Canaries in the Mines of Citizenship: Indian Women in Canada

2001 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 715-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce Green
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Traditional Practices ◽  
Indian Women ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
Aboriginal Women ◽  
Indian Act ◽  
Canadian Citizenship

This article explores the concept of citizenship in relation to certain Aboriginal women, whose membership in First Nations is subject to Canadian federal legislation and First Nations constitutions and membership codes. In the struggle for decolonization, Aboriginal peoples use the language of rights - rights to self-determination, and claims of fundamental human rights. The state has injected its limited policy of ''self-government'' into this conversation, characterized by the federal government's preference for delegating administrative powers to Indian Act bands. Since the 1985 Indian Act revisions, bands have been able to control their membership. Where prior to 1985 the federal government implemented sexist, racist legislation determining band membership, now some bands have racist, sexist membership codes. In both cases, the full citizenship capacity of affected Aboriginal women, in either the colonial state or in First Nations, is impaired. The bands in question resist criticism by invoking rights claims and traditional practices; the federal government washes its hands in deference to self-government. The rights claims of affected women are scarcely acknowledged, much less addressed. Meanwhile, their citizenship in both dominant and Aboriginal communities is negotiated with the realities of colonialism, racism and sexism. Their experience demonstrates the limitations of citizenship theory and of Canadian citizenship guarantees.

scholarly journals Indigenous healthcare: Caterpillars to butterflies, case study supporting transformation

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-43
Author(s):  
Roger A. Boyer
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Indian Policy ◽  
Treaty Rights ◽  
Indian Act ◽  
First Peoples ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

The Canadian Government released a document to aid in the relationships between the Government of Canada and First Nations around the ratification and redesign of the Indian Act of 1876. The name of this document was the “White Paper.” The Federal Government's “White Paper, statement of Government of Canada on Indian Policy of 1969,” rejected the concept of special status for First Nations within confederation—they should have the same rights and responsibilities as other Canadians. The Federal Government argued treaty rights were irrelevant in today's society; the important issues demanding attention included economic, educational, and social problems. In Canada's assessment of the “savage” situation, the government could not see wellness wholistically addressing the poverty, social crises, and bleak future faced by most First Peoples was rooted in the very denial of treaty rights and humanness. This article pushes to educate health leaders about current circumstances contributing to racism.

scholarly journals “It’s Our Country”: First Nations’ Participation in the Indian Pavilion at Expo 67

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myra Rutherdale ◽  
Jim Miller
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Native Canadians ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Expo 67 ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This paper traces the history of Aboriginal people’s participation in national spectacle and argues that the Indian Pavilion at Expo 67 was unique in its assertion of the portrayal of Native/Newcomer relations. Historians have interpreted the impact of the Indian Pavilion as an event that awakened non-Native Canadians to both the plight of Aboriginal peoples and their increasing unwillingness to suffer in silence. The controversy over the contents and general argument of the Indian Pavilion followed soon after the release of the two-volume Hawthorn Report on the social and economic conditions First Nations faced, and operated just as the federal government was initiating a series of talks with First Nations leaders to forge a new policy towards First Nations. At the same time, there is little evidence that the Indian Pavilion, whatever succès de scandale it enjoyed, had a lasting impact on public opinion or policymakers. Where the experience of mounting, operating, and defending the Indian Pavilion did matter, however, was with First Nations themselves. Whether causation or coincidence, the newfound confidence and pride that underlay the creation of the Indian Pavilion was completely consistent with the positive demeanour of Aboriginal political leaders from the late 1960s on.

scholarly journals “Anyone not on the list might as well be dead”: Aboriginal Peoples and the Censuses of Canada, 1851–1916

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle A. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Social History ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Regulatory Body ◽  
Canadian Universities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Indian Act ◽  
Indian Affairs ◽  
Colonial Order

Abstract The enumeration of First Nations and Métis peoples in Canada must be considered differently from other ethnic minorities because of their colonial relationship with the state. Over the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Aboriginal peoples in Canada became increasingly subject to a separate regulatory body, the Department of Indian Affairs, and legislation such as the Indian Act, both of which affected the information recorded by the census. As the census extended to Canada’s north and west, Indian Affairs officials often acted as census enumerators, and, consequently, its creation of the legal categories of Métis and status Indian blurred the ethnic definitions laid out by the census instructions. Some Aboriginal peoples viewed the census as part of the ongoing process of their nation-to-nation relationship with the British Crown or the Canadian government, but many refused to cooperate with enumerators, seeing them as part of the colonial order which Indian Affairs attempted to impose upon them. Because the public use samples of census data being released by various Canadian universities will result in new social history research, scholars need to understand the ties between colonialism and the enumeration of Aboriginal peoples in order to interpret the data.

scholarly journals The Socio-Economic Characteristics of First Nation Teen Mothers

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rochelle Garner ◽  
Eric Guimond ◽  
Sacha Senécal
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Teenage Mothers ◽  
First Nation ◽  
Teen Mothers ◽  
Indian Women ◽  
Household Characteristics ◽  
Aboriginal Women ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Household Incomes

Using data from the 2006 Census, this study examines the socio-economic characteristics of First Nations and non-Aboriginal teenage mothers, and compares these to those of non-teenage mothers in a cohort of women aged 25 to 29 years old. Results indicated that First Nations women were more likely than non-Aboriginal women to be teenage mothers. In general, teenage mothers were less likely to have graduated high school, more likely to live in overcrowded housing, and in a home in need of major repair. Furthermore, teenage mothers had lower household incomes after adjusting for the composition the household. Characteristics also differed significantly between First Nations and non-Aboriginal women, as well as between Registered Indian women living on- and off-reserve.

