When Sally Simpson enrolled in Wilfrid Laurier University as a mature student in 2011, it didn’t occur to her that she would become a “First,” i.e. someone who broke the mould, started a movement, forged a new path. But when she discovered that a list of the myriad of accomplishments of Canadian Indigenous females didn’t exist (and we don’t mean a comprehensive list or even a recent list — we mean just a simple, basic list of any kind), she did what most pioneers did: She created one.
“Achieving equality amongst men and women, as we know, is a long haul,” Singer says in her 2021 YouTube presentation of her thesis entitled Indigenous Female Trailblazers. “And achieving a level playing field amongst women hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park.” Particularly, she goes on to show, when it comes to Indigenous women in Canada.
For example, Emily Stowe became Canada’s first female doctor in 1890. It took another 100 years before Elizabeth Steinhauer (Cree) would achieve the same status. It’s a similar story when you look at the dental profession: Josephine Wells (1893) vs. Mary Jane McCallum (Cree, 1990). Politicians, lawyers, scientists…. The unfortunate pattern remains the same.
As Simpson noticed these discrepancies, she discovered something very interesting. “Actually, it’s not what I found, it’s what I didn’t find: No list of the achievements of Indigenous women existed. I was shocked. It didn’t seem right, and it didn’t seem fair.”
Simpson had stumbled upon her thesis subject. “Trailblazing achievements of Indigenous Women deserve to be documented,” she says. “This list is important to all Canadians.”
We couldn’t agree more. The following is an updated list of Simpson’s Indigenous Female Trailblazers. It has grown to include 200+ names, and we hope that by publishing it here, you will be inspired to share more names and stories of Indigenous women who should be recognized as “First.”
Without further ado, we are thrilled to introduce you to the first Canadian Indigenous woman to…
1. …travel to England (while seven months pregnant) and successfully petition Queen Victoria to intervene in a land claim dispute near Owen Sound, Ontario. (The Queen granted Catherine legal ownership, however the Canadian government did not honour the Queen’s decision.) Nahnebahwequay (Catherine Sutton), Mississauga, 1860
2. …discover the first gold nugget (first person in the world) that led to the Klondike Gold Rush. Shaaw Tláa (Kate Carmack), Tagish-Tlingit 1896
3. …become a registered nurse. She was also the first Canadian Indigenous female to serve in the US military. She had to go to the USA to study nursing because it was illegal in Canada for a status Indigenous person to attend post-secondary. Returning to Canada, she was also the first to gain the right to vote in a Federal election.
Charlotte Edith Anderson Monture, Mohawk, 1914
4. …hold a teachers license (Nova Scotia). She was also the first licensed teacher to teach in a non-Indigenous school.
Dr. Elsie Charles Basque, Mi’kmaq, 1937
5. …become a peacekeeper pilot in WWII. She was known to say, “If a woman can sew, she can fly.” Evelyn Katie Buffalo-Robe, Cree, 1939
. …officially serve in the Canadian Armed Forces. Private
