Gender and Sexuality 2

Aboriginal women and families have been on the frontline all along trying to expose violence against indigenous women and its deep-seated roots, as well as to bring about chang. It has been more than 519 years that our women are still resisting colonial violence against us, our people, our nation and our land. It is the longest social movement in North America. To end violence for all people, aboriginal women must be at the epicenter of the solution.

ICMN (2012): Events Commemorating Aboriginal Female Victims of Violence.

Bridget Tolley (born in 1960), is a Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg activist for the rights of First Nation women in Canada.

Indigenous women were often at the forefront of anti-colonial movements. For example, Toypurina (1760-1799) in present day California or Bartolina Sisa (1750 / 1753-1782) in Bolivia. Sisa was in command of an army of 40,000 fighters who besieged the Spanish colonisers in La Paz for three months in 1781. The International Day of Indigenous Women takes place on the date of her death: she was executed by the Spaniards on the 5th of September, 1782. The educationalist Cyndy Baskin writes that colonial tyranny has often displaced indigenous gender concepts. For example, her research has shown that women were respected members of society in indigenous communities in Turtle Island, Canada (Baskin 2019).

*Pearson McKinney (2016): Before European Christians Forced Gender Roles, Native Americans Acknowledged 5 Genders. *Beverley Jacobs (2014): How do we stop aboriginal women from disappearing? Ted talk. *Families of Sisters in Spirit. *Cyndy Baskin (2019): Contemporary Indigenous Women’s Roles: Traditional Teachings or Internalized Colonialism?

2012