Indigenous mothers inspire their daughters

A few months agoCBC Aboriginal asked readers to send in photos and stories about Indigenous women who inspire them.

Manypeople sent instories of their mothers, and we saved some of the best for Mother's Day.

Here are stories of resilience and lovesharedbydaughterssaluting their Indigenous mothers and grandmothers.

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Cheryl Tress says her mom, Susie Tress, a Carrier woman from northern B.C., is the strongest woman she knows.

"She was put in residential day school as a child, where she experienced a tremendous amount of difficulty," writes Tress.

"When her mother became ill, she had to leave school to care for her younger siblings."

Tress writes that when her mother dealt with pregnancy complications when giving birth to her younger brother Danny.

"My brother experienced fetal distress, and has mild brain damage as a result," writes Tress.

"The health care professionals at the time tried to take my brother away because they believed she would not be able to take care of him. However, she refused, raised him, and he is happy, healthy [and] has held a part time job for over a decade."

Tress' mother does everything she can to keep the Carrier language and culture alive. She was hired as the first Carrier language teacher at the local school, and also taught her children the traditional way of living off the land, by fishing for salmon and picking berries.

Charlotte Blackhawk'smom is an elder at Pelican Fall High School in Sioux Lookout, Ont., where she also went to residential school.

Blackhawk writes, "She's a great grandmother, mother, aunt and friend I wouldn't be the woman I am today without her."

Nichole Murdock says her mother, who was a single parent, "has gone above and beyond herself to give her children more than we need," said Murdock.

"To me she is the definition of resiliency, she has shown me I can get through anything and become whatever I want to be."

Dakota Sinclair says her mother Debbie Chickeness, a single parent, always gave up something for herself if that meant her children would benefit.

"She made sure I went to school everyday and made me understand that education is vital," writesSinclair. "It's because of her that I graduated [from] high school and I am now in university."

Chickeness also gives back to her community whenever she can, and she is "a strong and proud woman whose kindness and strength spreads to the people around her," writes Sinclair.

Sonya Ballantyne writes that her mom Gladys is "tough as nails and has been traveling two hours each way to go to dialysis for over a decade."

"She never lets her illness defeat her and she stays tough and she inspires me to do the same."

Tristen Nezcroche says her mother Donna Smith is very strong, and persevered despite facing difficulties.

"My mom pursued a career in social work so she could better help communities and works tirelessly at her job with the utmost dedication to the people she works for," writes Nezcroche.

Both Tristen's mom and grandmother have "instilled a pride in my identity as a Dene woman, and I hope to one day live up to their example."

Rainbow Dawn Patricia Flett says her mother, Cecelia McKayis a survivor and despite everything she has gone through she still smiles, laughs and loves.

"I honestly thought I would lose her many times because of the struggle she had with her past trauma and addictions," writes Flett.

"She gives and gives and gives even when she hardly has anything because she loves to help. She's been abused, minimized, mistreated, and yet she has shown me there is always hope that things will get better."