Impacts of Settler Colonialism on Indiegenous Women of British Columbia

Colonial British Columbia

The birth of the proprietary colony of Vancouver Island in 1849 came after European colonizers insisted the Native populations weren’t adequately capitalizing on BC’s natural resources (Harris, 2007). This carried forwards as the main justification for resettlement of British Columbia’s forced displacement as assimilation of their indigenous peoples. Almost a decade later, Colonial “British Columbia” was created amidst the Frazer River Gold Rush (Edmonds, 2010). It would not be until 1871 that British Columbia as it was now called, joined the Canadian Confederation. Throughout the entire process the indigenous population was painted as a savage people, in desperate need of cultural and religious intervention. Through the Indian Act in 1876, indigenous women were stripped of their rights to participate in governmental roles, and property ownership (Edmonds, 2010). Today, first nations people represent 6% of the BC’s overall population (232,000 individuals) who are forced to overcome social, economic and environmental barriers- transcending generations- imposed on them by the settler society (Gov.of British Columbia, ND).

• Wiki211.jpg Indigenous Women Weaving Baskets in Northern BC

Gendered Indigenous Histories in British Columbia

Historical Perceptions of BC's Indigenous Women

Even now one cannot walk from the ferry up the Esquimalt road by day or night without encountering the sight of these Indian Slaves squatting [...] Hundreds of dissipated white men, moreover, live in open concubinage with these wretched creatures.” Matthew Macfie 1865 in Vancouver Island and British Columbia: Their History, Resources and Prospects

By the time British Columbia joined the confederation, the indigenous woman had become "wholly sexualized (Barman, 2010)" in attempts to justify her stolen land, dignity, and family. Their identity was cornered at the intersectional conjunction of an Indian, and a Woman; categorized into either the Indian Princess- willing to disassociate from her primal culture, or the Squaw- a promiscuous woman without moral character (Hanson, n.d). The squaw was the symbolic resistance to the euro-patriarchal regime which defined itself through a widespread attempt to belittle her existence; she was dirty, lazy, an inadequate mother, and a savage(Anderson, 2004). They were used to satisfy “male nature”, and barred from developing an identity beyond their sexuality (Farley et. Al, 2005) as Jean Barman states: "By default, Aboriginal women were prostitutes or, at best, potential concubines (Barman, 2010)." In order for the colonization to have been successful, the native American woman would have needed to be seen as: “within the grasp of the white man(Harris, 2007).” She had gone from a leader, a nurturer, a teacher, into a justification for a cultural genocide.

Indigenous Women in Residential Schools

The stereotype of the squaw cleared the way for cultural assimilation and the justification for the 29 residential schools across British Columbia (Gov. of British Columbia, n.d). It was then justified to assimilate her culture through the removal of her children and impose euro- settler gender roles on the “savage” society. They were no longer knowledge keepers or respected elders; they were forced to learn little but household duties, English, and the Christian Agenda (Hanson, n.d). Shame was instilled into their bodies, their way of life, and their essence of being (Gilchrist, 2010). Rates of sexual abuse against girls were disturbingly high- as stated by BC supreme court justice Douglas Hogarth:

“The Indian residential school system was nothing more than institutionalized pedophilia” 

The systematic inequality perpetuated within this generated intergenerational trauma that transcends generations. The last residential school in mission BC did not close until 1984- which allowed for decades of abuse, neglect, rape and isolation (Gov. of British Columbia, n.d). Stereotypes perpetuated against indigenous women carry through not only settler society today, but many have been internalized and indigenous women in BC resultantly have a detrimental view of their own womanhood (Anderson, 2004).

Modern Challenges

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in BC

In Canada, over half of the female indigenous population reports severe form of violence or assault (NWAC, n.d). This is paralleled by the exceedingly high homicide rates, especially in British Columbia where more than a third of the 500 (Gilchrist, 2010) Missing and murdered indigenous women cases occurred, with half of those unsolved (NWAC, n.d). Almost 90 percent of those cases, were mothers. The infamous Highway of Tears is a 724 kilometre stretch of Highway 16 through Prince George and Prince Rupert. Here, it has been speculated that 30 indigenous women have gone missing from 1969-2006 (Carrier Sekani Family Services, n.d). These statistics reflect the indigenous woman’s devalued status in British Columbia, where the misconstrued “squaw” and her reputation for sexual deviance and worthlessness is intimately woven into the colonial fabric.

