2. Women's Perspectives - Christian Aboriginal Infrastructure ...

The living conditions of many Aboriginal women are marked by continuing
discrimination, exclusion and powerlessness. In Volume 3, Chapter 2, we recommended
that governments responsible for the application of laws, regulations and practices
affecting Aboriginal people on-reserve, on Aboriginal territories and in emerging
structures of self-government ensure that the rights of women to protection from
discrimination on the basis of sex are observed through
• the review and, where necessary, revision of current laws, regulations and practices to
ensure sexual equality; and
• the application of standards of sexual equality in drafting procedures for nation
building, enacting laws, and applying regulations under Aboriginal government
jurisdiction.
In maintaining their responsibilities to their families, however, Aboriginal women
continue to face other difficulties. The testimony of Aboriginal women reveals that they
are often both the mainstay of the family unit and the catalyst for change:
It is true that Inuit women are working outside of the home in increasing numbers, and
they are also actively involved in the myriad of committees and boards which have
sprung up in most communities. But women have maintained their responsibilities in the
home and for child rearing. Furthermore, women are unofficially filling the gaps in social
services in the north. More and more women are taking on a caregiving role at the
community level, counselling and supporting friends and family members in crisis.
Martha Flaherty
President, Pauktuutit
Ottawa, Ontario, 1 November 1993
Some Métis women face problems of isolation in rural and remote communities. They are
often the primary caregivers if there are children involved, and too often they must leave
their home community to access education and training institutions.
Pat Harper
Metis Women of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba, 22 April 1992
A primary concern for Aboriginal women is the well-being of their children. As we
pointed out in our chapter on the family, this was a prominent theme in presentations
made to the Commission. A second theme revolves around the perception that healthy
families are at the core of the renewal process:
During the inquiry, we have tried to listen to our children. All children need to be
healthy, they need to be loved and cared for. In many ways, this inquiry and our desire to
change expresses the hope that we will find the strength to help our children.
Chief Katie Rich
Sheshatshiu, Newfoundland and Labrador
17 June 1992 100
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