Love what you hear? Send us fan mail!

On July 10, 1799, Equaysayway, an Ojibwe woman, received the baptismal name Madeline Cadotte. As part of the Crane clan, Equaysayway represented the powerful connections to fur-rich lands on the Great Lakes. Her skills as an Indigenous woman were invaluable to the fur trade, so much so that experienced fur traders sometimes blamed missions gone wrong on women not being present.

Equaysayway married her husband, Michel Cadotte, in the tradition of à la façon du pays, meaning "according to the custom of the country." The couple married without religious ceremony and were a power couple until the very end. As a mother, Equaysayway instructed her children in Ojibwe language and customs, ensuring her legacy persisted long after she was gone.

Today, Madeline Island on Lake Superior is named after her.

Come along with us as we cover Equaysayway's part in building a fur trade enterprise, representing her Ojibwe kin, and defining life in two worlds through history and astrology!

Sources

Articles:

• “1827 Deed for Old La Pointe” by Amorin Mello
• “She’s on a mission to keep her Ojibwe heritage and family history alive” by Audrey Korte, October 12, 2022 (https://www.startribune.com/on-a-mission-to-keep-her-ojibwe-heritage-and-family-history-alive/600214979)

Digital Media:

• Madeline Island: A Documentary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bYWVJIePUY)
• Marge Hebring talks about history of the Ojibwe and the Cadottes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVjmG18eFb4)

Books:

• Brule River Forest and Lake Superior by Jane Grimsrud
• The Cadottes: A Fur Trade Family on Lake Superior by Robert Silbernagel
• Exploring Ojibwe Spirituality by Mark Anthony Reynolds
• History of the Ojibway People by William W. Warren, 1984 edition
• Holding Our World Together: Ojibwe Women and the Survival of Community by Brenda J. Child
• Many tender ties: women in the fur trade by Sylvia Van Kirk

Websites:

• Madeline Equaysayway Cadotte (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12715657/madeline-cadotte)
• Madeline Island Chamber of Commerce (https://www.madelineisland.com/)
• Madeline Island Museum: About Us (https://madelineislandmuseum.wisconsinhistory.org/explore/#About_Us)
• Michel Cadotte | The Canadian Encyclopedia (https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/michel-cadotte)
• Ojibwe People's Dictionary (https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/)
• Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (https://wisconsinfirstnations.org/red-cliff-band-of-lake-superior-chippewa/)

Support Us!
Patreon: patreon.com/MakingMythPodcast
Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/makingmythpodcast

Love what you hear? Send us fan mail!

In 1791, French writer and feminist Olympe de Gouges published The Declaration of the Rights of Woman. She declared it was time for women to have equal rights and called them to demand a place in the National Assembly. The French Revolution saw France torn apart by turmoil and Olympe was right there, calling out the injustices needing to be fixed.

Olympe wrote plays calling for the abolition of slavery and advocating for women's autonomy, rubbing elbows with the elite in the fashionable salons of Paris. She ignored the warnings of her friends when she began making powerful enemies. Revolutionary figures including Robespierre and Bourdon attacked her for being too outspoken.

She met her end by the guillotine on November 3, 1793. As Revolutionary politicians attempted to erase her legacy, Olympe's voice prophetically echoed from her tomb. Today, she's remembered as one of the most radical feminists that called for reforms that weren't realized until 200 years after her death.

Come along with us as we explore Olympe's writings, life, and legacy through history and astrology!

Sources

Articles:

• “French Revolution: History, Timeline, Causes, and Outcomes” by James Hardy (https://historycooperative.org/the-french-revolution/)
• “Olympe de Gouges” by René Viénet (https://www.quercy.net/olympe-de-gouges/#gsc.tab=0)

Books:

• Feminism's and Abolitionism's First Tragic Victim: Olympe de Gouges by Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D.
• Women's Rights and the French Revolution by Sophie Mousset

Digital Media:

• "The Execution of Olympe de Gouges That Shook the French Revolution" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH0dLgSV7Qk)
• “History of Fashion Design: Late 18th Century ‘a la victime’ fashion” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP5SC5i6iA0)
• “Olympe de Gouges”, In Our Time, BBC Radio 4 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0016hdj)
• “Olympe de Gouges”, Queens Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/episode/4L4oHB6EEmRtN2B5rQJxCR?si=Q0VWn-HiRiO2FFMn3nyzjQ)
• "Olympe de Gouges | The Woman History Tried to Erase" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1h1r0yK6DE)

Primary Sources:

• Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen by Olympe de Gouges
• Heroic action by a French woman or France saved by women by Olympe de Gouges
• Les Trois Urnes by Olympe de Gouges
• Olympe de Gouges to the Revolutionary Tribune by Olympe de Gouges
• Prognostic of Maximillen Robespierre, by an Amphibious Animal by Olympe de Gouges
• “The Trial of Olympe de Gouges”from Women in Revolutionary Paris, 1789-1795
• Une Patriote Persecutee a la Convention Nationale by Olympe de Gouges

Websites:

• Gouges, Olympe de (https://iep.utm.edu/gouges/)
• The Guillotine Headquarters (https://guillotine.dk/)
• Olympe de Gouges: Timeline (https://olympedegouges.eu/timeline/)

Support Us!
Patreon: patreon.com/MakingMythPodcast
Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/makingmythpodcast