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Abstract
Savella Stechishin was the first woman to publicly call women of Ukrainian descent in Canada to unite under the umbrella of a national women's organization for the betterment of their being. To realize her vision of uplifting women of her ethnic group, she encouraged them to develop self-esteem, self-worth and self-enlightenment. Education was the key to accomplish this concept. She promoted Ukrainian national consciousness as an important facet in the elevation and fulfilment of Ukrainian-Canadian women. Women were, she believed, the guiding light in the home and were obligated to steer their children on a path toward higher learning--all within a framework of Ukrainianness. Ukrainian-Canadian women could not be separated from their ethnic group. Stechishin's conception of the woman issue developed under the influence of the Saskatchewan wing of the Ukrainian-Canadian intelligentsia. Due to prejudice against Ukrainians and their struggle to attain respectability and acceptance in Canada, the leading activists restricted their mandate within manageable confines. Their agenda did not include philanthropic projects nor abuse and welfare issues. Stechishin echoed the intelligentsia's pronouncements that to achieve success was to practice the ideology of self-reliance, self-respect and self-help, all tied together with the retention and promotion of their heritage. Once this philosophy was embraced, other issues could then be tackled. National consciousness preceded women's consciousness. Stechishin advocated a balance of socio-economic improvement with the importance of education and the pivotal role of motherhood. She can best be described as an ethnocultural social maternal feminist.
