| Summary: | Specialization: Indigenous Peoples Education Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Abstract: The literature available on First Nations women from a Euro-Western Canadian perspective has painted a bleak, shortsighted, narrow image of the Native woman. Euro-Western societal structures acknowledge that the Aboriginal woman is at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid, and such structural and societal imbalances continue to marginalize the Aboriginal woman in Canada. In contrast, Indigenous ontological and epistemological systems recognize the Aboriginal woman as being next to the Creator, in a position of reverence and respect. Hence, the Euro-Western and the Aboriginal views of womanhood clash with one another. This research study introduces the Omisimaw Leadership Model as one approach to investigating that clash, and to seeking ways through which that model can be used as a tool in the healing of Aboriginal communities. Returning to the Women Fire describes processes of personal transformation through engagement with Indigenous Research Methodologies, and it provides the reader with an understanding of how ancient Indigenous knowledge structures, like the Omisimaw Leadership Model, continue to prevail and help Aboriginal women in personal and community healing, wellness and transformation.
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