Spirit 78 Physical Care 79 “Walking Out”: The Toddler Years 83 Conclusion 84 Chapter 4 - The “Good Life” and the“Fast Life”: Childhood and Youth 86 The “Good Life”: Nurturing, Discipline, Self-Reliance,and Interdependence 87 Teaching Discipline and Self-Discipline 88 Childrearing: “It Takes a Community” 91 Reciprocity 94 Uncles and Aunts 95 Discipline and Self-Discipline 97 Work 101 School 103 The “Fast Life”: Moving into Adolescence 104 Fasting 106 Conclusion 116 Chapter 5 - Adult Years: The Women’s Circle 118 Entering the Women’s Circle 119 Managing the Resources: Work Within the Women’s Circle 125 Food Management and Security 125 Clothing 129 Working for Pay 131 Keepers of Relationships: Collectivism and Kinship 133 Sexuality, Courting, and Marriage 139 Conclusion 146 Chapter 6 - Grandmothers and Elders 147 General Roles and Responsibilities for the Elder Years 148 Beginning with the Physical: Aging 152 Leadership and Governance 155 Teaching 164 Managing the Health of the Community 168 Doorkeepers to the Spirit World 175 Catching New Life 175 Closing Life 177 Conclusion 180 Conclusion - Bundling the Layers: Building on the Strengths of the Pastto Take Us into the Future 182 Layer One: The Power of Women and Girls 183 Layer Two: Connecting the Stories to Life Stage Theory 186 Layer Three: Contributions to the Health and Well-Being ofNative Communities 188 Layer Four: Applying Story Medicine, Today, and into the Future 190 Notes 201 Introduction 201 Chapter 1: Weaving the Stories 203 Chapter 2: People and Places 207 Chapter 3: The Life Cycle Begins 208 Chapter 4: The “Good Life” and the “Fast Life” 211 Chapter 5: Adult Years 214 Chapter 6: Grandmothers and Elders 217 Conclusion: Bundling the Layers 219 Bibliography 220 Index 228 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. Rediscovering the stories of the past serves as a healing force in the decolonization and recovery of Aboriginal communities. Anderson shares the teachings of elders from the Canadian prairies and Ontario to illustrate how different life stages were experienced by Meþtis, Cree, and Anishinaabe girls and women during the mid-twentieth century. Anderson explains how this traditional knowledge can be applied toward rebuilding healthy Indigenous communities today Rediscovering the stories of the past serves as a healing force in the decolonization and recovery of Aboriginal communities. Anderson shares the teachings of elders from the Canadian prairies and Ontario to illustrate how different life stages were experienced by Métis, Cree, and Anishinaabe girls and women during the mid-twentieth century. Anderson explains how this traditional knowledge can be applied toward rebuilding healthy Indigenous communities today