Moose Hide Campaign Lesson 3 Roles of Women

Moose Hide Campaign Lesson 3: Roles of Women and Two Spirit People in traditional Cree community

Review ● ● Can you remember lesson 2? Can you remember what Rocky Morin said the traditional role of men in Cree society was? Men Women Elders Children

The Role of Women ● Let’s look beyond the idea that women take care of the home: what role do they play in traditional Cree communities?

Learning from Elsie Paul ● We will watch 3 videos of Elsie speaking about the role of women in traditional Cree society ● Can you write down three things she said that you think are important?

What were the traditional roles of women? What role did the play as leaders? (9: 48)

How have the roles of women changed in your community since European arrival? (3: 05)

What are some of the challenges women have faced in your community? (2: 36)

Activity ● Work together in groups of 2 or 3 to come up with the three most important points from each question ● Can you present your findings to the class? ● Teacher may use an alternative method to review and discuss!

Learning from Ed Lavallee ● Ed is a Two Spirit Elder ● We will watch 2 videos of Ed speaking about the role of Two Spirit in traditional Cree society ● Can you write down three things or points he said?

What is a Two Spirit person? (3: 08)

What is the difference between the traditional and modern uses of the term? (6: 36)

What roles did Two Spirit people play in Traditional society? (3: 34)

Activity ● Work together in groups of 2 or 3 to come up with the three most important points from each question ● Can you present your findings to the class? ● Teacher may use an alternative method to review and discuss!

Returning to Traditional Roles ● The Elders and Knowledge keepers believe that Cree people should return to their traditional roles ● This will allow them to reclaim their culture and way of life ● And this will lead to less violence and social issues in their communities ● But what does returning to Traditional roles mean?

For Men? ● It means they need to reclaim their role as Protectors ● And this means they should value women, and protect women, not hurt them!

For Women? ● It means they need to reclaim their roles as leaders and decision makers ● And this means they should value themselves!

For Two Spirit People? ● This means to reclaim their position in society as important ● And this means people should respect and uplift them, not hold them down or disrespect them!

Why is a return to traditional gender roles important? (1: 45)