Roles And Responsibilities Of Anishinaabekwewag

An article by Sarah Jackson

Canadian law has been and continues to be used as a tool of colonization and sex-based discrimination against Anishinaabekwewag.

In Canada, indigenous women have been legally discriminated against for over a century. From the Indian Act of 1876 until the passage of Bill C-31 in 1985, women were deprived of their Indian status upon marriage to a non-Indian man while Indian men were entitled to bestow status on their non-Indian wives. For Indian women, “marrying out” literally meant a reality of exile from their communities, and hence from their rights and ties to their families, cultures, and identities.1

Further Anishinaabe scholar, Madeline Whetung has detailed how the destruction and alteration of Anishinaabe lands and waters has severely impacted the governance roles and responsibilities of Anishinaabekwewag.1 She writes that “colonial domination of Nishnaabeg territory resulted in a gendered dispossession of land that continues to have reverberations throughout Nishnaabeg political systems today.”1

Anishinaabe men and women hold different but equally important roles and responsibilities within their families and communities. Kim Anderson describes how Cree, Metis, and Anishinaabe women are expected to take on different roles and responsibilities in their communities across the four hills of their lives. At all stages women are valued for their contributions to their families and communities.

“Children were taught to be self-reliant while learning a sense of responsibility to the community.”1 In traditional Anishinaabe child-raising, children and youth are also involved in preparation for the vision quest and other ceremonies which help them to identify their individual gifts and skills that they can develop and use to contribute to their families and communities.

Young and middle-aged women worked hard “to ensure the survival of their families and communities… The value placed on their home-centered work meant that women had their own circles or “jurisdictions” from which they were in charge of not only the material resources but also the social relations of the community.”1 As Anderson describes, “they were also the “keepers of relationships,” forming strong bonds among themselves and taking responsibility for teaching family law to youngsters.”1

Anishinaabekwe Elders hold even greater responsibility for governance and decision-making.

It was the old ladies who held responsibility for leadership and governance, teaching, and managing the health of their communities. There were a number of stories about elderly women who were leaders in their extended families; the gii maa kwe (head woman) was the final decision maker in many cases. Old ladies were valued for how they looked after the communities through their attention to kinship, through how they managed the health, well-being, and spirit connections of community members.1
These different roles and responsibilities were reflected in the traditional Anishinaabe governance system. Communities were governed by three councils: the Gichi- Anishinabek alongside the Ogimaa (leader) and Aanikeogamaa, the council of warriors and the council of women. These councils of women participated in decision-making, advised the other councils.1 In other cases, women were Ogimaa themselves.1 Up to and including the present-day women hold important responsibilities within their families and communities, extending care and support to family and community members, and participating in all levels of decision- making.1

Many of the traditional roles that women hold responsibility for in Anishinaabe society are grounded in relationships. These relationships extend to caring for maple bushes, water, and other water-based relations, areas of law that are the traditional jurisdiction of Anishinaabekwe.1 As Michi-Saagig Anishinaabeg scholar, Madeline Whetung writes, Anishinaabekwe “were frequently (though not exclusively) responsible for the internal governance of the family and nation, while men were frequently (though not exclusively) responsible for international relations.”1

This internal governance extended at times to the use of force to protect the health and wellbeing of women and children. I was once told by an Anishinaabe Elder that if men were abusing their partners, the women of the community would take them out and beat them. In other cases, women held and still hold knowledge of healing or medicine that allowed them to care for their families and communities in times of dire need.1 Other Anishinaabekwewag have described to me how mothers and grandmothers have the right to intervene when the health and wellbeing of their relatives is at stake. This may include extending care and support when young parents are in need or moving in with relatives to ensure that children are being cared for.

From water walkers to writers, singers, dancers, midwives and artists, Anishinaabekwe across Turtle Island are honouring their own individual gifts and working to fulfill their roles and responsibilities within their families and communities. As Anishinaabe scholar, Alexandra Kahsenni:io Nahwegahbow writes, “As bearers, carriers, and primary caregivers to future generations, women were considered to be guardians responsible for maintaining this netted chain of “moving life.””1 The care and skill that is utilized by Anishinaabekwe to fulfill these responsibilities of protection, guardianship, and relationship-building is tangible, ongoing, and central to the health of the Anishinaabe nation.

1 Ruana Kuokkanen, “Self-Determination and Indigenous Women’s Rights at the Intersection of International Human Rights” (2012) Human Rights Quarterly 34, online (pdf) at 233.
1 Madeline Whetung, “(En)gendering Shoreline Law: Nishnaabeg Relational Politics Along the Trent Severn Waterway” (2019) 19:3 Global Environmental Politics at 16-32, online (pdf).
1 Madeline Whetung, “(En)gendering Shoreline Law: Nishnaabeg Relational Politics Along the Trent Severn Waterway” (2019) 19:3 Global Environmental Politics at 16-32, online (pdf) at 16.
1 Kim Anderson, Life Stages and Native Women: Memory, Teachings, and Story Medicine (University of Manitoba Press: Winnipeg, MB, 2011) at 12.
1 Kim Anderson, Life Stages and Native Women: Memory, Teachings, and Story Medicine (University of Manitoba Press: Winnipeg, MB, 2011) at 12.
1 Kim Anderson, Life Stages and Native Women: Memory, Teachings, and Story Medicine (University of Manitoba Press: Winnipeg, MB, 2011) at 12.
1 Kim Anderson, Life Stages and Native Women: Memory, Teachings, and Story Medicine (University of Manitoba Press: Winnipeg, MB, 2011) at 12.
1 Heidi Bohaker, Doodem and Council Fire: Anishinaabe Governance through Alliance (University of Toronto Press: Toronto, 2020) at xvii.
1 Heidi Bohaker, Doodem and Council Fire: Anishinaabe Governance through Alliance (University of Toronto Press: Toronto, 2020) at 143-144.
1 Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Dancing On Our Turtle’s Back: Stories of Nishnaabeg Recreation, Resurgence, and a New Emergence (Winnipeg, MB: Arbeiter Ring Publishing, 2011) at 121.
1 Madeline Whetung, “(En)gendering Shoreline Law: Nishnaabeg Relational Politics Along the Trent Severn Waterway” (2019) 19:3 Global Environmental Politics at 16-32, online (pdf) at 27-28
1 Madeline Whetung, “(En)gendering Shoreline Law: Nishnaabeg Relational Politics Along the Trent Severn Waterway” (2019) 19:3 Global Environmental Politics at 16-32, online (pdf) at 27-28
1 Basil Johnston, Ojibway Heritage (University of Nebraska Press, 1990) at 59-60.