Indigenous feminism

In most Indigenous communities, it is colonisation and Christianity that has brought about the most profound and harmful changes in the standing and treatment of women.[3]

Through colonisation, Indigenous people became subject to a racist patriarchal system that significantly shifted the social, economic, and cultural practices of pre-contact Indigenous societies. The economic, political, and spiritual power granted to women in Indigenous communities was threatening to the arriving Europeans who used "Xenophobia and a deep fear of Native spiritual practices" to justify genocide as a means of domination.[7] Additionally, "while women's traditional roles in Indigenous communities vary widely, colonization has reordered gender relations to subordinate women, regardless of their pre-contact status."[8] Colonization worked to restructure Indigenous social systems to fit within the white settler ideal.

The struggles faced by Indigenous people today are due to the actions taken by settlers to assert dominance through colonization. White settlers often brought a new type of economic system from their European nation that included the idea of private property, ownership, and gendered labor, which was forced onto Indigenous communities.[6] In A Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood, Anderson notes, "the split between public and private labour and the introduction of the capitalist economies disrupted the traditional economic authorities of Native women."[9] Poverty is a problem for many Indigenous people, and can be traced back to the artificially enforced economic ideals of the colonizer onto Indigenous groups. In order to strip women of political power, colonizers forced regulatory systems onto Indigenous people, the Indian Act of Canada is one example of this. This act defined women's status as inferior to men's. Indigenous identity and status were now determined based on a patrilineal blood line, which cost women much of their social and political power.[10] The political and spiritual power of women are often connected, as the spiritual or theoretical role for women can inform a real political role. As a result, "heteropatriarchal religious traditions have excluded women and two-spirited peoples from leadership roles."[9] The combination of loss of power from the economic, political, and spiritual leadership places Indigenous people at a heightened risk of violence. The overall argument about the effects of colonialism "isn't just that we are being colonized, but [also] that we are assuming that nation-state form of governance is the best way to govern the world."[11]

Indigenous feminism seeks to build on traditional models while also incorporating modern, intersectional feminist ideas.[12] Indigenous feminism diverges from postcolonial feminism, as some have argued that postcolonial theory in general has largely ignored the histories of colonialism as it exists for Indigenous populations.[13] Some other Indigenous scholars (such as Robert Warrior, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Craig S. Womack) have expressed concern over the limits of postcolonial theory and its application to Indigenous studies. There is often distrust of Western theoretical paradigms which can marginalize Indigenous perspectives. In "Who Stole Native American Studies?" Elizabeth Cook-Lynn discusses the significant debate about what constitutes post-colonial, and who gets the privilege of naming when a society becomes post-colonial.[14] As a result, many have moved to Indigenous feminism as a way to redress these issues with postcolonial feminism.

The development of modern Indigenous feminism came out of a counterinsurgency against the attempt to apply western feminism equally and effectively to all women regardless of their experiences. Such attempts are seen as fruitless because it homogenized the very diverse experiences of women and Indigenous people. Building off of the theory of intersectionality from Kimberle Crenshaw, Indigenous feminist theory seeks to reverse the ways that White feminism "conflates or ignores intragroup differences."[15]

Cheryl Suzack and Shari M. Huhndorf argue in Indigenous Women and Feminism: Politics, Activism and Culture that: "Although Indigenous feminism is a nascent field of scholarly inquiry, it has arisen from histories of women's activism and culture that have aimed to combat gender discrimination, secure social justice for Indigenous women, and counter their social erasure and marginalization – endeavors that fall arguably under the rubric of feminism, despite Indigenous women's fraught relationship with the term and with mainstream feminist movements."[8] It is important to note that the urgent issues to address Indigenous feminism cross the boundary between what is considered feminist and what is considered indigenous.[16]

Much of Indigenous feminism has taken shape around issues that resulted from colonial practices.[8] Indigenous feminism is a direct result of, and a direct answer to the colonization and continued oppression of Indigenous peoples around the world. The need to question cultural practices from within allows Indigenous women to actively shape their own communities and helps encourage self-determination and cultural ownership. Differentiating Indigenous feminism from white feminism illuminates the ways that white feminism does not fully account for Indigenous experiences.

Similarly, Indigenous feminism is set apart from other Indigenous rights movements, such as Indigenous liberation theory, because those theories have "not been attentive to the gendered ways in which colonial oppression and racism function for men and women, or to the inherent and adopted sexisms that some communities manifest."[17] There are some within Indigenous communities who choose not to identify as feminist and therefore distance themselves from the mainstream feminism. There are many reasons for this choice, however, Kim Anderson argues that if

Western feminism is unpalatable because it is about rights rather than responsibilities, then we should all take responsibility seriously and ask if we are being responsible to all members of our societies. If we are to reject equality in favour of difference, then we need to make sure those differences are embedded in systems that empower all members. If we see feminism as being too invested in Western liberalism and individual autonomy, then we need to ensure that our collectivist approaches serve everyone in the collective. And if we want to embrace essential elements of womanhood that have been problematic for Western feminists ... then we have to ensure that these concepts don't get stuck in literal or patriarchal interpretations.[18]

