WOMEN AS LEADERS
A discussion entitled Reclamation of Matriarch and Ogijidaakwe Sovereignty was held on Wednesday at the Indigenous Women’s Leadership Forum in Regina.
Having worked to empower Indigenous women for more than four decades, Priscilla Settee said the progress toward Indigenous women reclaiming their positions as matriarchs in their families and communities is slow, but encouraging.
Since beginning her work in the 1970s, the Indigenous studies professor at the University of Saskatchewan has seen women begin to regain their power.
“It wasn’t always a popular notion among male-dominated organizations ... It’s moving. It’s sometimes glacial, but it is moving,” said Settee, noting a steady rise in the number of female chiefs and band councillors.
In an effort to keep pushing this progress forward, the Indigenous Women’s Leadership Forum was held in Regina on Tuesday and Wednesday. Put on by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Women’s Secretariat, Saskatchewan First Nations’ Women’s Commission and the File Hills Qu’appelle Women’s Council, the event brought together an estimated 150 women.
In a panel discussion Wednesday, five women shared their stories of reclaiming their matriarchy and gave advice for other women trying to do the same.
Settee, one of the panellists, said it is important for women to take back their power and educate their community.
“You put the work in, but you also work to educate. You work to listen deeply and you take chances, like you really go beyond what is now to create what you know is possible,” she said in an interview following the discussion. As an educator herself, she has worked to adapt curriculum to honour women in “real ways” instead of in words only.
“Not just say we’re honouring women, but absolutely creating social change that permits women to participate fully economically, socially and in the family,” she said.
Allyson Stevenson, an assistant professor of politics and international studies at the U of R and a Metis woman from Kinistino, said gathering women together gives them the chance to share stories and traditional teachings. And while reclaiming matriarchy may look different from person to person or from community to community, she said at its core the idea remains the same.
“Ultimately, it’s about recognizing women’s power. If there’s one common theme, it’s recognizing and honouring the power that women have and the voice that they have and the responsibilities, and making space for that and letting women reclaim that space,” she said.
But seeing herself as a matriarch hasn’t always been easy, said Stevenson, especially since she usually thinks of older women filling that role. Her mindset is starting to shift, however, as she learns more about what it means to be a matriarch.
“Seeing yourself as a matriarch in the making, I think that’s the first step is being able to see yourself in that role and then going forward and learning what that role means,” said Stevenson.
“Everybody starts somewhere and, you know, you don’t get to that place without starting and learning well ahead of time.”