Lydia Charles and her husband Matthew were trappers - like many others in their Woodland Cree community in La Ronge, Northern Saskatchewan. But Lydia also had a special role in her community with sacred duties as midwife, medicine-woman, and mortician. Lydia would lose her livelihood and her status in society with the arrival of European culture and economy. She would also experience great personal tragedy. Nevertheless, she taught her children and grandchildren that the only way to cope with change is to embrace it.

Originally released by Susan Poizner, 2006. Streaming video file encoded with permission for digital streaming by Infobase on May 07, 2015.

An Introduction to Lydia's Family (7:23); --Cree Life Changes (7:35); -- Coping with Tragedy, Embracing Change (7:44); .