Introduction to "Indigenous Women: The State of Our Nations"

Abstract

Indigenous W omen: The State of Our Nations originated with our desire, as co-editors, to continue a working relationship that began with the anthology Strong Women Stories: Native Vision and Survival (2003). In Strong Women Stories, the contributors addressed the range of that Aboriginal women take on as they work to ensure the survival of our communities. A number of them examined the complex legal categories through which Canada classifies Nativeness, and explored how being labelled as a C-31 Indian, or as non-status or Metis, affected their ability to feel a sense of belonging within their own and other Native communities. Other women addressed of child-rearing, schooling, sexuality, leadership, women and traditionalism, aging, violence against women and children and healing. Notably absent in these accounts, however, were articles that explicitly explored the politics of sovereignty. This absence both intrigued and troubled us, and prompted us to ask the contributors to this journal to write about Aboriginal women and As a starting point, we knew that community issues and issues have often been separated within our communities. Sovereignty issues, as articulated by the formal leadership (largely male) have addressed land claims and constitutional battles, in the courts and within government circles. Community issues, as articulated by the informal leadership (largely female), have encompassed a range of struggles, including addressing violence against women and children, alcoholism and other addictions, the health needs of children and elders, and education that is culture-based and controlled. Too often, the agendas of the formal leadership are prioritized, while the informal leadership's concerns receive secondary attention. The gender divisions that underpin whose perspectives are prioritized are obvious; what is less clear are the ways in which the gender divisions forced on us by the colonizer may have resulted in different definitions, among men and women, of sovereignty and nationhood.