Blossoming of a Ukrainian Canadian Savella Stechishin

About the Book

This biography of Savella Stechishin tells the story of a woman with a vision and the determination to fulfil it. She came as a child from Ukraine in 1913 with her family and settled in Saskatchewan. Her parents sent her to a student residence, Petro Mohyla Ukrainian Institute in Saskatoon, to obtain a high school education. Still in her teens, she formulated her goals to help uplift Ukrainian immigrant and Canadian born women of Ukrainian descent to meet Canadian standards. She married at the tender age of 17 and became a mother within the year of marriage. This did not deter her determination to become an educated woman and she continued her schooling, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Saskatchewan, being the first woman of Ukrainian descent to do so. She went on to teach Home Economics to women in the Ukrainian bloc settlements of Saskatchewan. Along with other young like minded women in Saskatoon, her goal of uniting women of Ukrainian descent was achieved by founding the national Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada. Savella played an important role in the preservation and sharing of Ukrainian folk art and cuisine.

About the Author

Natalie Ostryzniuk, a descendent of Ukrainian pioneers in Manitoba, has had a keen interest in her heritage and been active in her ethnic community, as well as in the mainstream community of Regina. After being awarded a Master of Arts degree majoring in Canadian History in 1998, she decided to write a book on Savella Stechishin, the subject of her Master’s dissertation. Natalie has presented a number of papers about Ukrainians in Canada at various conferences and seminars. She is an administrator with a biotechnology company in Regina. She is married, has two grown sons and two grandchildren