At the time of the research, the program's instruction and the administration staff were all women, including the dean of Community and Upgrading Education (CUE), the program coordinator, two instructors, the adult literacy coordinator, and support staff.

Aside from providing adult basic education, CUE's primary function is to offer non-credit and credit programming, client-specific programming, Native and International Education, and community adult literacy programming. It has offered women-only programs in the past. New Worlds for Women, for example, is offered regularly. Programs such as Career Explorations, although not designated women-only, often end up with a women-only registration. Because the department is used to such courses, therefore, neither the college faculty nor the administration viewed the Aboriginal Women and the Workplace program as unusual or controversial.

Involvement in the CCLOW research project

In September of 1991, Nancy Steel, the literacy coordinator for the college, heard about the CCLOW research from an Edmonton colleague. She had for some time wanted to work with the issue of women and literacy. After reading Discovering the strength of our voices. the report from the first phase, she realized she wanted to participate. She approached Jeanne MacIntyre, the Native and International Education coordinator, to ask if a writing workshop might fit within the upcoming Aboriginal Women and the Workplace program. After consulting with the program coordinator and the GED instructor, all agreed that a writing workshop might enhance the program.

The woman-positive activity

Nancy set out three goals for the writing workshop: it should seek to increase the women's confidence as writers, it should encourage the women to see writing as a vehicle for exploring their experiences, and it should increase writing skills. The writing topics would address women's personal experiences, women's issues, and Native issues. At this point, Nancy contacted Betty-Ann Lloyd, the coordinating researcher, to get acquainted and discuss their possible participation in the second phase of the research. The writing workshops began in October and occupied three to four hours each week.

The women wrote on a variety of topics, ranging from older women role models to a critique of the justice system as it affects Native peoples. Various kinds of writing were encouraged, including letters to the editor, poems, essays, and books for their children.