Many scholars and activists identify Indigenous feminism as relating to radical feminism since it often advocates for an upheaval of all systems of power that organize the subjugation of Indigenous women based on both male supremacy and racial difference.[19] Indigenous Feminism encourages participation in decolonization needed from both men and women. Myrna Cunningham (Miskita) has stated that: "The struggle of Indigenous Peoples is not a threat to our struggles as Indigenous women. On the contrary, we see these struggles as reciprocal."[20] Decolonization is seen as the ultimate tool to combat subordination of Indigenous people.[2]

Indigenous feminists are often reluctant to engage with western mainstream feminist theory due to its failure to recognize the effects of the gendered process of colonialism on indigenous women, as well as a historical pattern of white women not understanding, or not being willing to be allies against, the multiple oppressions faced by Indigenous women. Mainstream feminists usually assume that fighting oppression on the basis of sex or gender is the top (or even sole) priority, while indigeneity is of secondary importance.[5] Moreton-Robinson has written that white feminists "are extraordinarily reluctant to see themselves in the situation of being oppressors, as they feel that this will be at the expense of concentrating upon being oppressed."[21] This focus on putting white women's needs before those of Indigenous women has historical roots, and can make Indigenous feminists weary of homogenizing the supposed goals and rights of "women".[22] All Indigenous women share the common experience of oppression resulting from colonialism; this is an oppression which they share with all other Indigenous peoples.[12]

The perspective of Indigenous women is therefore shaped by their historical connection to their landbase, a legacy of dispossession, racism, and sexism, continuing their activism within at times matriarchal contexts, as well as negotiating sexual politics across and within non-white cultures. White middle-class feminist women's relative privilege is tied to an often-unquestioned and unacknowledged legacy of benefiting from colonialism and the dispossession of Indigenous people. For Indigenous women, all white feminists have benefited from colonization, and continue to reap these benefits; white women are overwhelmingly and disproportionately represented, have key roles, and constitute the normal standard of womanhood within Australia and other colonial countries. According to Carrie Bourassa, the problem in addressing Indigenous feminist issues through this lens is that white mainstream feminism was itself infused with a narrative of colonialism. It has used indigeneity, racism, heteronormativity, and Christianity as tools to “other” Indigenous people and justify a need to “civilize” them; as a result, there has been a lack of inclusion of Indigenous women's work in mainstream discourses.[10]

Typically, when white feminists have ‘advocated’ or ‘included’ Indigenous women in their activism, it has been in a tokenistic sense; advocating primarily for their own benefit, and not for the collective benefit of all women, inclusive of the needs of Indigenous Australian women.[21] It has been evident in many Indigenous feminist movements that “Aboriginal (and other forms of Indigenous feminism) feminism is a theoretical engagement with history and politics, as well as a practical engagement with contemporary social, economic, cultural and political issues”.[23] While Indigenous women may acknowledge that there is overlap in the goals of Indigenous feminists and mainstream feminists, many, like Celeste Liddle (Arrernte) "strongly believe that as Aboriginal women, whilst our fights are related to ongoing feminist struggles within other racially marginalized groups, they are not the same."[19] An argument made by Minnie Grey in her essay, From the Tundra to the Boardroom to Everywhere in Between, about mainstream feminism is how it often fails to look beyond the basics of female oppression based on sex and gender at other issues, such as class, education, and the effects of these forms of oppression on Indigenous men.

"We, as Inuit women, have been striving for such things as equal pay for equal work, equal share of roles for the good of the family, equal rights to participate in the decision-making processes of our governments, equal rights for the hiring of women at all levels of commerce and science, equal rights in education, and most importantly, equal rights to raise our children in safe, healthy, and positive conditions. This means, among other things, above the poverty line. I look at these aspirations not as women's liberation, but as people's liberation. In fact, we need and love our men, and similarly, we need to liberate them from the concepts that bind them to unbreakable traditional roles that, in turn, keep the status quo intact in many regions of the world."[8]

One such example of the need to incorporate uniquely Indigenous perspectives is in the second wave's struggle for wage parity with their male counterparts. Celeste Liddle argues that "for example, whilst equal pay is important for all of us, for many years Aboriginal people were historically not paid for their labour at all."[19] Therefore, the second wave's fight for wage equality (among other issues), was perceived to push the rights of Indigenous women to the periphery.

