Introduction
This week in history 3010 our readings seemed to have taken a turn towards racial and sexual differences within Canada and our role as Canadians within the First World War. Not all aboriginals that applied to fight were welcome and even resorted to similar methods as draft dodgers. As stated in Shaw’s article “Mark leier’s study of Ginger Goodwin offers indirect access to the uncounted men who resisted the state’s right to send them to war, by taking to the woods rather than being conscripted.”[1] These draft dodgers apart of aboriginal descent show a direct contrast between Norman’s article, due to the unique nature that the Iroquois involvement with the British Empire. According to Norman’s article; the six nations (a mixture of aboriginal communities) wanted a “formal request for their military help” which was refused, however the refusal for military aid did not prevent any loyalists within the six nations to join the military.[2] These aboriginals that joined were not just men but also women. The women both aboriginal and of European descent had the same hardships to contend with. In another book written by Ruth A. Frager written in regards to 1870-1939 states; “Racial ideology played a decisive role in shaping the circumstances of women’s employment during this period.”[3] This all relates due to the fact that it was not just limited to the racial views that all Europeans immigrants would share towards many groups within Canada. However women and girls would experience similar implied views from the male dominated society until the later part of the twentieth century.
[1] Shaw, “Expanding the Narrative: A First World War with Women, Children and Grief,” Canadian Historical Review, 95,3 (2014): 404-405
[2] Alison Norman, “‘In Defense of the Empire’: The Six Nations of the Grand River and the Great War” which is available online in the book, Glassford and Shaw (Eds.), A Sisterhood of Suffering and Service: Women and Girls of Canada and Newfoundland during the First World War, 33.
[3] Frager, Ruth A., and Carmela Patrias. 2005. Discounted labour : women workers in Canada, 1870-1939. n.p.: Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 2005., 2005. Thompson Rivers University Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed February 6, 2017) 12.
