Article 13: An Indigenous Male Perspective of Indigenous Feminism

Desmond K. Canning

Feminism has been defined and redefined by different feminist movements and scholars over time (Calixte, Johnson, & Motapayne, 2017). Feminist ideology focuses on the male dominance and inequality experienced by the female gender. While feminism is gender-specific, it has been debated whether feminism can be universally implied since not all cultures and societies have or had shared experiences of domination of the female gender as seen in western society. Feminism can be incredibly complex for Indigenous nations of North America. In some pre-contact Indigenous societies, the gender roles were vastly different from the oppressing gender roles forced upon Indigenous society by European colonization. However, at the same time, not all Indigenous societies shared the same social understanding and values, and respectively women held various roles depending upon which Nation she was a part of. As a white-passing, southern Inuk male, my understanding of gender and feminism has been influenced by both my Indigenous culture and my colonizing European ancestors. Oral history is an essential educational tool for Southern Inuit and was used to convey my family’s history and its experience of colonization and gender-based oppression. My dual heritage, combined with my family’s oral history, has led me to comprehend feminism as an ideology to bring about change and equality for the female gender and, from an Indigenous perspective, as a tool to deconstruct colonial narratives and to achieve equality and safety for Indigenous women.

Feminism can be simply defined as “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” (Hooks, 2000, p. 1). I agree with Hook’s definition of feminism, yet feminism is still very complex, having different meanings to different people at different times. In the 18th century, western Liberal feminist ideals were being formed to address the issues of gender-based oppression within the aristocracy of Europe (Elliot and Mandell, 1995). At the same time, this would greatly contrast to the experience of a clan mother in a position of power within the Haudenosaunee confederacy in North America. Furthermore, western feminists of the 18th century would have done little to recognize Indigenous women since they excluded people of colour as well as lesbians from their feminist movement (Houle, 2012). As societies changed and women of different races, sexuality, and other identities experienced oppression, so has the meaning of feminism evolved to mean different things to different people. The theory of intersectionality was developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw and has allowed feminist theorists to analyze and explain why not all women’s experiences of inequality and oppression are the same (Murdocca, 2017). Having identity-based feminism is important because of the theory of intersectionality which to explains the double discrimination experienced by people of colour (Murdocca, 2017). Intersectionality is important because it allows for a space of understanding to realize that as each woman’s experience is different, so is that experience which is further governed by specific attributes such as race, sexuality, disability, and others (Murdocca, 2017).

Although different feminist identities can unite under the same umbrella, the realities experienced by different groups can be vastly different, as explained by intersectionality theory. As the experience of women of colour, sexuality, disability, and other issues can be multiplied discriminatory, so the actions to remedy any issue can be vastly different. Although women from different races, social classes, and so forth may have different experiences of oppression not exclusively based on gender, feminism can link these women through gender and allow them to stand in solidarity with others. From a western perspective, we are taught to dissect and take apart communities and understandings, while from an Indigenous perspective, we are taught to connect and build relationships with communities and understandings. Thus, I believe that this western perspective would greatly benefit if it is combined from an Indigenous perspective. Although some may view identity-based feminism as a way to separate and categorize, I believe it would be better understood if we are willing to acknowledge and strengthen Indigenous individual and community experience towards gender issue. Rather than dissecting and taking apart identity-based feminism, acknowledging and respecting the individual and community experience collectively so that Individuals are included regardless of the uniqueness of their experience. If there was no Indigenous-based feminism but instead labelled under feminism in general, it would do little to acknowledge the unique experience of Indigenous people towards gender issues. Without acknowledging identity in feminism, I believe it would create further divides within the feminist movement. Without acknowledging identity in feminism, it silences the variety of narratives that all have a place under the umbrella of feminism.   

