Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Complementarity and Cultural Ideals: Women's Roles in Contemporary Canadian Powwows

Complementarity and Cultural Ideals: Women's Roles in Contemporary Canadian Powwows Complementarity and Cultural Ideals Women's Roles in Contemporary Canadian Powwows Anna Hoefnagels n many First Nations communities across Canada, complementarity between the sexes is recognized as a common philosophical paradigm originating long before contact with non-Natives.1 Complementarity is not to be viewed as equality or "sameness" in terms of roles and responsibilities of Native women and men; rather, it should be viewed as the division of labor and responsibilities so that required tasks and duties are accomplished, with roles filled according to people's abilities and strengths. Cultural teachings that are common to many First Nations communities celebrate the traditional complementarity of men's and women's roles in society in terms of responsibilities, leadership, rituals, and ways of life. As Rosanna Deerchild summarizes: Aboriginal societies "walked in balance" with the Earth, with the spirit and with one another. Although the woman was seen to be the strength, she was by no means at the top of the hierarchical structure. In fact, there was a natural equality between the sexes. Each had their ceremonies, roles and purpose in the community and within the order of life. Neither one was less or more important than the other.2 Complementarity between the sexes in http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Women and Music: A Journal of Gender and Culture University of Nebraska Press

Complementarity and Cultural Ideals: Women's Roles in Contemporary Canadian Powwows

Loading next page...
 
/lp/university-of-nebraska-press/complementarity-and-cultural-ideals-women-s-roles-in-contemporary-NquA42izrt

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
University of Nebraska Press
Copyright
Copyright © the International Alliance for Women in Music.
ISSN
1553-0612
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Complementarity and Cultural Ideals Women's Roles in Contemporary Canadian Powwows Anna Hoefnagels n many First Nations communities across Canada, complementarity between the sexes is recognized as a common philosophical paradigm originating long before contact with non-Natives.1 Complementarity is not to be viewed as equality or "sameness" in terms of roles and responsibilities of Native women and men; rather, it should be viewed as the division of labor and responsibilities so that required tasks and duties are accomplished, with roles filled according to people's abilities and strengths. Cultural teachings that are common to many First Nations communities celebrate the traditional complementarity of men's and women's roles in society in terms of responsibilities, leadership, rituals, and ways of life. As Rosanna Deerchild summarizes: Aboriginal societies "walked in balance" with the Earth, with the spirit and with one another. Although the woman was seen to be the strength, she was by no means at the top of the hierarchical structure. In fact, there was a natural equality between the sexes. Each had their ceremonies, roles and purpose in the community and within the order of life. Neither one was less or more important than the other.2 Complementarity between the sexes in

Journal

Women and Music: A Journal of Gender and CultureUniversity of Nebraska Press

Published: Nov 9, 2012

There are no references for this article.