How are Native women defined? How has this sense of identity been influenced by European culture, and how have negative images been resisted? These are only a few of the questions Cree/Metis writer Kim Anderson addresses in this important book based on interviews with forty Native women from across Canada.
Starting from the role of women in Indigenous societies prior to the arrival of Europeans, Anderson explores how female identity and power were systematically dismantled through colonization. Drawing on their own experiences, Native women describe how they are reclaiming their cultural traditions, and creating positive and powerful images of themselves which are true to their heritage.
A Recognition of Being is a critical and inspiring history of Native womanhood.Features:

• based on interviews with forty Aboriginal women from across Canada and the author’s own personal journey as a Native woman
• explores the central question of how Aboriginal women maintain power and construct a positive knowledge of the self
• contributes to a growing body of scholarship on Indigenous women’s resistance to oppression

Kim Anderson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Indigenous Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. She has published over thirty book chapters and journal articles and is also the principal investigator for two SSHRC research projects: Bidwewidam Indigenous Masculinities (2011-2014) and Indigenous Knowledge Translation in Urban Aboriginal Settings (2014-2017). Anderson is a long-standing advocate for Indigenous women and families and is regularly involved in community-based research and teaching in this area.

Kim Anderson's profile page

"Approaching issues of gender and identity, A Recognition of Being gives life and voice to the experiences of Aboriginal women. Ms. Anderson writes beautifully and respectfully about issues and challenges that face Aboriginal women and our communities. The stories and analysis allow us the opportunity to consider potential pathways to individual and collective freedom. This book is a must read."— “Patricia Monture-Angus (Mohawk), Professor of Native Studies, University of Saskatchewan