Colonization, Patriarchy & Violence in Aboriginal Families
SOC
February 7, 2014
Colonization, Patriarchy & Violence in Aboriginal Families
Aboriginal Families Prior to Colonization
Anthropologists used to use 4 different names for Aboriginals before
Foraging societies
Economic arrangements of society
How they survived, not capitalist
Went around and found their food
Worshiped mother nature
Lasted for a long time because there was a large space of land with minimal people living on it
Followed the hunt and the season, moved from place to place, didn’t live there for more than months at a time
Material items were a pain, hard to carry everywhere
Nomadic societies
Moving around from place to place
Kin ordered, political arrangements
Refers to family, your extended family
Seniors and elders were chiefs, holders of knowledge because they had lots of life knowledge
Worked alongside parents to learn work
They would provide strategy and which direction to go to follow the hunt
NO VIOLENCE, everyone was respected
Kin ordered societies
Similar to nomadic societies
Hunting and gathering
Divided based on gender
Men hunted and women gathered
Not because women weren’t strong or capable enough to hunt but were valued and needed in the society (couldn’t get hurt)
Matriarchal, matrilineal, matrilocal
Never married from your own clan, only from a neighbouring clan
Groom came to live with the bride’s community
It can always be proven who your mother is, you don’t give birth alone, all the women gathered to help
Women had power because they had an economic say, women had more value than men
Needed to keep the community going, give birth
The hunt only was worth 35% and the gathering was 65%, gathering was what was more important
Men would hand over what they killed to the women, the women got it to decide who got more and who got less
Aboriginal Families after British and French Colonization
Begins with Champlain in 1608
Europeans leave families in Europe because they never intended to
February 7, 2014
Colonization, Patriarchy & Violence in Aboriginal Families
Aboriginal Families Prior to Colonization
Anthropologists used to use 4 different names for Aboriginals before
Foraging societies
Economic arrangements of society
How they survived, not capitalist
Went around and found their food
Worshiped mother nature
Lasted for a long time because there was a large space of land with minimal people living on it
Followed the hunt and the season, moved from place to place, didn’t live there for more than months at a time
Material items were a pain, hard to carry everywhere
Nomadic societies
Moving around from place to place
Kin ordered, political arrangements
Refers to family, your extended family
Seniors and elders were chiefs, holders of knowledge because they had lots of life knowledge
Worked alongside parents to learn work
They would provide strategy and which direction to go to follow the hunt
NO VIOLENCE, everyone was respected
Kin ordered societies
Similar to nomadic societies
Hunting and gathering
Divided based on gender
Men hunted and women gathered
Not because women weren’t strong or capable enough to hunt but were valued and needed in the society (couldn’t get hurt)
Matriarchal, matrilineal, matrilocal
Never married from your own clan, only from a neighbouring clan
Groom came to live with the bride’s community
It can always be proven who your mother is, you don’t give birth alone, all the women gathered to help
Women had power because they had an economic say, women had more value than men
Needed to keep the community going, give birth
The hunt only was worth 35% and the gathering was 65%, gathering was what was more important
Men would hand over what they killed to the women, the women got it to decide who got more and who got less
Aboriginal Families after British and French Colonization
Begins with Champlain in 1608
Europeans leave families in Europe because they never intended to