Women | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Displaying 31-45 of 143 results
  • Article

    Freda Ahenakew

    ​Freda Ahenakew, OC, Cree scholar, author (born 11 February 1932 on Ahtahkakoop First Nation, SK; died 8 April 2011 at Muskeg Lake First Nation, SK). Ahenakew is recognized as a leader in the acknowledgment and revitalization of the Cree language in Canada. In her life, Ahenakew helped to preserve the oral traditions of the Cree people and share Cree traditions and stories with Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples alike. (See also Indigenous Language Revitalization in Canada.)

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/Twitter_Cards/Freda.jpg Freda Ahenakew
  • Article

    Freda Diesing

    Freda Diesing, Haida artist (born 2 June 1925 in Prince Rupert, BC; died there 3 December 2002). Diesing was best known for her contributions to reviving traditional Haida art forms, including wood carving, mask carving and totem carving. She was one of the few women carvers who mastered the medium, and was partly responsible for bringing the style to an international audience. Diesing worked to ensure the style and tradition of Haida art was passed on to new generations. (See also Northwest Coast Indigenous Art and Contemporary Indigenous Art in Canada.)

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/FredaDiesing/FredaMask1.jpg Freda Diesing
  • Article

    Helen (Ma) Armstrong

    Helen (Ma) Armstrong (née Jury), labour activist, women’s rights activist (born 17 June 1875 in Toronto, Ontario; died 17 April 1947 in Los Angeles, California). Helen Armstrong was a labour activist who fought for the rights of working-class women throughout her life. She was the leader of the Winnipeg Women’s Labor League and a central figure in the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike. She campaigned for unions, a minimum wage and social security, and against conscription. Armstrong was arrested for her activism at least three times, including twice during the Winnipeg General Strike. Historian Esyllt Jones described Helen Armstrong as “the exception in a male-dominated labour movement.”

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/HelenArmstrong/Helen_Armstrong_SIS_P7199_12-resize.jpg Helen (Ma) Armstrong
  • Article

    Helen Mamayaok Maksagak

    Helen Mamayaok Maksagak, CM, politician, public servant, community leader (born 15 April 1931 in Bernard Harbour, NT [NU]; died 23 January 2009 in Cambridge Bay, NU). Maksagak was the first woman and Inuk to serve as the commissioner of the Northwest Territories. A vocal and engaged advocate for Inuit affairs, she contributed to efforts to establish Nunavut as Canada’s third territory in the 1990s. In March of 1999, she was chosen as the first commissioner of the newly created Nunavut territory; her term lasted until March 2000. Maksagak returned to a formal political role in November 2005, when she was appointed deputy commissioner of Nunavut. In addition to her political career, Maksagak performed advocacy work, focusing on Inuit and, more broadly, Indigenous initiatives, such as improving access to social services.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/4fc58d24-f4e6-464b-92bf-c9647246118f.jpg Helen Mamayaok Maksagak
  • Article

    Highway of Tears

    The Highway of Tears refers to a 724 km length of Yellowhead Highway 16 in British Columbia where many women (mostly Indigenous) have disappeared or been found murdered. The Highway of Tears is part of a larger, national crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. In 2015, the federal government launched a national inquiry into these cases. This article contains sensitive material that may not be suitable for all audiences.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/1f33c6d4-24d9-4dfa-9de4-11d8765e2ad3.jpg Highway of Tears
  • List

    Indigenous Women Activists in Canada

    An activist is someone who works to bring about social or political change. Many Indigenous people in Canada have been at the forefront of movements that concern issues like the environment, Indigenous and treaty rights, equal access to education and health care, the rights of women and children, and more. Indigenous women have taken up causes that affect their families and communities. This article names some of the many Indigenous women activists in Canada who have effectively championed important causes. (See also Indigenous Women’s Issues in Canada.)

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/a28fc4c4-7840-4edc-ad7e-7bee27a74e64.jpg Indigenous Women Activists in Canada
  • Article

    Indigenous Feminisms in Canada

    At their root, Indigenous feminisms examine how gender and conceptions of gender influence the lives of Indigenous peoples, historically and today. Indigenous feminist approaches challenge stereotypes about Indigenous peoples, gender and sexuality, for instance, as they appear in politics, society and the media. Indigenous feminisms offer frameworks for learning about and understanding these, and other issues, regardless of one’s gender or ethnicity.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/IndigenousFeminisms/MMIWG activists.jpg Indigenous Feminisms in Canada
  • Interview

