The Birthing Tree

In February 1968, two 12-year-old girls, Susan and the narrator (Aliet), study together for college despite their young age.

Susan is deeply interested in the Women’s Liberation Movement and the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, a Canadian government group created in 1967 to study gender equality.

Susan’s mother occasionally visits Aliet’s home to buy tea for what she calls 'women’s troubles', a euphemism for menstrual or reproductive health issues.

Susan becomes Aliet’s first friend who isn’t from the local area or part of the small community surrounding their homes.

Their friendship begins when Susan visits Aliet’s house and notices cultural items like ash baskets for garden vegetables and braids of sweetgrass hung over the door, which are traditional Indigenous symbols.

When Susan asks if Aliet is Indian, Aliet responds that she is half-Indian but doesn’t know who her father is, which surprises Susan but doesn’t deter her from becoming friends.