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  Marching for Justice for Missing Indigenous Women in BC

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A visual showcase and further information can be found at: http://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/

The Downtown East Side

Northern BC is not the only hotspot of systematic racism and sexism. Referred to as the “Urban Reserve (Farley et al, 2005)” the female to male ratio in the DTES of Vancouver is approximately 3:1. Left impoverished, disconnected and abashed from colonial processes, indigenous women suffer from disproportionally high rates of HIV AIDS, teen pregnancy, alcoholism, and drug abuse (C. Benoit et al, 2003). The residential school systems instilled shame into the body resulting in fear and embarrassment when seeking medical attention (Anderson, 2004). Upwards of 80% (Farley et al, 2005) of indigenous women in scholarly studies have admitted to suffering childhood abuse, perpetuating cycles stemming from the forced takeover of British Columbia. These women were either forced into residential schools, or raised by women who had, themselves, suffered tremendous physical, mental, and sexual abuse from these institutions.

Summary

Indigenous women in British Columbia today are burdened at the intersectionality of racism, sexism, and classism. They are seen not only as second class citizens, but arguably, not citizens at all. The gendered experience of colonization stems from assimilation tactics embedded into the Canadian psyche, through sexist legislation with the Indian Act of 1876, and furthermore with the cultural genocide perpetuated by residential schooling systems. The resistance to the colonial movement was embodied by the indigenous woman, and dismissed through belittling her worthiness and sexuality.

References

     Anderson, K. (2004). The Construction of a Negative Identity. In A. Prince & S. S Wayne (Eds.), Feminisms and Womanisms (229-238). Toronto, On: Women's Press.

    Barman, J. (2010). Taming Aboriginal Sexuality: Gender, Power, and Race in British Columbia, 1850-1900. BC Studies: The British Columbian Quarterly, 0(115/6), 237-266. Retrieved from http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/bcstudies/article/view/1735/1782., 1850-19001 JEAN BARMAN 

    Benoit, C., Carroll, D., & Chaudhry, M. (2003). In search of a Healing Place: Aboriginal women in Vancouvers Downtown Eastside. Social Science & Medicine, 56(4), 821-833. doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(02)00081-3

    Carrier Sekani Family Services. (n.d.). Retrieved April 09, 2018, from http://www.highwayoftears.ca/about-us/carrier-sekani-family-services

    Edmonds, P. (2010). Unpacking Settler Colonialism’s Urban Strategies: Indigenous Peoples in Victoria, British Columbia, and the Transition to a Settler-Colonial City. Urban History Review, 38(2), 4. doi:10.7202/039671ar

    Farley, M., Lynne, J., & Cotton, A. J. (2005). Prostitution in Vancouver: Violence and the Colonization of First Nations Women. Transcultural Psychiatry, 42(2), 242-271. doi:10.1177/1363461505052667

    Gilchrist, K. (2010). “Newsworthy” Victims? Feminist Media Studies, 10(4), 373-390. doi:10.1080/14680777.2010.514110

    Harris, C. (2007). Making Native Space: Colonialism, Resistance and Reserves in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press.

    Hanson, E. (n.d.). Marginalization of Aboriginal women. Retrieved April 09, 2018, from http://indigenousfoundations.web.arts.ubc.ca/marginalization_of_aboriginal_women/
 
    Harper, A. (2006). Is Canada Peaceful and Safe for Aboriginal Women? Canadian Women Studies.

    NWAC. (2010, March). Fact Sheet: Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and ... Retrieved April 9, 2018, from https://www.bing.com/cr?IG=3F9D1B9FAFAD4FE7AC47FD535D788D9F&CID=278D52B964FB6473398E5975655465ED&rd=1&h=ICesp3MaRzllgezgzrD3IkKUyVdPztIlpCaOOGHInbM&v=1&r=https://nwac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2010-Fact-Sheet-British-Columbia-MMAWG.pdf&p=DevEx,5067.1