Forced Sterilization of Indigenous Women

Sterilization can be described as a medical procedure that intentionally leaves a person unable to reproduce and can be preformed on both males and females. Beginning in the 90th and 20th Century, sterilization was favoured by a set of beliefs known as eugenics which aimed to improve the human population. The use of sterilization was intended to "alleviate mental illness, family distress and poverty" in order to improve societies genetic qualities. Although this process seems to be in the best interest of the society, during this time it also coined the term negative eugenics which referred to compulsory sterilization meaning . In Canada, compulsory sterilization, also known as coerced sterilization "disproportionately targeted Aboriginal women by enacted legislation" that was both implemented with and without legal legislation. Coercive sterilization plays into a much larger context of Canada's colonial history to assimilate and erase the presence of Indigenous people.

Canada's History of Forced Sterilization

In Canada, both Alberta (1928) and British Columbia (1933) enacted eugenic legislations commonly known as Sexual Sterilization Acts . These legislations that were implemented by provinces and enforced by Health Care systems were put in place ultimately to reduce Indigenous communities according to Roger Collier by taking away women's right to reproduce without their consent or knowledge on the repercussions. Karen Stote states that Canada's "consistent undermining of Aboriginal women and their reproductive lives through policies and practices like coercive sterilization has been a longstanding attack against Indigenous ways of life in an effort to reduce those whose the federal government has obligations and in order to gain access to land and resources." Although the practice of sterilization was used amongst society, studies have shown that "Aboriginal people were overrepresented amongst the sterilization cases presented to the Eugenics Board" where they made up "6% of all the cases but represented only 2-3% of the provinces population." The reason for this overrepresentation is due to the fact that Indigenous women did not fit in with the Eurocentric dominant society's definition of being "mentally fit." In addition to these enacted legislations, there were also cases of forced sterilization of Indigenous women in the Northwest Territories that were preformed without legal legislations put in place.

Effects on Indigenous Women

Large numbers of Indigenous women were forcibly sterilized because they were believed to have suffered from poverty, poor housing, and poor physical and mental health. Indigenous women were moved from being highly respected in their communities as caregivers and family anchors to suffering from patriarchal laws put in place by colonialism. According to scholars such as Stote, Forced sterilization was ultimately An Act of Genocide, that was put in place to control Indigenous women's control over their own reproduction and to gain control over Indigenous peoples land and resources. This genocide against Indigenous women not only effects their right to reproduction it also left women feeling powerless, robbed of part of their womanhood and ultimately affected their romantic relationships, describes Collier.

Larger Context of Canada's History

Colonization

The trauma that Indigenous women are faced with from forced sterilization stem from the effects of colonization in Canada. This was another way the Canadian government attempted to assimilate Indigenous peoples into the euroCanadian lifestyle, I say attempt because Indigenous peoples still exist despite numerous attempts to erase Indigenous peoples. Other ways of assimilation through colonization includes Residential schools and the Indian Act.

Racism

The act of forced sterilization of Indigenous women demonstrates the racism in the Canadian healthcare system where Indigenous women were targeted based on their race. The disproportionate among of Indigenous women affected by sterilization demonstrates how overrepresented Indigenous women are in the cases recorded by the Eugenics Board and that non-Indigenous peoples were underrepresented in these results.

Intersectionality

In the context of Intersectionality, forced sterilization is an example of the oppression that Indigenous women are faced with due to their race, class, and gender. Indigenous peoples are a marginalized group that have experienced oppression from the effects of colonization as well as racism due to their race.

Present Day

Recently, the Saskatoon Health region apologized for the past forced sterilization of Indigenous women that occurred in the 19th and 20th century. This apology comes after numerous lawsuits against the health care system by Indigenous women. In addition, in 2017 there was an external review made by Dr. Yvonne Boyer & Dr. Judith Bartlett known as the Tubal Ligation in the Saskatoon Health Region: The Lived Experience of Aboriginal Women. This review outlines the experiences that Indigenous women have had with the healthcare system where they focus on the forced sterilization of Indigenous women. The report ends with a list of ways forward such as cultural training, education, reconstructing of policies, and requirements in Canadian law such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).