Another such example is in the length of time taken to achieve certain rights. For example, while white women deemed to be citizens of Canada were granted the right to vote in 1918, all other women were not allowed the right to vote until much later. Aboriginal women in Canada were not allowed to vote until the 1960s, at which time the second wave of feminism had moved away from such issues.[9]

Rauna Kuokkanen (Sami) has argued for a specifically Indigenous paradigm, as opposed to a feminist one because while "some feminist theories and practices also aim at social and political changes in a society...their approaches often exclude notions of collectivity as well as land rights which are central elements for Indigenous peoples."[24]

Another criticism against mainstream feminism is presented by Cunningham:

"They see that the dominant feminist paradigm is based on an unacknowledged model of centre and periphery. In this model, Indigenous, African-descendent, and poor women occupy the periphery and must accept the ideas and conceptualization of feminism as defined by those at the centre. In other words, we Indigenous women are expected to accept the dominant picture of what constitutes women's oppression and women's liberation. The trouble is, this picture is only a partial match with our own experiences. Elements of our experience that do not match this picture are denied or marginalized. This dominant model tries to homogenize the women's movement, claiming that all women have the same demands and the same access to the enjoyment of their rights. This flawed assumption denies the diverse cultural, linguistic and social needs and visions of distinct groups of women."[20]

Indigenous Feminist scholars have resisted the co-optation and exploitation of their scholarship as another result of colonialism. As a collective, various Indigenous feminist scholars have called for "the profound need for transparency and responsibility in light of the traumatic histories of colonization, slavery, and genocide that shape the present"[25] in order to ensure Indigenous feminism is informed by decolonization.

A criticism of Indigenous feminism among some western academics and pop culture writers is that Indigenous populations "choose to distance themselves from feminism".[26] Feminism is viewed as unimportant by some indigenous women because the status of women in some of these societies was higher prior to colonization. That is to say, according to Hall, that to be "indigenous" is inherently "feminist."[12] But this critique itself relies on a definition of feminism (or "white feminism") as "colonial discourses relevant to western women only".[26] Feminism as a whole is often generalized as a white American phenomenon, with multiple scholars and feminists arguing that white feminism insufficiently addresses the concerns of women of more diverse backgrounds.[1] Indigenous Australian feminist Aileen Moreton-Robinson argues that all Indigenous women experience living in a society that casts them aside, which needs to be challenged through the practice of Indigenous feminism.[4] While all feminism is meant to identify interconnected forms of oppression that affect all women, historically, racism along with non-Native ignorance of Native women's continued existence and particular struggles (such as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis) has continued to alienate Indigenous women who don't see mainstream feminism as welcoming them or addressing their most crucial concerns.[1]

A majority of the texts that are labeled as "Indigenous feminism" refer solely to the Indigenous populations of Native Americans in the United States and, to a lesser extent, to the First Nations peoples of Canada. This is often the case when "Indigenous feminists" themselves are referred to, such as Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Leslie Marmon Silko.

There are several forms of feminism that address indigenous populations and may follow similar theories, themes, and/or scholarships of Indigenous feminism, but do not directly identify as "Indigenous feminism". These forms of feminism can include Intersectional feminism, Transnational feminism, Postcolonial feminism, Native Hawaiian feminism, Feminism in India, and Asian feminism. These forms of feminism are often separated from one another, in both scholarship and activism, due to the slight differences in beliefs and focuses. Some have called for more unity among these groups, theories and approaches.[27]

Resistance and activism against dominant colonial powers can come in a number of forms, including but not limited to: legal or political protest, healing practices, storytelling, or art activism.[28]

• Gender roles among the indigenous peoples of North America
• Chicana feminism
• Global feminism
• Gypsy feminism
• Islamic feminism
• Postcolonial feminism
• Postfeminism
• Transnational feminism
• Womanism

• Anderson, Kim. "Affirmations of an Indigenous Feminist." Indigenous Women and Feminism: Politics, Activism, Culture. Ed. Cheryl Suzack. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2010. 81.
• Deer, Sarah (2019). "(En)Gendering Indian Law: Indigenous Feminist Legal Theory in the United States". Yale Journal of Law and Feminism. 31 (1).
• Episkenew, Jo-Ann. Taking Back our Spirits: Indigenous Literature, Public Policy, and Healing. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2009. Print.
• Hill Collins, Patricia. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. [New ed.] London: Routledge, 2009.
• Suzack, Cheryl, Shari M. Huhndorf, Jeanne Perreault, and Jean Barman, eds. Indigenous Women and Feminism: Politics, Activism, Culture. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2010.
• Mihesuah, Devon A., and Angela Cavender Wilson, eds. Indigenizing the Academy: Transforming Scholarship and Empowering Communities. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004.
• Green, Joyce A. Ed. Making Space for Indigenous Feminism Black Point, N.S.: Fernwood Pub., 2007.
• Maracle, Lee. I Am Woman : A Native Perspective on Sociology and Feminism. Vancouver, B.C.: Press Gang, 1996.
• Anderson, Kim & Bonita Lawrence, eds. Strong Women Stories: Native Vision and Community Survival. Toronto: Sumach Press, 2006.
• Mihesuah, Devon A. Indigenous American Women: Decolonization, Empowerment, Activism. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
• Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity. London: Duke University Press, 2003.
• Razack, Sherene. Ed. Race, Space, and the Law: Unmapping a White Settler Society. Toronto: Between the Lines, 2002.