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LYDIA CHARLES: HEALING SPIRIT, EMBRACING CHANGE
Lydia Charles and her husband Matthew were trappers, like many others in their Woodland Cree community in La Ronge, Northern Saskatchewan. But Lydia also had a special role in her community with her sacred duties as the midwife, medicine-woman, and mortician.
Lydia would lose her livelihood and her status in society with the arrival of European culture and economy. She would also experience great personal tragedy. Nevertheless, she taught her children and grandchildren that the only way to cope with change, is to embrace it.
Photo: Lydia Charles was a midwife and medicine woman
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Lydia Charles came from a traditional Woodland Cree community. For thousands of years the Cree in Northern Saskatchewan were travelers. They would spend their winter months in temporary dwellings on the trap lines, hunting and fishing. In the summers, families would form small settlements.
By the mid-1700’s, European fur traders arrived and they gave the indigenous peoples rifles, steel knives or manufactured goods in exchange for furs. Soon the Cree would rely heavily on these supplies and that would make it difficult for them to return to their traditional way of life.
In the mid-1800s, another change that transformed the community was the arrival of the Anglican Church. The Holy Trinity Anglican Church at Stanley Mission was built between 1854 and 1860. Lydia’s ancestors were amongst the first Cree to convert to Christianity and Lydia herself was baptized here.
Photo: The Holy Trinity Anglican Church built between 1854 and 1860
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Start your journey in Saskatoon where you can learn more about the Plains Cree culture at Wanuskewin Heritage Park. The Plains Cree hunted bison and this is illustrated on the 320 acre site where there are bison kill sites, tipi rings and a boulder alignment known as a medicine wheel. The interpretative centre illustrates the Plains Cree cultural values and the restaurant serves traditional Aboriginal foods.
Drive further North to La Ronge Provincial Park in north central Saskatchewan to learn about the Woodland Cree Culture. Experience the rugged beauty of the Canadian Shield as the Aboriginal people here have for thousands of years. Explore nature trails or follow canoe routes used by fur traders and trappers. Sightseers can view the rock pictographs down the Churchill River or see the Otter Rapids.
Make the town of La Ronge your home base. Visit Robertson Trading, a modern day fur-trading post which has mounted birds and animals and native arts displays. Purchase local artwork and handicrafts and check the walls for photos of Lydia and Matthew Charles, who were regular customers over the years.
Mistasinihk Place houses the provincial government offices. On the main floor there is also a display of aboriginal art and artefacts, from birch bark biting and intricate beadwork to copper utensils from the fur trade days. And call ahead to the Kikinahk Friendship Centre to see if there are any cultural activities taking place during your time in La Ronge.
Drive further North to The Holy Trinity Anglican Church at Stanley Mission which was a centre for the local Cree community for many years. The church is accessible only by boat but its well worth visiting. Built between 1854 and 1860 it is Saskatchewan’s oldest building. Pews are painted pink and blue and local beadwork decorates the pulpit. Though the timber was cut from local forests, 1,000 pieces of stained-glass were imported from England for the windows.
Photo: Interior of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church at Stanley Mission
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PLAINS CREE HISTORY
Wanuskewin Heritage Park
A National Historic Site
5km north of Saskatoon on Highway #11
Then follow the buffalo signs
Telephone: +1 (306) 931 6767
www.wanuskewin.com
WOODLAND CREE ENVIRONMENT
Lac La Ronge Provincial Park
Box 5000
La Ronge, Saskatchewan
Canada S0J 1L0
Telephone: +1 (306) 787 2700
http://www.se.gov.sk.ca/
LOCAL TOURISM INFORMATION
Town of La Ronge Recreation Office
Town Office, Hildebrand Drive
Telephone: +1 (306) 425 2477
MODERN FUR TRADING POST
Robertson Trading
Telephone: +1 (306) 425 2477
ABORIGINAL CULTURE
Kikinahk Friendship Centre
Telephone: +1 (306) 425 2051
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SCN
Tue, December 12, 2006 @ 8:30 pm (CST)
channel m
Sun, November 19, 2006 @ 11:00 am ()
Mon, November 13, 2006 @ 8:30 am ()
Tue, June 27, 2006 @ 1:00 pm (PST)
Sun, April 2, 2006 @ 9:30 pm (PST)
SCN
Tue, December 13, 2005 @ 10:00 pm (CST)
Canadian Learning Television
Mon, November 28, 2005 @ 9:30 pm (EST)
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1. Lydia Charles faced much loss in her life, loss of status, loss of work, loss of children and yet she found the inner strength not only to continue to live but also to inspire her large family and leave them with a legacy of courage and hope. What does the story of her life and the legacy she left behind teach us about resilience, change and the ability to endure?
2. When Lydia, her granddaughter Kathy, and Lydia’s sister Flora, were asked how they coped with such loss in their lives, what were their answers? What is common in each of these responses? What can we learn from their responses?
3. Residential schools are now known to have been places of abuse and brutality. Church officials that ran the schools tried to strip young Aboriginal persons of their original culture and language and tried to impose on them the adoption of English language and European cultural traditions. Why is cultural stripping a violation of human rights? What have the churches done to make up for their human rights abuses? What lessons are there in this history for other Canadian institutions about the need to respect cultural differences? How are native communities still paying for these violations against their young people and their cultural traditions and languages?
4. Aboriginal communities suffer from a high death rate. Disease, alcoholism and suicide are the leading causes of premature death. What social conditions led to such a tragic situation? What must change in order for natives to realistically expect that their average life span be similar to the life expectancy of other Canadians?
5. What qualities did Lydia have that were most meaningful to her family? What does Lydia’s example teach us about the ability to inspire, to lead and to encourage others?
Research Topics:
1. Write a short essay on traditional Aboriginal spirituality. Consider how it either contrasts to or is congruent with Christianity.
2. Beadwork, jingle dancing, drumming and sweat lodges are some of the traditional Aboriginal arts and customs that flourish today. What other indigenous art forms, performing arts or customs still flourish and are highly regarded throughout the world?
Additional Research Question:
This film tells the story of a woman who is a role model to women in her family, in her community and now, in part because of this film, perhaps to many women throughout Canada . Who, in your life has been a role model? If you would like to share the story about this person with other young people to whom you think this story might act as a beacon, please add it to the website www.mothertongue.ca. Alternately, if you would like to read stories that others have posted, please click on the website and become a part of a dialogue about the importance of role models.
Note:
These starting points for discussion and research questions were written by Dr. Carole Ann Reed, an educational consultant. Dr. Reed has worked as a human rights educator for almost twenty years in the Toronto area and has authored and co-authored many articles, curricula, and educational kits as well as a book. The topics she writes about include issues such as the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, women’s rights and anti-racism. For several years she was the Director of the Holocaust Centre of Toronto.
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This series of educational videos was made possible with funding from
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Mother Tongue: A woman's history of ethnic Canada is a 13-part TV series that documents Canada's multicultural history from a female perspective. Each program tells the story of a notable woman in one of Canada's communities, including a Black fugitive slave, an Acadian mail order bride, and an Icelandic suffragette.
mother, tongue, woman, history, ethnic, Canada, video, DVD, TV, tele, television, series, show, think, stock, inc., canada, ontario, british, columbia, quebec, education, school
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