Wuaneita Society

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The Wauneita Society
Wauneita Society Chant.jpg
Named afterRough translation of the Cree word for kind-hearted
Formation1908
Founded atUniversity of Alberta, Edmonton
Dissolved1973
TypeWomen's club
Membership
All female students
Formerly called
Seven Independent Sisters (1908), Wauneita Club (1909)

The Wauneita Society was a women's group at the University of Alberta from 1908 to 1973.[1] For many decades, it functioned as a support system for the relatively few female students on campus. The group organized lectures, social events, and fundraisers, and eventually operated its own women-only study hall in the old Students' Union Building. The group's core traditions and identity were heavily appropriated from stereotypes of Cree culture, at a time in Canadian history when Indigenous communities were criminalized for practising their culture.[2]

Founding and identity[]

Seven women dressed in 1900s attire, laying in the grass on campus
The seven original members of the Wuaneita Society's predecessor, Seven Independent Spinsters. Source: University of Alberta Archives

Of the 45 students in the University's first cohort in 1908, seven were women.[2] These original seven formed a type of sorority, called Seven Independent Spinsters, or S.I.S., with the intention of supporting the women's social and academic needs.[3] In 1909, when it became clear that there would be more than seven members, the group changed its name to the Wuaneita Club, and then to the Wuaneita Society in 1910.[3]

Like the Greek culture of fraternities and sororities, the Wuaneita women looked to other cultures to develop their identity and establish a unique character.[4] While histories of the organization note that the members chose their moniker from the Cree word for kind-hearted, there is no mention of what that Cree word was; the closest Cree word to Wuaneita is wanêyihtam, which translates to indicate a lack of logical thinking.[5] The motto of the group, "payuk uche kukeyow, mena kukeyow uche payuk," is a grammatically rough translation into Cree of "all for one, one for all."[3]

In its early days, the club organized fundraising events, debates, lectures, dances and other social events and began the tradition of initiating all new female students.[3] All female students at the University were initiated into the Society each fall and paid a 75 cent membership fee.[3]

Growth and dissolution[]

Three women sitting in the Wuaneita Room, a wood-panelled women-only study hall, at the University of Alberta in 1935
Three women sitting in the Wuaneita Room, a wood-panelled women-only study hall, at the University of Alberta in 1935. Source: University of Alberta Archives

Later, in the 1950s and 60s, the students operated Wuaneita Hall in the old Students' Union Building as a women-only space for studying and socializing.[1]

Throughout the 60s and 70s, as the university's female population grew, the club's thousands of members clashed over the group's purpose: some wanted to continue focusing on etiquette and domesticity while others were keen to address progressive issues like birth control and drug use.[6] The Club wound down in 1973.[2]

Cultural appropriation[]

A dance hall full of young students, with a tipi on one wall below the word Wuaneita
Wuaneita Society Dance, 1939. Source: University of Alberta Archives

The name, culture, and traditions of the Wuaneita Society are heavily appropriated from stereotypes of Cree culture; the women often called themselves "Tribe Wuaneita".[3] The name Wuaneita is a rough equivalent to the Cree word meaning "kind-hearted".[2] Initiation ceremonies featured First Nations accoutrements like feathers and headdresses, and initiates were welcomed using a "blanket of friendship" that would be draped over each woman's shoulders by the "Big Chief," the society president.[2] The motto of the group was "payuk uche kukeyow, mena kukeyow uche payuk," a rough translation into Cree of "all for one, one for all" that is still engraved above the outer doors of Pembina Hall on main campus.[7]

In 1950, the new Students Union Building opened on campus and contained several student lounges, including an all-woman room for the Wuaneita Society.[8] The lounge was decorated with a large mural, commissioned by the Society from arts professor Henry George Glyde to depict an "ancient Cree legend," but there is no mention of which legend.[8] The work is titled When All the World was Burned and it remains on display on campus in the Rutherford Library atrium.[9]

For much of the Wuaneita Society's existence, as they were coopting First Nations traditions and ceremonies, the Potlatch ban was in effect in Canada.[2] While the Society was using First Nations culture to build a bond among female students at the university, the Canadian government was arresting Indigenous peoples across the country for the same practises.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Sydie, Rosalind; Prestwich, Patricia; Cullen, Dallas (2009). "Women's Studies at the University of Alberta". In Robbins, Wendy (ed.). Minds of our own : inventing feminist scholarship and women's studies in Canada and Québec, 1966-76. Wilfred Laurier University Press. pp. 163–164. ISBN 9781554587742.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Scott, Sally (2015). "A Place for Women: The Wauneita Society at the University of Alberta". Edmonton City as Museum Project ECAMP. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  3. ^ a b c d e f McFadyen, Ursula (2016). "'How Kola': The Wauneita Society at the University of Alberta, 1908-1930". University Of Calgary, University Of Calgary, Paul Stortz. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26392. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ WOMEN IN HIGHER EDUCATION, 1850-1970 : international perspectives. [Place of publication not identified]: ROUTLEDGE. 2019. ISBN 0-367-26384-X. OCLC 1089843744.
  5. ^ "wanêyihtam (Verb)". itwêwina Plains Cree Dictionary. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  6. ^ Standing on new ground : women in Alberta. Cavanaugh, Catherine Anne, 1945-, Warne, R. R. (Randi Ruth), 1952-. Edmonton [Alta.]: University of Alberta Press. 1993. ISBN 0-88864-258-X. OCLC 243593549.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ^ "pîtos-mâmitoneyihtamowin (reimagine) UAlberta WEBSITE - Wauneita Society Club Motto". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  8. ^ a b Schoeck, Ellen. (2006). I was there : a century of alumni stories about the University of Alberta, 1906-2006 (1st ed.). Edmonton: University of Alberta Press. pp. 386–387. ISBN 0-88864-464-7. OCLC 70884560.
  9. ^ "pîtos-mâmitoneyihtamowin (reimagine) UAlberta WEBSITE - When All the World was Burned". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  10. ^ Bracken, Christopher. (1997). The potlatch papers : a colonial case history. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-06986-9. OCLC 36573703.
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