GOSSIP:

A Spoken History of Women in the North

FOR A LONG TIME, there has been talk of change in the North. There was talk of change when the missionaries and traders arrived, when native children were sent to convent or residential schools, when aboriginal people were relocated to "settlements" from their camps, and when non-renewable resource exploration and exploitation accelerated the struggle for aboriginal rights and self-government.

With new social, political, cultural, economic, and environmental crises, the talk of change and its impact continues; numerous articles and analyses attest to the persistence of change as a focal point for northern study. However, a significant factor in these historical accounts is the absence of women's viewpoints.

GOSSIP: A Spoken History of Women in the North is a written translation of women's talk about a variety of issues and situations. To be published by the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee this fall, GOSSIP is the first book written by women from distinctly different northern cultures. In this issue of Northern Perspectives, we present excerpts from some of the materials contributed to this unique volume.

The word "gossip" has generally been used to discredit women's comments, but feminist literature has explored and developed alternative interpretations. The intent is to make the reader more aware of how a term like "gossip", when used pejoratively to describe communication between women, has tended to isolate them from one another by trivializing their everyday experiences. It is in this way that their accounts and perspectives have been reelected or marginalized in written records.

The bias in favour of "written records" in the history of the North has not only isolated women, but has also ignored and devalued the oral tradition of native people in northern Canada.

GOSSIP was conceived with two objectives in mind: to provide an opportunity for women to reflect on, gather, and express their views and experiences as women living in the North; and to raise awareness among southern Canadians about northern women, their perspectives, and their contributions.

The project, co-ordinated by Mary Crnkovich, a feminist researcher who has worked extensively with northern native peoples, encouraged women to write or to speak about the issues of interest to them. The words of those who chose to speak were transcribed into written form and translated into English where necessary. The resulting volume may help sensitize readers to the differences among the women involved and, more generally, to the importance of reaming and talking about these differences.

GOSSIP does not aim to separate women from their cultural communities by focusing only on their viewpoints, to the exclusion of men. Nor does it present a Euro-Canadian, feminist perspective on women and the North. Rather, the intent is to focus on the variety of experiences among women coping with and initiating change within their communities. It is hoped that the material which comprises GOSSIP: A Spoken History of Women in the North will lead to a greater awareness of the North and its people and contribute to an historical record that is as yet incomplete.