Gathering brings Aboriginal women together

Page 8

International Women's Day is an event that has been observed around the world for over 80 years. Tracing its beginnings back to the early 20th century women's rights movements in North America and Europe, the day was originally envisioned as a time for asserting female political and social rights. Over its long history, it has evolved into a day of celebration, a day to review the undeniable progress women have made in society.

On March 8, Wanuskewin Heritage Park hosted an International Women's Day gathering for Aboriginal women, and though celebrations did play a part in the event, attendees also returned to the principals the day was founded on, discussing the rights and privileges that to them still remain frustratingly out of reach.

"Our voices are always silent, someone is always speaking for us. Our participation in our communities is low," said Darlene Okemaysim, an employee of the department of Native Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, and one of the members of the committee that organized the event.

"It's a double-edged sword, the fact that we are women and we are Aboriginal, we have two strikes against us. Having to live in this dual reality, many of us face problems in maintaining our identities."

These are also the conclusions made by the Saskatchewan Women's Secretariat, a provincial government agency that works to achieve social, economic and political equality for women. In 1999, the Secretariat produced a report, A Profile of Aboriginal Women in Saskatchewan, which found the province's Aboriginal females to be much less likely to participate in the paid labour force than non-Aboriginal females, to have significantly lower incomes, and to have a much greater likelihood of being the sole caregiver for their children.

Okemaysim is well acquainted with the report - she and Rhonda Daigneault gave a presentation at a 2001 women's conference in Hawaii that combined their own personal experiences with the report's findings. The pair gave an updated version of the same presentation at the Wanuskewin event, providing much food for thought and discussion.

"With all the large scale events going on around the world, we had to do one for Aboriginal women in Saskatchewan. As far as I know, ours was the only one in the province or the country," said Okemaysim. "Our only support system is each other, but it's hard to gather. We don't gather enough to rejuvenate, so we feel isolated in our work, our community and our home life. We don't feel like that when we're together."

The goal of the organizing committee, however, was not to hold an event bemoaning the situation faced by Saskatchewan's Aboriginal women. Rather, it was to bring them together for sharing, support and healing. Having acknowledged the problems that do exist, the attendees were able to achieve these goals through discussions, team exercises, and the simple pleasures of interacting with others so much like themselves.

"It went really well, there were no setbacks other than the cold weather. Our participants were really happy with how the day went," Okemaysim said.

The only regret for Okemaysim and the other committee members was that there wasn't enough room at the Wanuskewin facility to accommodate everyone who wanted to attend. Attendance was limited to 100 pre-registered guests, and some 75 interested women had to be turned away.

Being too popular, though, is a problem the Women's Day gathering committee can certainly deal with. The level of demand is also likely to encourage more such events to be organized, furthering the causes of sharing and healing laid out at Wanuskewin.

"The day was all about breaking barriers, building bridges, and making connections. That was very successful," Okemaysim said. "Everyone came away feeling very good, but also knowing there is work still to be done."