Although history is quite clear that women experienced gender-based oppression, many would like to think that today’s modern western society has shifted away from such gender-based oppression. The fact that many still hold biased views of feminism as being precipitated by angry women indicates the need for further feminist movements. As feminists today still address issues of female sexual exploitation, gender wage gap, and violence against women, it indicates that there is not enough efforts to reduce the bias, thus more feminist theories are needed to guide the feminist movements (Calixte, Johnson, & Motapanyane, 2017).

Western society with its Judeo-Christian roots has used its monotheistic belief of one “male” God as a center for male dominance and patriarchy (Caputi, 2011). Western society exerted its dominance upon Indigenous Nations of North America by dominating landscapes and Indigenous people with a divine authority to civilize and Christianize the “uncivilized” and “heathen” Indigenous people. Colonization marginalized Indigenous people, and Indigenous women were treated very poorly, especially when exercising Indigenous customs. My family’s Inuit narrative has guided my understanding of feminism and the importance of using oral history to give voice to our women, bring about changes, and finally to realize feminist goals. Colonizers and their legacies have tried to silence my family’s Inuit narrative, so we would quietly disappear. I believe that feminism will offer us a way to give a voice to my Inuit identity, deconstruct colonial views and reclaim my Inuit culture, especially to raise Inuit women’s social and economic status. 

Indigenous oral history or stories are remembrances of the past and are essential in deconstructing colonial narratives, reclaiming culture, and understanding the past and present realities. Since stories have always been used as an educational tool by Indigenous people to convey knowledge and understanding (Green, 2017), I will use my family’s stories to transmit my understanding of Indigenous feminism. These stories reveal the effects of colonialism on the Southern Inuit of Labrador. These are a collective of stories from my Grandmother, Father, Aunties, and Uncles.

My family’s story began with my Inuit ancestors who have inhabited the south coast of Labrador since time immemorial. Our oral history tells us that when Europeans first arrived, our people fought with them and some Europeans killed Inuit men and kidnapped Inuit women. One of the Inuit woman taken captive by Europeans was allowed to return to her community but sadly she had acquired it while living with the Europeans. Not long after returning to their  community, smallpox spread within the community, almost wiping out all of the southern Inuit. One family in that community, in particular, would be my ancestors. The parents had died, leaving a young boy and girl. The girl would be treated poorly because the community thought she had an evil spirit, and they wished to cut her finger open to let it out. The Inuk girl become scared and, with help from another family, ran away from her community to go to a European trading post, thinking she would be treated better there. This Inuk girl ran a long distance along shore, building rafts with roots and wood and encountering dangerous wildlife like polar bears. After a long journey, this young girl met with some Europeans but could not communicate with them because she could not speak English nor could the Europeans speak Inuttut.  The Europeans took the Inuk girl to an elder Inuk woman who was able to interpret the Inuk girl’s words. The Inuk girl eventually married one of the European men, Ambrose Brooks, who had come to Labrador from Brighton, England to escape press gangs. Ambrose would not marry this Inuk girl, who was 13 at the time until she could speak enough English to say the lord’s prayer. Her Inuit name, which is unknown to us today, was replaced with the name Susan, the name of Ambrose’s mother.

Susan and Ambrose had three children of mixed Inuit and European heritage. Susan’s and Ambrose’s children had a dual identity, their lifestyle was distinctly Inuit as they survived on the shores of what is known as “Eskimaux Bay.” Ambrose instructed his children to report to him if they had seen their mother practice any Inuit custom, which he had deemed “uncivilized” such as consuming raw flesh or conducting any Inuit ceremony. Ambrose dominated Susan with physical violence by beating her whenever she was seen practicing any Inuit custom. Ambrose considered Inuit practices “uncivilized,” or “heathen,” Ambrose exerted his male dominance over his wife and female children. Ambrose’s dominance also led to his daughter, Lydia’s unhappy marriage. Lydia married her first husband, William Blake. William had Ambrose intoxicated while visiting the trading post at Rigolet and convinced Ambrose to let William marry his daughter. Lydia was forced to marry William, even having her wedding dress violently put on by some of William’s family. Lydia’s marriage to William was unhappy since Lydia had loved another but Lydia’s marriage to William was short since William died young.

