Women on the Frontlines: Grassroots Movements against Environmental Violence in Indigenous and Black Communities in Canada

Indigenous and Black women in Canada are disproportionately impacted by racial and gendered forms of environmental violence that are rooted in a legacy of colonialism, white supremacy, and patriarchy. Gender, race, class, and other social identities render Indigenous and Black women more susceptible and vulnerable to a web of inequalities that inflict violence on their bodies, lands, and communities. In response, Indigenous and Black women have been building grassroots social and environmental justice movements for decades to challenge the legal, political, and corporate agendas that sanction and enable environmental violence in their communities. This article examines the disproportionate social, economic, and health impacts of multiple forms of environmental violence in the lives of Indigenous and Black women in Canada, including low income and poverty, systemic racism in employment and law enforcement, and environmental racism and climate change. The article also calls attention to the transformative human agency of these women by illuminating their legacy of grassroots mobilizing and activism against the various forms of environmental violence in their communities.