Bertha Clark Jones

Bertha Clark Jones grew up on an Alberta farm. In 1940, she enlisted in the Royal Canadian Airforce and was soon a corporal, travelling to air bases to train air squadrons. (See also RCAF Women’s Division.) At the war’s conclusion she joined the Aboriginal Veterans Society, advocating for the rights of Indigenous veterans. (See also Indigenous Peoples and the World Wars.) In Fort McMurray, Jones created the friendship centre Nistawoyou to help Indigenous people find work. She also created New Start, an organization to help Indigenous people upgrade their education. In 1968, Jones co-founded the Voice of Alberta Native Women’s Society (VANWS) that helped Indigenous women fight for rights denied by the Indian Act. In 1974, the VANWS became the Native Women’s Association of Canada and Jones was its first president.

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