Susan Brooks and Lydia Brooks/Blake/Campbell represent my Inuit and mixed Inuit ancestry. The story of their mixed races or half-blood is full of racial and gender discriminations, which help to understand how and why Inuit women had their double prejudices.     In the story of Susan, we see how Europeans dominated the Inuit culture and how some Inuit women were taken. These Inuit women taken captive would be some of the first missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. Although a community list of missing and murdered Indigenous women record one Inuit woman being taken or killed in 1763 our oral history states there were many more (It Starts With Us, 2017).

However, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) is considered to be a modern social phenomenon (Bourgeois, 2017). If we look at history of missing and murdered Indigenous women, the roots of this phenomena go much deeper. Missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls represent Indigenous females who have been stolen from their communities, who have been persecuted, and often murdered.  Susan’s story have told us that this practice dates back hundreds of years. Lydia’s story confirmed Inuit women continued to suffer from double suppressions. They were the witnesses to real events that happened to my ancestors. Orally told, but they contributed to various viewpoints and perspectives of Inuit history that fill up the gaps in documented history.

Inuit oral history of my family tells the truth about how  Inuit men were killed and how Inuit women were taken by Europeans. Those women, often experienced sexual violence and cultural prejudice. In Southern Labrador, Inuit had adopted a European maternal surname practice, yet Inuit surnames are rare in Southern Labrador. This is due to conflict as European men orchestrated raids killing Inuit men and taking Inuit women. Both Susan and her daughter Lydia were exposed to European Male domination and sexual violence.

It was not uncommon for Inuit women to experience gender, race oppression and violence. Hence, identity-based feminism offers a clear picture of how Indigenous women suffer from double or triple prejudice. The suffering Susan had could not relate to a European woman at that time because much of the violence Susan received was based upon her Inuit identity. Whenever Ambrose was aware of Susan practicing what he considered an “uncivilized” or “heathen” Inuit custom, he exerted physical violence towards Susan. Ambrose’s use of physical violence was his way to “civilize” or westernize his Inuit wife. If Ambrose had married an English woman, there would be no need to “civilize” her by using physical violence.

Furthermore, another experience shared by my Great Auntie was about the racial discrimination she received. She talked about how she was ridiculed while walking on a wharf where she encountered some Anglo-Newfoundland fishermen. One man exclaimed, “watch out, men, here comes a black woman,” This discrimination was based upon my Aunt’s skin colour drawing upon critical race theory. Interestingly, my family’s oral history records very little of these discriminatory experiences from an Inuit man’s perspective, which leads me to believe that these types of experiences were gender-based.

Comparing the dominating western European society to the Inuit society of Susan’s time indicates that there were difficulties within Inuit society. Susan and her brother were orphans, yet the story only documents Susan running away from her people due to her gender issues.  The absence of Susan’s brother in the latter part of the story may indicate that her brother perhaps received better care based on his gender and chose to stay with the Inuit community. While some Indigenous societies may have held Indigenous women in high esteem, it would be erroneous to assume that all Indigenous nations would treat women the same way. Although some scholars such as Leta Houle have argued against western feminism, citing that pre-contact Indigenous women lived in social structures that were accepted by both genders (Houle, 2012). Based on my family oral history, I consider Houle’s perspective flawed and feeds into the stereotypes which limit the complexity and structure of each Indigenous group and community by making assumptions that they were all the same. I believe that each Indigenous community and Nation held differing perspectives while some allowed gender equality, however, this was not the case for all Indigenous groups. Since colonization has resulted in such a massive loss of Indigenous narratives, it may be challenging to piece together with oral history how each Indigenous community or Nation perceived gender differently

