Foreword xi
A Tribute to Kathleen Steinhauer and Nellie Carlson
MARIA CAMPBELL
Acknowledgements xix
Introduction xxi
Two Strong Women Begin to Tell a Story
LINDA GOYETTE
1 Daughters of Saddle Lake 1
2 Surviving Residential School 15
3 Love, Matrimony, and the Indian Act 27
4 Indian Rights for Indian Women 55
5 A Tribute to Jenny Shirt Margetts 71
6 How We Worked Together 81
7 Fighting for Our Birthright 97
8 This Is Our Land 109
Closing Words 119
Family Tree 121
Timeline 125
Honour Roll 131
Notes 137
Glossary 149
Further Reading 153
Index 157
Nellie Carlson (1927-2020) was born into the Saddle Lake Cree Nation and was a founder and long-time activist with Indian Rights for Indian Women. She lived in Edmonton. Kathleen Steinhauer (1932-2012) was born into the Saddle Lake Cree Nation and was a founder and long-time activist with Indian Rights for Indian Women. She lived in Edmonton. Linda Goyette is a writer, editor, and award-winning journalist. After working for Canadian daily newspapers for twenty years, she published seven books on oral history, contemporary storytelling, and human rights. She divides her time between Alberta and Ontario.
"...a unique and unforgettable look into the lives of two
determined Aboriginal women, whose extraordinary efforts and
unwavering determination helped to set new precedents and changed
the way that Canada's Indian Act perceived and treated First
Nations women.... This oral autobiography, which is highlighted by
detailed notes, photographs and personal stories of tumultuous
times and triumphant achievements, is a must read for every student
of Native Studies and those interested in learning more about the
quest for dignity, human rights, gains made through various types
of peaceful activism, and Aboriginal history in Canada as a whole."
John Copley, Alberta Native News, March 2013
"Knowing about these two women's stories (as well as those of
important people like Jenny Shirt Margetts and Mary Two-Axe Earley
among numerous others) is one of the missing pieces of a complex
puzzle about contemporary Canadian history and the treatment of a
large group of our country's citizens." Scott Hayes, St. Albert
Gazette, April 10, 2013
"Disinherited Generations is an oral history of Carlson and
Steinhauer's struggles to fix the inherent sexism of the Indian
Act. The story picks up at the founding of their activist group
Indian Rights for Indian Women and carries on through years of
advocacy and legal set-backs all the way to 1985, when section
12(1)(b) was finally repealed to adhere to the recently passed
Charter of Rights and Freedoms." Michael Hingston, Edmonton
Journal, February 15, 2013
#5 on the Edmonton Journal's Non-fiction Bestsellers list for the
week of May 3, 2013
"In this oral autobiography told to a Canadian writer, Carlson and
Steinhauer (d. 2012), Saddle Creek Cree cousins, relate the story
of their activism against discrimination by the federal government
in the Indian Act and resistance in their own community." Book News
Inc., 2013
"This book is a testament to the strength of these women who
persevered, despite threats that they and their families would be
shot if they tried coming back to their reserves. In the face of
ridicule, insufficient funds, legal loopholes and interminable
delays, why did they continue? Valuable context behind the women's
motivation comes in pages devoted to their memories.... Steinhauer
succumbed to cancer last year, but her written story, with
Carlson's, survives to influence a new generation..." Dianne Meili,
Alberta Views, September 2013
"...a highly readable set of conversations between the two Cree
elders, transcribed and lovingly edited by the third author into
eight chapters that address key 20th-century issues for Aboriginal
women in Canada.... Discussion on the 'Indian Act,' treaty rights,
and gender inequality is no academic exercise, but 'a personal
matter, a family inheritance' that powerfully illustrates their
effects on Aboriginal women and their children. The authors
personalize the political and historical, and politicize their
personal histories.... The strengths here are continuously revealed
like so many repeated offerings of oral teachings of indigenous
elders. Highly recommended. All levels/libraries." G. Bruyere,
Choice Magazine, September 2013
"An engaging and inspirational book, Disinherited Generations will
have an audience among students, researchers and other people
wanting to know more about treaty and Aboriginal rights, activism,
the First Nations women's movement and the Indian Act.... Writing
about gender discrimination in the Indian Act tends to focus on
legislation and court cases, which can inadvertently silence the
impact of the law on the lived lives of First Nations people....
What is clear is that not only was the violence of the Indian Act
meted out on individuals, it was targeted at families and had a
deep impact on cultural and collective levels. It is clear that the
book was produced in a spirit of history telling that emphasizes
sharing, generating research and strengthening Indigenous nations."
Mary Jane Logan McCallum, Histoire Sociale/Social History, November
2013
“As a direct result of Carlson and Steinhauer’s work, the number of
‘registered Indians’ in Canada more than doubled, from about
360,000 in 1985 to 824,341 in 2010—radically impacting the face of
Aboriginal/State relations in Canada, and with it the face of what
‘reconciliation’ looks like today in Canada…. Indigenizing these
archives—inviting researchers to the kitchen table to share
Aboriginal history—Carlson, Goyette and Steinhauer offer a uniquely
Cree and Métis space for scholars to build research and structure
argument.”
*Canadian Literature*
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