In class this week, we explored how the Great War, also referred to as World War I, shaped Canada’s idea of nationalism through aspects such as patriotism and the desire for political independence. As covered and discussed in class, World War I had a great and lasting impact on all Canadian, regardless of age, gender, heritage, or social class. As a twenty-one-year-old white female with limited exposure to the events of the Great War, I had the preconceived notion that it was primarily, if not only, white male soldiers who suffered as a result of the war; however, upon completing the readings assigned for this week, I discovered that minorities such as women and Aboriginal peoples also made great contributions to the battle and suffered grave consequences as a result. Unfortunately, due to the desire return to a state of normalcy as a country after the war, there are limited records for historians to explores in order to gain an accurate understanding of how women experienced the war, both overseas and at home. In her article, “Expanding the Narrative: A First World War with Women, Children, and Grief,” Amy Shaw references the work of Susan Mann, stating, “… [She] addresses… the degree to which women’s experiences have been so difficult to incorporate into our memory of the war,”[1] and goes on to add, “The disruption and dislocation of the war, the trauma and loss, was to be an aberration, pushed away with a return to domesticity, especially for women.”[2] Nonetheless, we do have access to some documents that offer insight into how the Great War affected the women on the home front and on the front lines. Documents such as these include Andrea Martin and Tyyne Petrowski’s article, ““Are You ‘Doing Your Bit’?”: Edith Robertson, Letter-Writing, and Women’s Contributions in First-World-War Winnipeg,” which features the story of Edith Robertson and her experience on the home front while her fiancé, Frederick Baragar, served overseas. Through the use of letters exchanged between the couple, Martin and Petrowski, we are able to get an idea of both the physical and emotion work women performed while the men were away. An excerpt from one of the letters written by Barager reads, “I have noticed this, that in general those who are thinking of a true woman far away, are living the best life here. Do you see, little girl, part of the work that has been given to women to do, and does it seem unworthy work?”[3] In addition to the women who took on roles at home and overseas to assist in the Great War, many First Nations people, including women, held important roles. As Alison Norman discusses in her article, “‘In Defense of the Empire’ The Six Nations of the Grand River and the Great War,” “The long Iroquois tradition of loyalty to Britain and the supportive role that Iroquois women had played during wartime in the past made patriotic work a likely response for Six Nations women in 1914,”[4] referring to the women who knitted socks for enlisted men. According to Norman, the work of the Iroquois women on the home front “very closely resembled what non-Native women… were doing — knitting socks, making food to send overseas, and raising money.”[5] For much of history, the physical and emotional work performed by minorities such as women and First Nations people has been greatly overlooked. Because there are limited records pertaining to these roles, it is easy to be ignorant to the roles that they played; however, through this weeks readings, we are able to gain a small glimpse into how the Great War impacted all Canadians, not just enlisted white men.

[1] Amy Shaw, “Expanding the Narrative: A First World War with Women, Children, and Grief,” Canadian Historical Review, 399.

[2] Ibid., 400.

[3] Andrea Martin and Tyyne Petrowski, “Are You ‘Doing Your Bit’?”: Edith Robertson, Letter-Writing, and Women’s Contributions in First-World-War Winnipeg,” Manitoba History, 7.

[4] Alison Norman, “In Defense of the Empire’ The Six Nations of the Grand River and the Great War,” A Sisterhood of Suffering and Service : Women and Girls of Canada and Newfoundland during the First World War, 29.

[5]  Ibid.