The belief that pre-contact Indigenous nations did not oppress or exploit women based on gender has been shared by Indigenous people who have opposed Indigenous feminism (Houle, 2012). Some believe that there is no need for Indigenous feminism since feminism was created for the western white women to deal with the gender-based oppression in western society (Houle, 2012). Some Indigenous people believe that abandoning western practices and returning to traditional Indigenous values will remedy the gender-based oppression of women. However, as seen with my Inuit ancestor Susan, she had experienced oppression in traditional Inuit society. One may argue that Susan ‘s oppression amongst Inuit may have been the result of colonialism since the Inuit were facing contagions and conflict, which significantly disrupted the Inuit way of life. However, I would argue that not all Indigenous societies and communities were the same and that some societies and communities did sometimes oppress based upon gender. Nevertheless, the degree to which this oppression may have occurred would be difficult to compare to western society since each Indigenous community had its unique social structure. 

In the case of Susan, she had left her community. She endured domination and violence from her English husband if she practiced traditional Inuit customs. Susan was instructed to repeat the lord’s prayer, which had made her a good wife for marriage. Although Susan had endured much abuse, she did not return to her Inuit community which could lead to many assumptions that she might have been treated decent enough to stay with her English husband. However, it is clear that Susan was dominated by Western Ideology, and some would argue that Susan had been stripped of her Inuit customs and identity. Nevertheless, Inuit customs which benefited Susan’s husband continued. Susan was still able to hunt with Inuit traditions and technologies such as when harvesting animals, preparing hides and making clothing. These Inuit customs have been passed through seven generations in my family to Susan’s descendants as myself. Inuit oral history confirms that when European men left their Inuit wives at their homes, they continued Inuit customs. Inuit women still sing, dance, prepare and eat traditional food or tell legends. So yes, a portion of Inuit identity and culture had been lost; much of it has been retained despite western domination.

Today many of Susan’s Southern Inuit descendants have been alienated by Nunatsiavut, another Inuit group in Labrador. Following colonial narratives, Nunatsiavut explains that Susan’s descendants had assimilated into the dominating western society and that there is no evidence of Inuit culture amongst Susan’s descendants today. Susan’s descendants have experienced alienation due to colonialism, which can be comparable to the enfranchisement of Indigenous women through the Indian act. Like Indigenous women who married non-Indigenous men and did not conform to the maternal and patriarchal traditions of the “Indian Act”, it was assumed these women would assimilate and lose their Indigenous identity (Bourgeois, 2017). This is the discriminatory view and oppresses my identity as a Southern Inuk. Nunatsiavut has adopted a patriarchal understanding and has unfairly silenced the narratives of Inuit women such as Susan and her mixed Inuit or Southern Inuit descendants.

The story of Susan Brooks has shown how gender-based oppression and patriarchy have affected and even defined Southern Inuit today. I believe Indigenous feminism is a crucial tool to deconstruct dominating and oppressing patriarchal attitudes, which has infiltrated present Indigenous understandings as seen with the Inuit of Nunatsiavut. If Indigenous people wish to create a better future for themselves, we must create a safe space for dialogue and understanding of Indigenous women and oppression. Although some Indigenous traditions may have been forbidden to women, such as the use of the drum, if we wish to see these traditions survive, they should be practiced by all genders. Culture is not static and can be fluid and change, while maintaining traditional values could be a way to empower Indigenous women so that gender-based oppression and violence become a thing of the past. Whether gender-based oppression was a pre or post-colonial construct, a shift towards equality would benefit Indigenous people. An example of the benefit of cultural change of Indigenous people can be observed with the emergence of a Pan-Native Americanism, which celebrates Indigenous culture while combining a variety of Indigenous traditions not indicative of one particular Indigenous culture. Pan-Native Americanism allows a resurgence of Indigenous practices, and although some would argue it is a watering down, or mockery of Indigenous culture, so much Indigenous culture has been lost that for some, the only other option is to have no cultural practices. So Pan-Nativeamericasnism has evolved to allow the adoption of various cultural practices such as seen at pow-wows. Whether the exclusion of women from Indigenous cultural practices was a pre or post-colonial construct to ensure gender-based equality and the continuance of Indigenous cultural practices, such practices should be inclusive of all genders.

