The Indian woman and household structure in Mill Creek, British Columbia
Date
1974
Authors
Nelms, Joyce Ethel
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Abstract
Within the past 30 years the Indians of Mill Creek, British Columbia, have experienced a change of economy from individual enterprise to that of wage labour as a part of the wider Canadian economy. The present division of labour tends to keep the women in the community, but forces the men to leave to find employment. The separation of the adult males from the females appears to weaken conjugal ties, leaving the mother-child bonds as the strongest and most enduring. It also produces conditions which have given rise to a unique household form: matrifocal household. This form has been defined as one in which there is no regularly present male to fill the role of husband/father. The consistent male member of the family is the mother.
This paper examines the conditions which resulted in a considerable number of matrifocal households in Mill Creek, and also offers some possible explanations as to why it is not the only, nor the most predominant household form in Mill Creek.