Sterilization of North American Indigenous Women

Prior to the 1970s, the sterilization of men and women all over North America was conducted legally and without consent or full knowledge about the procedure and it's side effects. This phenomenon developed and occurred throughout Canada and the United States from a movement called the Eugenics movement. Those who were targeted for such procedures were mostly of discriminated groups such as indigenous people. Specifically, indigenous women were continuously targeted due to stereotypical "promiscuous" behaviors or links to alcoholism. The practices of forced sterilization in Canada was finally repealed in 1972. However, reports of indigenous women have surfaced with the most recent report being in 2017, which indicates that policies and certain medical professionals are still to this day following the principles of Eugenics.

Brief History of The Eugenics Movement in North America

Originally the philosophy of Eugenics was focused around the nature Vs. nurture debate, and promoted the reproduction of societies healthy, smart and successful individuals. However, the Eugenics movement took a sinister turn around the early 1900s, as medical professionals and political authorities developed eugenic programs to sterilize those individuals who were mentally ill, or deemed unfit for society.

It was highly practiced within the academic community as it attempted to improve the human gene pool. Therefore those who inherited unwanted genes underwent sterilization procedures and as a result would not be able to reproduce. These eugenic mindsets seemed to negatively influence these programs that conveyed a form of discrimination and racism towards marginalized social groups such as Black and indigenous people, as well as many other immigrants, in addition to those who were crippled or had mental disabilities such as down-syndrome or autism. There is even evidence of Nazi programs that encouraged the use of such eugenic programs.

The Sterilization of Canadian Indigenous Women

Indigenous women were continuously targeted for eugenic programs and the number of cases only increased throughout the years in Canada, as they were represented as "mentally defective". Alberta and British Columbia both had legislative acts supporting the sterilization process for Indigenous women throughout the 1930s to the 1970s. Consent for sterilization was only sought in 17 percent of Indigenous cases while 77 percent of other indigenous cases were done without a signature due to the claim that they were mentally defective. In British Columbia during 1935-1943, 57 of the 64 cases of individuals who were sterilized were indigenous women, and that 35 of those cases were based on the claim of promiscuous behaviors.

These women often had to give consent or were forced to consent to sign for the procedure to get their fallopian tubes tied, even if they were completely opposed to it. This problem has been extremely prominent in Canadian history and has unfortunately seemed to resurface within a case report in 2017, although the procedures were repealed by the government in 1970. There are many claims that explain the influence of the sterilization of these women that involve the troubled history between Canada and it's indigenous people, and the motivation behind such acts of cruelty are always done to ensure that these socially marginalized groups do not reproduce. Recently within the past 20-25 years, multiple indigenous women have come forward in claiming that they were victims of unnecessary sterilization. These women were not properly informed about the procedure and were told that it was reversible, while some were even forced to consent during inappropriate conditions such as when they were in labor.

The Canadian health care system continues to play an instrumental role in fragmenting Indigenous families and has stripped Indigenous women of their sexual anatomy and reproductive rights. “Today, colonialism is often constructed as something that occurred only in years past, and solely embodied by the residential school system (and less often, by the Sixties Scoop).” “It is important to recognise that there is an extensive system of colonial policies, practices, and discourses influencing Indigenous people’s lives and have profound material and social impacts.”

“The Sixties Scoop is an ongoing project of colonisation.” The Sixties Scoop refers to the forcefully transfers of Aboriginal children out of their communities and into non-Aboriginal families.. Interventions of this sort further perpetuate assimilation as these children are the least likely ever to return home and are most often disconnected from their communities and ways of life.” “Persistent discourses framing Indigenous peoples as inherently prone to substance use problems and violence shape many service providers’ assumptions about and practices with Indigenous mothers and families, often with detrimental effects.” There are numerous instances where Indigenous mothers have had their children apprehended and taken from their custody after visiting the hospital for a minor health inquiry such as fever.

"Imperial constructions of racial hierarchies and ideologies have been used to justified the subjugation of indigenous individuals." Furthermore, the health care systems unjustifiable procedures towards indigenous peoples should be “understood within the larger context of colonialism, the oppression of women, and the denial of indigenous sovereignty.” Eugenics ideology has played an integral role in the dissemination of the notion that individuals who are the antithesis of white, cis-gendered, heterosexual, able-bodied women should not engage in motherhood. “The sexuality and reproductive potential of other women were considered threatening to the social order and status quo.” In addition, pervasive depictions of indigenous women as impoverished, marginalised individuals who rely on state aid has been utilised by eugenicists who have portrayed them as costly burdens. In addition, racist imperial tropes portray Aboriginal women as “savages,” “depraved,” or of “loose moral character.These narratives are unfounded. However, they are deemed justifiable by “eugenically minded doctors to police Aboriginal women’s sexuality intensely.”

The entrenchment of eugenics in colonist policies is essential for capitalist expansion in Canada. “Western institutions policies deliberately subjugate Aboriginal women through their separation from the land, the control of their bodies and those of their children.“ The expropriation of Aboriginal lands, resources and the imposition of capitalist relations were all made possible through the subordination and exploitation of Indigenous women." “The coercive sterilisation of Aboriginal women cannot be understood as an isolated instance of abuse, but as one of many policies employed to undermine Aboriginal women, to separate Aboriginal peoples from their lands and resources, and to reduce the numbers of those to whom the federal government has obligations.”Furthermore, “coercive sterilisation has worked as one of many policies to undermine Aboriginal women and their ability to make decisions about their own lives. This practice can be linked to other explicit policies stemming from the Indian Act that have undermined Aboriginal women and denied them the ability to participate fully in life within their communities and is consistent with the provision of medical services in ways that promote assimilation and state control over Aboriginal bodies.”

In addition, "sterilisation also breaks the link between one generation and the next by breaking the connection between Aboriginal women and their future.” “The break that comes from robbing Aboriginal women of the ability to reproduce cannot be undone, and effectively terminates the legal line of descendants able to claim Aboriginal status. Thereby reducing the numbers of those to whom the federal government has longstanding obligations, whether these are founded, in treaties, or are obligations stemming from the occupation of Aboriginal peoples’ lands. ““The sterilization of Aboriginal women allows the Canadian state to deny responsibility for and avoid doing something about the deplorable conditions in most Aboriginal communities, conditions recognised as the direct result of dispossession and colonialism.”

It seems as though their health professionals were the promoters of the sterilization and although they should always have their best interests at heart they unjustly forced their patients into signing. Many of these women are taking action and have filed class-action lawsuits towards the doctors and health professionals for the violation of their rights, with the involvement of the UN committee.

What can be done?

Due to the underlying racism and discrimination that seems to bring about such acts within our modern society, there can be ways to improve or at least work towards full termination of such cruel acts of suppression. Although, in our modern world, we seem to have a better understanding of racism and discrimination, and our current mindsets logically claim they are morally wrong, facing the difficulty of reality that we can fall into it like a bad habit is crucial to overcoming the unconscious habit. Encouraging personal reflection of everyone in society to challenge those thoughts and stereotypes.

Another way to eradicate such immoral acts is by properly training our medical professionals, and teaching them that these stereotypes of indigenous people and other socially marginalized groups are still present within our society. If professionals are able to train themselves to recognize and challenge those unconscious discriminations we can improve our mindsets.

References

• 16. <ref>https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/1858127786?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=14656
• 17. <ref>https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/an-act-of-genocide