International Women's Day and CED

Today is International Women's Day. I thought I would take the time to celebrate this day with a blog post around the crucial importance of women to communities, generally, and community economic development, specifically.

Throughout history, among Indigenous communities, women were honored as equals to men. They held positions of leadership, they took on warrior roles, they hunted as much as the men did, they taught, offered guidance. They were highly valued and respected.

A well known Cheyenne Proverb states, "A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground. Then it is done, no matter how brave its warriors or strong its weapons."

This was level of respect and understanding of the importance of women was disrupted on Turtle Island (aka North America) with the influx of empire-based cultures. Most of such cultures, from 3rd world to 1st world, have treated women as having lesser value, such as:
 - Treating women as property
 - Treating them as children of a lesser god (in some cultures)
 - Viewing them as burdens to their families.
 - Forcing them into marriages.
 - In extreme cases, women are sold as though they were objects of trade
 - In "1st world" nations, they have been often considered less qualified for leadership or positions of influence
 - They were denied the right to vote, left in the kitchens
 - For a long time, rape by their husbands was not recognized

Even today, nations that are so-called champions of human rights, such as Canada, refuse to recognize the value and role women play in the health of a nation and its economy.

We must, as Indigenous peoples and communities, reclaim the esteem of women. Consider community and its economic health if women were not around:
 - Their communication style is one of peace, generally.
 - Communication from women is relational (rather than competitive as with men)
 - They bring forth the future generations into our communities through child birth.
 - They are the first teachers of all our future generations
 - Women are far more likely to care for children even if they are working outside the home.
 - As mothers, they take on the roles of teacher, counsellor, tutor, nurse/doctor, operational manager (managing the complex tasks of maintaining a household)

Pre-contact, women set up and took down camps (I am speaking of Anishinaabe people), hunted small game, cared for the children, taught and trained children in various skills, prepared big game and cooked the meat, made clothing and tools, and so much more that I could list.

Putting this in a modern context.... Not much has changed. Women still take on these roles, often with limited support from us men. If you remove all what women do, economies would simply collapse.

It is time that we strive to honour women for the selfless and tireless work that they do to keep this world afloat. It is time we recognize that our communities can never have a thriving economy without first acknowledging and celebrating our Indigenous women.