Race, Indigeneity and the Baden-Powell Girl Guides: Age, Gender and the British World, 1908–1920

Abstract

This chapter considers the interactions between settlers, visitors and indigenous Girl Guides in Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand and Asia during a high period of imperial dominance.1 Official sources for Guides dating between 1908 and 1919 are used to focus specifically, where possible, on the involvement of indigenous girls. The analysis first demonstrates the role of the young in establishing and governing Guiding within diverse colonial contexts, then addresses the varying levels of indigenous inclusion that occurred across these locations. The final section shows how Guiding enabled both indigenous and settler girls to engage in outdoor activities, support the war effort, harness a public profile and — to varying degrees — find acceptance as citizens. A greater focus than hitherto accorded to age as a category of analysis allows attention to be directed towards the experience of Guides themselves.