Treaty 2 Territory – Women from every corner of the globe come together on March 8th, which is also a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Theme of International Women’s Day 2021: Every year, this day is celebrated with a theme. The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Choose To Challenge”

DID YOU KNOW:

“Mindimooyenh, the Ojibwe term for a female elder, best embodies how the Anishinaabeg society perceived a woman’s power. In the Ojibwe language, it literally refers to “one who holds things together.” Older women who often had a ceremonial tie and expertise with plants and medicines had a more finely attuned connection to Aki, Earth’s Manidoo, or spiritual power.

Through their labour and control over certain resources, women continuously renewed relationships to their relatives in the human and spirit world. In day-to-day life, “one who hold things together” was a reference to the economic competence and organizational skill that Ojibwe women, especially grandmothers and those in their maturity, exercised within their families and communities. Far more than merely designating an “old lady”, mindimooyenh – an idea born of women’s autonomy – evokes the status, strength, wisdom and authority of the older female in Ojibwe society.”

The Women’s Circle in our governing structures of our past were the true leaders in our society until the Canadian government created laws to eliminate Women from leadership roles. The Women’s Circle was a Power Circle. In Matriarchal societies they are the government decision makers and control the distribution of resources. Women speak for the children, who are at the centre of the community circle. Daughters inherit property through their mother, boys leave the village to find a wife and join her clan. They are represented by the Circle of Clan Mothers; each clan selects a Matriarch (usually the eldest or ablest).

• Waabshki Mazinazoot Michtaatim, Earth Lodge, Earth Lodge Keeper