This course examines the roles of women in traditional, pre-contact Aboriginal societies, the changes facing this group of women as a consequence of colonization, and contemporary issues of concern for Aboriginal women in Canada. While the course deals with Aboriginal women in Canada, particular emphasis will be on Western and Northern Canadian contexts and experiences and the women of those territories wherever the existing resources and materials permit. The course has been designed thematically and chronologically in order for patterns of experience to emerge and become evident. Throughout this course, the terms ‘Indian’, Inuit and ‘Metis’ will be used as they are the terms used in the Constitution Act (1982) to identify Aboriginal peoples of Canada and because these terms reflect historical usage. In the context of this course they are applied exclusive of the derogatory context which has sometimes arisen as a result of cultural misconceptions.

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