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Métis women : social structure, urbanization and political activism, 1850-1980

This thesis explores how nineteenth century Métis concepts of family and community have found expression in post 1930s urban development, governance and political activism. In this study, genealogical methods and participant interviews have been used to examine the social, economic and political role of women in 19th century Métis families and communities in order to determine the extent to which these traditional roles were carried forward into an urban context prior to World War II. Based on this research, it was concluded that female kinship relationships were central in structuring and determining the bounds of this Métis community despite economic changes, community movement, physical relocation and political upheaval in both traditional and contemporary contexts. By organizing in ways that were familiar and consistent with past practices, urban Métis women in the early twentieth century had the opportunity and flexibility to informally politicize community issues and recruit organization participants. Over time, the political role played by women evolved and they began to take leading roles in the day-to- day operation of programs and services. By the 1960s-70s, urban Métis women began to formally assert their political will and move from behind the scenes into a more public leadership roles. Throughout this evolution, concepts of family, kinship and tradition remained the core organization concept for this community. Through the expression of these 19th century traditions, Métis women have made a significant contribution to post-1930 urban development, governance and political activism.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:SSU.etd-12112009-150223
Date15 January 2010
CreatorsTroupe, Cheryl Lynn
ContributorsCunfer, Geoff, Macdougall, Brenda, Laliberte, Ron, Peters, Evelyn
PublisherUniversity of Saskatchewan
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
Sourcehttp://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-12112009-150223/
Rightsunrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report.

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