Feminism means different things to different people at different times. Nevertheless, the various identities that feminism represents should be viewed today as inclusive rather than exclusive. Sexist gender oppression may not be universal in all cultural settings, yet through colonization and westernization, male dominance over women has been exerted and practiced by societies that may not have formerly oppressed women. As a Southern Inuk, my family’s oral history, which is full of stories of how gender-based oppression can attest how European colonials made efforts to “civilize” or dominate Indigenous identity. The story of my ancestor Susan may not be unique when considering the collective of Indigenous experience of being dominated, it is undoubtedly complex narrative from a descendant of both the oppressor Susan’s husband’s Ambrose and the oppressed Susan. The oppression continues today as other Inuit groups would like to deny our Inuit identity based on the premise that Susan had lost much of her Inuit Identity, yet I would argue that her Inuit identity was retained and that same Inuit identity is present in Susan’s descendants like myself. There is a need for identity-based feminism because when we try and produce feminism without identity, we silence many of the stories of oppression which feminist seeks to expose and remedy. I believe that each individual identity and their connections are an essential part of feminism since feminism itself relies on the identity of the female gender. In creating and maintaining connections and relationships through various forms of identity-based feminism, we can bridge the gap, stand together in solidarity and achieve the goal of equality for the female gender. Furthermore, I believe that feminism can be a tool used to deconstruct colonial attitudes since colonialism was spread by a patriarchal society. Colonial attitudes are still deeply ingrained in contemporary western society, and identifying and remedying these attitudes are essential in deconstructing colonial society.

References

Bourgeois, R. (2017). A perpetual state of violence: An Indigenous feminist anti-oppression inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. In J. Green (Ed.), Making Space for Indigenous Feminism (pp. 253-73).

Calixte, S., Johnson, J., & Motapanyane, M. (2017). Theorizing women’s oppression and social change: Liberal, socialist, radical, and postmodern feminisms (pp. 1-27).

Caputi, J. (2011). Re-creating patriarchy: Connecting religion and pornography. Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy, 1(2), 293.

Elliot, P., and Mandell, N. (1995). Feminist Theories. In N. Mandell (Ed.) Feminist Issues: Race, Class and Sexuality (pp. 2–25). Prentice-Hall Canada.

Green, J. (2017). Taking More Account of Indigenous Feminism. In Making Space for Indigenous Feminism (pp. 1-20).

Hooks, B. (2000). Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics. South End Press.

Houle, L. (2012). Issues of tension: Aboriginal women and western feminism. Religious Studies and Theology 30(2): 209–233.

It Starts With Us. (2017). Community Lists. http://itstartswithus-mmiw.com/community-lists/

Murdocca, C. (2017). Race, Indigeneity, and Feminism. In N. Mandell (Ed.) Feminist Issues: Race, Class and Sexuality (pp. 35-57). Prentice-Hall Canada.

Authors’ Bio: Desmond Canning is Southern Inuit and the descendant of the well-known Inuk author Lydia Campbell. Desmond grew up in Newfoundland immersed in his Inuit culture and traditions. Desmond loves being on the land and credits his father as being his first educator who taught him to hunt, fish, trap and carry on his ancestors’ traditions. Desmond is close to completing his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Aboriginal and Northern Studies and plans to pursue an Aboriginal education degree to fulfill his dream of being a land-based educator.

Instructor Remarks: This is an unforgettable submission. Desmond takes us along his personal journey and shares his ancestor’s story to illustrate the importance of identity within feminist discourse. His article enriches both gender and cultural narratives.  Within this piece, Desmond dismantles the continuous academic injustice of limiting Indigenous history and perspectives to one unified identity. He offers a reflection that is mired in deep authentic insights and critical analysis. Desmond is a gifted storyteller and writer and I am thrilled to see his work be included within this publication. Thank you to the Muses of the North editors for the opportunity for this work to be made available for readers—Professor Noreen Barlas.