Jane Constance Cook
Introduction
Jane Constance Cook (Ga’axstal’as) (1870 – 1951) was a First Nations leader and activist of the Kwakwakaʼwakw people.
The daughter of a KKwakwakaʼwakw noblewoman and a white fur trader, she was born on Vancouver Island and was raised by a missionary couple. Her education included knowledge of the law. She trained as a midwife and a healer. She had a good understanding of the culture of indigenous peoples as well as that of the colonists and well-developed literacy skills.
Cook worked to preserve land and resource rights for her people in the face of colonialism and advocated for the rights of women and children.
She testified before the McKenna–McBride Royal Commission, which was established to review indigenous people's land rights in British Columbia.
She was the only woman to serve on the executive of the Allied Tribes of British Columbia.
Her criticism of traditional practices and support of the potlatch ban resulted in loss of status for her and her descendants.
Standing up with G̲a'ax̱sta'las
In 2012, the University of British Columbia Press published Standing Up with G̲a'ax̱sta'las on her life and impact on future generations. The book was on the short list for the François-Xavier Garneau Medal and received the Aboriginal History Prize and the Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin Prize from the Canadian Historical Association and the Canadian Committee on Women’s History book award.