scholarly journals The detrimental effects of obstetric evacuation on Aboriginal women’s health

2017 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Marie Corrado
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Culturally Competent Care ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Aboriginal Women ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas

In Western society, many colonial practices, such as the removal of Aboriginal women from their communities prior to birth, still detrimentally affects Aboriginal peoples’ lives. Health Canada’s evacuation policy for pregnant Aboriginal women living in rural and remote areas involves nurses, who are employed by the federal government, coordinating the transfer of all pregnant women to urban cities at 36-38 weeks gestational age to await the birth of their baby.1 The policy states that it is founded on concerns for the wellbeing of Aboriginal women, in an attempt to “curb First Nations’ child and maternal mortality rates”.1 However, there is a need to problematize the practice of obstetric evacuation given its colonial roots and its impact on Aboriginal women. The objective of this review paper is to explore and bring awareness to some of the consequences of Canada’s evacuation policy for pregnant Aboriginal women who live in rural and remote regions. Morespecifically, this paper, drawing on ethnographic research previously conducted with Canadian Aboriginal women on their lived experiences of prenatal care and birth, will examine the lack of social support, loss of control, and lack of culturally competent care that Aboriginal women face. The findings demonstrate an urgent need for policy makers to also consider the lived experience of Aboriginal women when making decisions that impact their health.

The Coercive Sterilization of Aboriginal Women in Canada

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 117-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Stote
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Indian Policy ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Aboriginal Women

This paper considers the coercive sterilization of Aboriginal women in legislated and non-legislated form in Canada. I provide an historical and materialist critique of coercive sterilization. I argue for coercive sterilization to be understood as one of many policies employed to undermine Aboriginal women, to separate Aboriginal peoples from their lands and resources, and to reduce the numbers of those to whom the federal government has obligations. I show how the effects of the sterilization of Aboriginal women, whether intended or not, are in line with past Indian policy and serve the political and economic interests of Canada.

scholarly journals Engagement Strategy for a Racism-Free Workplace

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-171
Author(s):  
John Samuel ◽  
Nand Tandon
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
High Education ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Visible Minority ◽  
Executive Summary ◽  
Visible Minorities ◽  
Workplace Barriers

Executive summary of a Canadian qualitative study conducted by John Samuel and Nand Tandon, John Samuel and Associates, Ottawa (2015). Despite being conducted several years ago, the study has remained unpublished until its inclusion in this CPI issue. The research examines systemic issues and barriers encountered by members of the First Nations and visible minorities in the high education segment of the Canadian workplace, barriers that remain in Canada today. The Engagement Plan for a Racism-Free Workplace forms part of the Labour Program of [the federal government’s] HRSDC’s drive to end race-based discrimination in the workplace faced by Aboriginal peoples and members of visible minority groups. As well, the federal government has made a commitment to removing race-related barriers in the workplace and to consulting racial and ethnic groups in developing public policy to achieve this objective.

scholarly journals Investigating the Linkages between FASD, Gangs, Sexual Exploitation and Woman Abuse in the Canadian Aboriginal Population: A Preliminary Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-22
Author(s):  
Mark Totten ◽  
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Fetal Alcohol ◽  
Aboriginal Women ◽  
Exploratory Investigation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Extreme Violence ◽  
Disproportionate Number ◽  
Health Canada

The purpose of this study, prepared for the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) and funded by Health Canada First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, is to provide an exploratory investigation into the linkages and to begin a journey into making the connection between FASD, sexual exploitation, gangs, and extreme violence in the lives of young Aboriginal women. Emerging data from Aboriginal gang intervention and exit projects in Canada suggest that many women experience sexual slavery and extreme violence in gangs, and that a disproportionate number also suffer from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Although much more research is required, preliminary data point to the importance of developing prevention strategies targeted at addressing family violence, drug and alcohol abuse, poverty, the social determinants of health and the history of colonization of Aboriginal Peoples. This work should focus on the strength and resiliency of Aboriginal peoples.

Surviving School and “Survival Schools”: Resistance, Compulsion and Negotiation in Aboriginal Engagements with Schooling

2021 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-55
Author(s):  
Amy Thomas ◽  
Beth Marsden
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
South Wales ◽  
First Case ◽  
Colonial Schooling ◽  
Colonial Capitalism

In Australia, Aboriginal peoples have sought to exploit and challenge settler colonial schooling to meet their own goals and needs, engaging in strategic, diverse and creative ways closely tied to labour markets and the labour movement. Here, we bring together two case studies to illustrate the interplay of negotiation, resistance and compulsion that we argue has characterised Aboriginal engagements with school as a structure within settler colonial capitalism. Our first case study explains how Aboriginal families in Victoria and New South Wales deliberately exploited gaps in school record collecting to maintain mobility during the mid-twentieth century and engaged with labour markets that enabled visits to country. Our second case study explores the Strelley mob’s establishment of independent, Aboriginal-controlled bilingual schools in the 1970s to maintain control of their labour and their futures. Techniques of survival developed in and around schooling have been neglected by historians, yet they demonstrate how schooling has been a strategic political project, both for Aboriginal peoples and the Australian settler colonial state.

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