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Inuit Women: Their Powerful Spirit in a Century of Change
Author(s): Kyra Mancini (Author), Janet Mancini Billson (Author)
- Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (UK)
- Publication Date: 16 April 2007
- Language: English
- Print length: 496 pages
- ISBN-10: 0742535967
- ISBN-13: 9780742535961
Book Description
In addition to their presentation of the personal portraits and voices of many Inuit respondents, Janet Mancini Billson and Kyra Mancini explore global issues: the impact of rapid social change and Canadian resettlement policy on Inuit culture; women’s roles in society; and gender relations in Baffin Island, in the Eastern Arctic. They also include an extensive section on how the newly created territory of Nunavut is impacting the lives of Inuit women and their families. Working from a research approach grounded in feminist theory, the authors involve their Inuit interviewees as full participants in the process. This book stands alone in its attention to Inuit women’s issues and lives and should be read by everyone interested in gender relations, development, modernization, globalization, and Inuit culture.
Editorial Reviews
Review
If we study the heroic struggle for survival by Arctic women and men too closely, we risk seeing our own reflection, as the greatest test Inuit ever face may well be invasion by our Western culture. Inuit Women is a rare and potent combination―a book that unflinchingly and painstakingly examines this clash of cultures, listening carefully all the while not to miss the subtle poetry of Inuit life lessons. — John Houston, Arctic filmmaker, Diet of Souls
Inuit Women talks about how we [the Inuit] cope with surviving in modern times while maintaining the traditional ways. The people explain life from their own experiences, some of them painful and touching, so that you feel an ache in the heart when you fully understand and have been there. Moving from the land to a high-tech society in three generations is a lot to absorb and it is being done here with an openness and ingenuity that is understood by women all over the world. Much of our history is not written yet by our people and this book shows how we can begin to do just that. Our history is still oral, passed down from generation to generation, but once more we are open to a new concept. This book will be passed down as part of our history. — Ann Meekitjuk Hanson, Commissioner of Iqaluit, Nunavut
This is a beautifully written work of feminist ethnography. The authors weave the words of Inuit women into the text, creating a running narrative that gives powerful voice to the women studied while providing an extraordinary contemporary ethnography of Inuit women. The book is original, for few who study indigenous people evidence such strong concern about women and their social problems―domestic violence, depression among youth, and high rates of suicide. The authors also confront the new, unfolding Nunavut identity and the potential for redefinition of male-female relations. These themes, and many others involving women, men, and their children, are woven throughout the text, making Inuit Women a compelling read. — Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Rhode Island College; author of Ethics and Anthropology
