Sky Woman Research Paper

In the article Colonialism and First Nations Women in Canada by Winona Stevenson, the author explains the struggle First Nations women had keeping their culture alive. Upon arriving in America the Europeans suffocated the natives with their rationalisation of female subjugation. Reluctant to give up their traditions and honour the native-American women put up a fight, but their efforts would not be strong enough to triumph over the European missionaries. Stevenson chronologically explains their contact with the ‘colonial agencies'.

The documentary begins with a recounting of issues faced by indigenous people in Northern British Columbia stating that the economic growth is strong, however the division of wealth sharing is still not in place, forcing smaller communities to live below the poverty line, with an unemployment rate as high as 92% in some first nation reserves. The issue of the murdered and missing women and girls is a sad result of systemic and socioeconomic issues that have

Experiences that we encounter impact the way we view life. In “The Sasquatch at Home” by Eden Robinson her First Nations culture is expressed through a personal lecture that allows the reader to understand her views and relate to her. The unique way that she expresses the important elements within her community gives us an opportunity to learn and identify with some aspects of First Nations culture. Additionally, “A Winter of Hardship” by Chief Thunderchild, written in an earlier time, offers a detailed view into how he overcomes a life threatening winter and why it impacts his life.

Barker, J. (2008). Gender, Sovereignty, Rights: Native Women's Activism against Social Inequality and Violence in Canada. American Quarterly, 60(2), 8. Retrieved fro m http://search.Proquest.com.Ez proxy.library.yorku.ca/docview/61688929?Acc ountid=15182.

“Water is important to people who do not have it, and the same is true to control,” (Didion). The article, “Holy Water” by Joan Didion draws parallelism to the controlling or lack of control of water by metaphorically comparing water to life. Analyzing the possibility of how people are taking water for granted, especially where rainfall is extremely sparse, Didion touches on how supply and demand of a natural resource is solely dependent on its availability and whether or not it is immediately needed. Didion’s use of tone, appealing to emotions, gathering the audience to develop a trust, and providing a direct insight into her purpose allows the reader to recognize the importance water has within the planet.

On July 28th 2010, through Resolution 64/292, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation. They acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realization of all human rights. The UN stated that water should be, “safe, sufficient, acceptable [taste, colour, odor], physically accessible, and affordable” (Knight and Hartl, 2003). Water is one of the most important elements to human life. In Canada we are host to about twenty percent of the world’s fresh water (Boyd, 2003). It has a square kilometer measurement large enough to cover both California and Nevada (Matsui, 2012, p. 1). While most Canadians who live in urban areas are free to enjoy safe drinking water, some First Nations communities living on reserves do not (White, Murphy, Spence, 2012). For instance, as of July 2010, 116 First Nation communities in Canada were under a drinking water advisory (Health Canada, 2010), with many of these communities living under advisories for prolonged periods of time. This issue is of vital importance to discuss and evaluate because clean, safe drinking water is a mandated human right. In Canada we have failed to ensure that water on reserves meets that standards set out by the UN.

This collecting of folkloric data opened Barbeau’s eyes to the need to salvage the cultures of Native and French Canadians alike. « Fortement inspiré par l’ethnologie de la

Storytelling continues to be an integral part of Native American culture, providing us with an understanding of what was important to the Native Americans. Through their stories, Native Americans expressed an understanding of the environment, and the relationship that existed between themselves and their environment. These stories also provide us with a look at Native American legends, history, and a collection of knowledge critical to their survival. Native American stories are deeply rooted in their relationship with Mother Earth. Their many years connected with land, life, water and sky has created many stories explaining these important bonds with Mother Earth. From ancient times the Native Americans have looked to their

Canada can be considered one of the most desirable First World Nations to live in however what many people are not aware of is the Third World nation that lives within our borders. Fist Nations people within the Canadian North live in the most extreme poverty often with inadequate access to water due to either a lack or deteriorating infrastructure. The statistics about First Nations water issues are startling and this leads to implications of their quality of life, a disappearing culture and pure lack of serious government intervention. This can be attributed to many things such as Canada’s Aboriginal versus non-Aboriginal and centralists versus decentralists fault lines. If I have learned anything in my life time, it is that people deserve the right to life and that means meeting them at their most basic needs such as providing opportunity in water resources.

No analysis of violence against Indigenous women can be made without first looking at colonization as the antipasto of the conflict (Cooper & Salomons 2010). “It is thus paramount to understand the context of colonisation in Canada in order to begin to understand the structural problems and barriers that lead to serious numbers of missing and murder Indigenous women in Canada.” (Cooper & Salomons 2010, 31). When the Europeans first came to “turtle Island” they were “highly dependent” on the assistance of Indigenous women (Cooper & Salomons 2010). However when the Euro-North American governments were forming, the issue of ownership of land became significant. “As the settler society

For the decades the first nation peoples are not being treated properly. Whether in terms of signing treaties or getting compensation of using their water from shoal lake 40. The Canadian government has carried out against Indigenous people, their land and their water as well. A centaury ago when the demand for water was increasing in Winnipeg city because of growing population , the federal government forcefully captured their reserve land on shoal lake 40 in order to construct aquaduct which is used to carry water extracted from shoal lake into the Winnipeg city. The federal government did not think about the consequences the first nation people will face who actually depend on shoal lake for their survival. T

The Grassy Narrows (Asubpeeschoseewagong) First Nation is an Ojibwa First Nation located north of Kenora, ON. The community has been fighting against environmental injustices imposed on them from various actors over the last 40 years (Rodgers, 2009, para. 10), involving issues with mercury poisoned fish (para. 1) clear cutting of their lands (para. 27) and subsequent degradation of their land, water and food sources. This essay will detail the environmental justice struggles of the Grassy Narrows First Nation, point out the unfair treatment and environmental racism they have been subject to and will also question the role that authority, power and litigation have played within the community.

In order to understand the constructed identity of Aboriginal women in Canada today and in the past, it is necessary to discuss ideas of empire, including Manifest Destiny and Terra Nullius. These European concepts were and generally still form the ideology operating in Canada. Expansion of the ruling class’ empire is taken for granted and divinely supported. This is the basis for European exploration of the globe, claiming of already occupied lands and colonization of existing peoples. Manifest Destiny was the 19th Century settler belief that it was their destiny to expand throughout North America. Terra Nullius is the concept that land determined to be empty, in other words not being used productively by a civilized people, could be occupied by those Europeans who found it. Of course, both of these concepts belong to the ideology of European empire expansion which indisputably devalued the existing Aboriginal communities. The French and English settlers pushed their Christian beliefs onto Aboriginal peoples and succeeded in altering Aboriginal communities from their matrilineal nature into

She argues that women face many institutional and societal barriers. In this regard, I will give examples of the institutional and structural barriers such as “The Indian Act” which have significantly affected Indigenous women in Canada in many ways including social, economic and political. While comparing feminists and Indigenous feminists, I think that Native women are different in several ways including social, cultural, historical, political and economic; therefore, Indigenous feminism is a way of practicing the values that they have been taught and inherited from their