Michèle Audette: A Woman of Perseverance
© Quebec Native Women.
As part of a series of articles on major personalities who have furthered the cause of tolerance in Canada, Tolerance.ca® presents Michèle Audette, president of Quebec Native Women (QNW). At once proud of her roots and at home in today's reality, she is lucid about the situation of Native women and unbending on the need to recognize their rights.
Michèle Audette, president of Quebec Native Women (QNW), greets the journalist with a firm handshake. In her large office in downtown Montreal, a candle diffuses the gentle fragrance of fresh apples. The office is crammed with boxes. The phone rings non-stop. Michèle is run off her feet, handling one problem after another: the organization is about to move its offices to Kahnawake.
From Mother to Daughter: Same Struggle
With her round face, exotic beauty, and jet-black hair, Michèle Audette looks unmistakeably Native. But in the eyes of the law, she was not. When her mother, Évelyne Saint-Onge, an activist and co-founder of QNW in 1974, married a White man, she lost her Indian status. So did her children. In the 19th century, the federal government adopted a series of measures aimed at assimilating Aboriginal people; one of those was the Indian Act, passed in 1876, which stipulates that a Native woman who marries a White man is no longer a Status Indian and cannot live on a reserve. This clause - which remains in effect in 2004 - applies only to women.
For years, Évelyne Saint-Onge fought tooth and nail to have the clause abolished. In 1998, her daughter took up the torch. Before becoming president of QNW at the age of 25, Michèle Audette worked as a public relations officer and coordinator at several Aboriginal festivals, then as a researcher for Nations, a magazine show on Aboriginal affairs broadcast on Télé-Québec. She also made a short foray into film acting. She has sat on the the Board of Directors of several Aboriginal centres.
Between Urban and Traditional Life
Michèle Audette was born in Maliotenam 32 years ago. She chose to live in a Montreal suburb with her father, while returning regularly to the reserve. She remains close to both parents. "My father taught me to express my emotions, rather than letting them fester inside. He still hugs me all the time like I was a baby. I often go to see him when I'm going through a difficult period. I'm really spoiled in the way of parents!"
Long deprived of the teachings of her people, her mother is now immersing herself in Innu culture. "She always kept her language and pride, even though they took away her status," notes Michèle. "She realizes that she has a lot to learn about hunting, fishing, trapping and the forest. She's also learning about medicinal plants." Does Michèle feel the same need to rediscover her roots and traditions? "It will come. For the moment, I'm devoting my time to the cause of Native women."
A Law That Still Hurts
Without a doubt, Michèle Audette's greatest wish is the abolition of the Indian Act. Despite the amendments of 1985, the struggle is far from over. In accordance with the right to citizen equality enshrined in the Canadian Constitution, Indian status was restored to women whose status had been revoked. Michèle and her mother were among the lucky women who saw their status restored.
But the reintegration of women into the reserves has led to some friction: the band councils, composed mostly of men, must approve their return, and some remain hostile to the idea of recognizing mixed marriages. Thousands of women are still awaiting their Indian status, and women re-admitted to the reserves cannot pass on their status to their mixed-heritage children (this applies to one of Michèle Audette's sons). "In 40 years, will there be any Aboriginal people left?" she worries.
Women's Rights: An Ongoing Struggle
While some progress has been made in women's right to Indian status, violence remains omnipresent on the reserves. Some 80% of Native women have experienced physical or psychological violence. Nearly 50% have been sexually abused. Drug and alcohol use, suicide and youth pregnancies are on the rise. Unfortunately, many Native women, silenced by shame and fear of reprisal, are reluctant to admit to domestic violence. In response, QNW activists have spoken out at the Assembly of First Nations to denounce the daily dramas lived by women.
"What I admire about Michèle is that she's honest, open-minded, and always optimistic," says Clara Gloade, president of the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association. "She's not afraid to tell the truth, even if it hurts. If some Native men and women don't want to face reality, too bad for them! We're in 2004. Women no longer have to hide behind a so-called traditional role. I'm 100% behind her!"
Promoting New Models
In general, notes Audette, when Native communities make the news, it's only to reinforce a negative or disreputable image. Why? "That's what sells newspapers," she says. "Recently, a Native woman who owns a forestry company won an award. That's an accomplishment, yet it wasn't mentioned in the media. Okay, it's true that things are not going well on the reserves. But I'm eager to see them talk about the successes. After all, there are Native people who are educated, self-taught, intelligent and ambitious. Those people deserve to be recognized."
What remains of Native women's role today? "Men see us as the bedrock of the nation. It's still the woman who passes on the Native culture, language, traditions and values to her children. She remains very traditional. But we don't just have babies! I have a role to play in terms of civil and democratic participation in society. I have things to say. I can envision the future along with everyone else. I have a right to that!" Audette declares.
On March 15, 2004, Michèle Audette was named associate deputy minister, responsible for the Secrétariat à la condition féminine, in the Quebec government's Ministère des Relations avec les citoyens et de l'Immigration.
Translated by Christine York.
To learn more:
Article
Collective under the direction of Élaine Hémond,
Folles de la politique: Interview with Michèle Audette, produced by Femmes, politique et démocratie, Éditions Septembre, 2002.
FilmLamothe, Arthur,
Silencing the Guns, 97 minutes, Pathé Télévision, 1996. Web sites
Quebec Native Women: http://www.qnwafaq.com/ Native Women's Association of Canada: http://www.nwac-hq.org/
PetitionA petition against the Indian Act can be signed at the Web site of the Fédération des femmes du Québec: http://www.ffq.qc.ca/actions/indiens.html
This article is one of a ten-part series made possible with the financial support of
