journal article

Excerpt from Article, Page 71-72:

"Women have always been the backbone and keepers of life of the indigenous nations of North America. Most precontact indigenous civilizations functioned as matriarchies, and women of those cultures did not espouse subordination to males, whether such males were Native or from the white/Euro-American culture. Considering their traditional significance in the continuation of Native cultures, it should not come as a surprise that European colonizers often targeted Native women.

Excerpt from Author's Introduction, Page 25-26:

"In the mid-1880s, the Department of Indian Affairs launched an investigation into claims by Indian signatories to Treaty Six tat the government was not honoring its treaty commitments. Because its own records were flawed, the department instructed its employees to father Indian recollections and oral testimonies and relied on the on this information when it concluded that some treaty obligations did remain unfilled.

 Author's Abstract:

“This article examines the imposition of Canadian criminal law on the Native population of the North West Territories 1878–1885. In spite of severe deprivation as a result of the difficulties of adjusting to an agricultural economy, the crime rate among the native population was strikingly low. With the single exception of livestock theft, native crime rates were less than 20% of those of whites. The authors conclude that the Canadian authorities adopted a cautious and selective approach to introducing criminal sanctions.

Authors' Abstract:

“This paper reviews some recent research on the mental health of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis of Canada. We summarize evidence for the social origins of mental health problems and illustrate the ongoing responses of individuals and communities to the legacy of colonization. Cultural discontinuity and oppression have been linked to high rates of depression, alcoholism, suicide, and violence in many communities, with the greatest impact on youth.

This article highlights the domestic and political factors Indigenous women must navigate through in their lifetime. Settee emphasizes the significance of healing, which challenges the 'creation of empire' narrative that imperialist governments reinforce world-wide. Settee illustrates that while some international response to rights violations has been garnered, mainly through the work of Indigenous activism, there continues to be a disregard for Indigenous rights throughout Canada.

This study covers survey data related to differences in opinion in Saskatchewan between Indigenous and non-Indigenous respondents regarding crime, the economy, health, and Indigenous self-government.

Excerpt, Page 6:

“The Taking the Pulse data allow us to get a snapshot of the opinions held by people in Saskatchewan on various topics and identify areas for further exploration. The study suggests that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people hold distinct views on many issues.

This article discusses the marginalization that happens when Native Studies is subsumed within the department of Ethnic Studies, as opposed to being its own department. For Wheeler, this is not necessarily intentional every time, but often results in the corrosion of a robust, analytical “understanding of difference,” an important distinction to recognize.

This article discusses the unchallenged myth which has persisted over 160 years regarding the origins of the Cree syllabic system. Wheeler highlights the fact that Cree people have failed to be consulted on the topic and as a result, oral histories explaining its origins have been ignored. Wheeler highlights that of the two conflicting accounts, the European/colonial account dominates discourse because it is just that, part of the dominant discourse which frequently ignores oral histories in favour of written records.

 Author's Abstract, Page 29-30:

"Individuals who are mentally ill, distressed, or struggling with addiction are among the most vulnerable in any Aboriginal community. However, in addressing their needs, Western medical models of diagnosis and treatment marginalize the historical and social context of their suffering, the social inequities that exacerbate their distress, and the inner strengths and resilience of Aboriginal peoples and their cultures to survive despite ongoing adversity.

Author's Abstract, Page 69:

"In this paper I critique understanding held by dominant Canadian society about the reproductive lives of Indigenous women. Specifically I explore how local reproductive relations are constituted by intersecting discourses emerging out of arenas of science, medicine, public health, and front-line service provision that empower certain categories of people to nurture and reproduce, while the reproductive futures of others are discouraged and if at all possible, avoided (Ginsburg and Rapp 3).