    Interned in Canada: an Interview with Pat Adachi

    Pat Adachi was born and raised in Vancouver, the daughter of Japanese immigrants. She grew up in the heart of the city’s Little Tokyo neighbourhood, within walking distance of the local grounds where her father would take her on Sundays to watch her favourite baseball team, the Vancouver Asahi. Adachi and her family lived normal lives, until she and her community were uprooted in 1942, when the federal government ordered Japanese Canadians to internment camps in rural British Columbia (see Internment of Japanese Canadians). In this interview, Adachi shares her story and relates the experiences of the 22,000 Japanese Canadians who were interned in Canada during the Second World War. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/Pat Adachi.jpg Interned in Canada: an Interview with Pat Adachi
  • Article

    Isabel Mackenzie King

    Isabel Grace Mackenzie King (born 6 February 1843 in New York City, United States; died 18 December 1917 in Ottawa, Ontario). Isabel Mackenzie King was the daughter of 1837 Upper Canada rebellion leader William Lyon Mackenzie and mother of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. She had an intense relationship with her son and supported the development of his political career.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/Isabel-King/King-bathing.jpg Isabel Mackenzie King
  • Article

    Isabel Macneill

    Isabel Janet Macneill, OC, OBE, naval officer and correctional system supervisor (born 4 June 1908 in Halifax, NS; died 18 August 1990 in Mill Village, NS). Isabel Macneill was a pioneering woman in nontraditional leadership positions. She was the first female commanding officer of a navy ship in the British Commonwealth and the first female prison superintendent in Canada.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/IsabelMacneill/Isabel Macneill.jpg Isabel Macneill
  • Article

    Isabelle Garcia Phillips

    Isabelle Garcia Phillips, Second World War veteran (born 11 March 1921 in New Westminster, BC; died 21 August 2000 in Surrey, BC). Garcia Phillips was one of thousands of Canadian women who volunteered for service during the Second World War. She worked briefly as a riveter for Boeing Aircraft of Canada during the war, before enlisting in the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC). She is one of the few women of Filipino heritage to serve in the CWAC. Her father, Peter Garcia, also served in the Canadian army, while her brother Don Garcia later became a prominent figure in the labour movement.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/991d368d-fde0-4933-afce-ced8fedca0fc.jpg Isabelle Garcia Phillips
  • Article

    Jean Cuthand Goodwill

    Jean Cuthand Goodwill, OC, nurse, public servant and Indigenous health and education advocate (born 14 August 1928 on the Poundmaker Cree Nation, SK; died 25 August 1997 in Regina, SK). Cuthand Goodwill was one of the first Indigenous registered nurses in Canada. In 1974, she cofounded Indian and Inuit Nurses of Canada (now known as the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association). She was a lifelong organizer, writer and educator who promoted First Nations health and culture.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/single_use_images/Jean_Cuthand_Goodwill96.jpg Jean Cuthand Goodwill
  • Article

    Jean Flatt Davey

    Jean Flatt Davey, OC, OBE, physician, air force officer (born 16 March 1909 in Hamilton, ON; died 13 March 1980). Davey was the first woman medical doctor to become a commissioned officer in the Canadian armed forces. From 1950 to 1965, she was chief physician in the department of medicine at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, Ontario.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/JeanFlattDavey/InstructionStaff-Toronto-1941.jpg Jean Flatt Davey
  • Article

    Jean Lumb

    Jean Bessie Lumb (née Toy Jin Wong), CM, community leader, restaurateur (born 30 July 1919 in Nanaimo, BC; died 17 July 2002 in Toronto, ON). Jean Lumb was the first Chinese Canadian woman and first restaurateur inducted into the Order of Canada. She is also best known for her role in successfully lobbying the federal government to change its discriminatory immigration policies that separated Chinese families. Lumb also led the Save Chinatown Committee to prevent further demolition of Toronto’s Chinatown in the 1960s.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/JeanLumb/Save Chinatown 1960s.jpg Jean Lumb
  • Article

    Josephine Mandamin

    Josephine Henrietta Mandamin, Anishinaabe elder, water-rights advocate, Anishinabek Nation Chief Water Commissioner (born 21 February 1942 in Wiikwemikoong Unceded Territory, Manitoulin Island, ON; died 22 February 2019). Mandamin, known as “Grandmother Water Walker” and Biidaasige-ba (“the one who comes with the light”), was a world-renowned water-rights activist. She walked around the Great Lakes from 2003 to 2017 to bring awareness to the problems of water pollution and environmental degradation on the Great Lakes and on Indigenous reserves in Canada. For her activism, Mandamin was awarded the Anishinabek Lifetime Achievement Award (2012) and the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Cross (2018). Her great-niece, Autumn Peltier, followed in Mandamin’s footsteps, becoming the next generation’s “water warrior.”

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/Mandamin/1V5A8911.jpg Josephine Mandamin