Women in Canadian History Education Guide

Wo menintraditional Eritrean dress at a festival, 2 017 ( Drea msti me.co m/ Losta fichuk/03194421).

Mrs. Tad Aihoshi and Mrs. Tatsuo Sakouye playing musicalinstru ments during a Cherry Blosso m Festivalin Montreal,1963 (courtesy Library and Archives Canada/Canada. Dept. of Manpo wer andI m migration/e011045039).

Korean wo men perfor m at Ed monton Heritage Days, 2013 (Drea msti me.co m/ Losta fichuk/33195226).

1. Splitthe classinto s mall groups, and have each watch a different videofro m Passages Canada : vi meo.co m/64650501 vi meo.co m/65146477 vi meo.co m/64751078 vi meo.co m/60271499 vi meo.co m/64588465 vi meo.co m/64650498 vi meo.co m/64907519 vi meo.co m/64751079 2. Take notes on ho wtheintervie wee describeslifein her ho me country andin Canada. 3. Create a T-chart with“Life beforeI m migration” and“Lifein Canada” headings and use your notes to describe experiences. • W hat c halle n ges di d t he wo ma n face? • What aspects of herlife does she not discuss? What might wo men not wantto share ( wit h stra n gers or eve n wit h fa mily me m bers)? W hat mi g ht sile nce tell us? • W hat c ha n ge d, a n d w hat staye d t he sa me? • N ote st ories or state me nts you fi n d t h ou g ht- pr ovoki n g. 4. For m ne w groupsto present your findings: each studentinthe ne w group will have watc h e d a differe nt vi d e o. Take t ur ns pres e nti n g t h e vi d e os to t h e n e w gr o u p. 5. Once each studentinthe ne w group has presented a video, ans werthefollo wingtogether: • What challenges and obstacles are most co m mon? • Exa minethe meaning ofintersectionality(see page 3): What aretheroot causes ofthe c halle n ges? To w hat exte nt are t hese c halle n ges base d o n ge n der a n d t o w hat exte nt are theytheresult of anotherfactor(ethnicity, sexual orientation, socio-econo mic status, education, disability, politicalinstability, etc.)? Ho w might challenges havein fiuenced each other? Ho w or why might we consider her challengesintersectional? Losta fichuk/ 103194269).

Investigatei m migrationthrough a pri mary s ource, an d research h o w wo men experienceintersectionality as t hey c o nfr o nt c halle n ges t o integration. M uc h of Ca na da’s p o p ulati o n to day is made up of people whoserootslie els e w h ere. T h e maj ority of t h e earli est colonial settlers were men,though wo men soon arrived, so meti mes as fill es d u r oi , slaves, orindentured s erva nts. T h e ti d e of n e wc o m ers e b b e d a n d ffi o we d over t h e ce nt uri es, a n d t h e population beca meincreasingly diverse asracist barrierstoi m migration were dis mantled.Inthe morerecent past, waves ofi m migration have brought wo menfro m aroundthe globeto Canadato make ne wlives. Stories fro mi m migrant wo men can highlight c hall e n g es faci n g fe mal e n e wc o m ers.

Salvadoran- Canadian dancers perfor m in Alberta, 2017 ( Drea msti me.co m/

Extension: Intervie w ani m migrant wo manin your co m munity about her experiencein Canada. Consider asking herto co mpare herrole within her co m munityin her ho me countryto herrole here.

Gender has been understood differently by different civilizations and culturesthroughout history.In Canada,roles, appearance, clothing and otherfor ms of genderidentity and expression have not al ways been flxed accordingto one’s biological sex. For exa mple, so meIndigenous groups haverecognized m ore t ha n t wo ge n ders, a n d ot hers have a c o nce pt calle d t wo-s pirit to refer to s o me o ne w h o pers o ni fies b ot h a masc uli ne a n d fe mi ni ne s pirit. To day, genderis an evolvingter m, and peoplefro m many co m munities continueto debateits meaning, as well asthe associated stereotypes andi mpacts.

Abortion Caravan, a fe minist protest move ment opposing a mend mentstothe Cri minal Code,1970 (courtesy Archives of Ontario/Julien LeBourdais/C 1 9 3- 2).

Founders oftheIdle No More move ment, 2012 (courtesy Marcel P etit).

Write aletterrequestingfundingfor an activist organization, exploring the signi ficance ofits goals and achieve mentsin alarger historical c o nt e xt. Beginninginthe1960s, wo menin Canadareinvigoratedtheir efforts to pus h for e quality. Over t he foll o wi ng deca des, fe mi nis m devel o pe d into a morerepresentative wo men’s move ment, allied with workers, Indigenous peoples, and other marginalized Canadians, and they e mbracedincreasingly diverseinitiatives. 1. Research a wo men’s activist groupin Canada. Begin byreading The Canadian Encyclopedia article on your chosen group and visitingits website,if applicable:

Sign fro m the Wo men’s Marchin Toronto, January 2017 (Drea msti me. co m/Arinda m Banerjee/85035990).

• Wo men’s Legal Education and Action Fund • DisAbled Wo men’s Network Canada • Egale Canada • Native Wo men’s Association of Canada • Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada • Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada

• National Action Co m mittee on the Status of Wo men • Canadian Voice of Wo men for Peace • Equal Voice • Fédération des fe m mes du Québec • National Council of Je wish Wo men of Canada

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