WGS Contemporary Native American Women’s Issues

Objective

Objective

1. Identify and discuss at least one contemporary issue that impacts Native American women.
2. Explore the characteristics, concerns, and values of Native American women through the lens of contemporary issues.

Instructions

Essay should be 3-4 pages in length. Double-spaced with 1 inch margins. Make sure that you use evidence to support your claims and that the evidence is cited in text.

In this unit on contemporary issues, we’ve looked at numerous contemporary issues that disproportionately effect Native American women (reproductive rights, forced sterilization, removal of children and ICWA, missing and murdered Indigenous women, violence against women act, pipelines and energy, and food. In preparation for your final project, I’d like you to consider our list of characteristics, concerns, and values to explore how at least two qualities we’ve identified and their relationship to contemporary issues. You definitely should NOT try to do every characteristic, concern and value, just several of them and offer an observation (or insight) about the recurrence of these across the women and issues we have discussed. I want to allow you some flexibility here, but if you need explicit guidance send me an email.

Characteristics

• Resilience
• Pride
• Complex identity
• Generosity
• Reciprocity
• Humility

Concerns

• Sovereignty
• Cultural protection
• Violence against women
• Protect identity
• Representation
• Displacement/assimilation
• Intergenerational Trauma
• Environmental impacts
• Futurism

Values

• Gratitude
• Respect
• Loyalty to culture
• Community
• Reciprocity
• Family–Kinship
• Relationship to all things

Too often, the United States falls into the trap of mistaking that lens for its eye. As Alfred has pointed out, “the Western view of power and human relationships is so

thoroughly entrenched that it appears valid, objective, and natural

” (Cobb,7)

Contemporary Issues of Concern: Coming of Age and Reproductive Health

Read: 1. Indigenous Women FeminismsLinks to an external site.: https://www.iwrising.org/Links to an external site. 2. Mass SterilizationLinks to an external site.: https://time.com/5737080/native-american-sterilization-history/Links to an external site.Read: 1. NPR Series on Native foster careLinks to an external site.: https://www.npr.org/series/141763531/native-foster-care-lost-children-shattered-familiesLinks to an external site. 2. Nagle_The Story of Baby OLinks to an external site.: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/icwa-supreme-court-libretti-custody-case/Links to an external site. 3. Nagle_ICWA_DemocracyNowLinks to an external site.: https://www.democracynow.org/2023/6/16/scotus_indi…Read: 1. A Place for the Taken: https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/redre… to an external site. Watch: 2. Safety for Our Sisters; watch through all of Sarah Deer’s talk: to an external site.

TH 11/02

Environmental Justice and Sustainability: LaDuke

Read: 1. LaDuke: Wild Rice MoonLinks to an external site. https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/food/2000/07/01/wild-rice-moonLinks to an external site. 2. LaDuke: A Solar FutureLinks to an external site.: https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/tech/2001/10/01/a-solar-future-for-an-ancient-civilizationLinks to an external site. 3. LaDuke: …Rights of Wild RiceLinks to an external site. https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2019/02/01/the-white-earth-band-of-ojibwe-legally-recognized-the-rights-of-wild-rice-heres-whyLinks to an external site.