Settler Colonialism and the Contemporary Coerced Sterilizations of Indigenous Women

Abstract

Within the context of settler colonialism, this paper investigates the contemporary coerced sterilizations of Indigenous Women in Canada. By going through the history of coercive sterilizations in Canada, and then delving into the efforts in light of these supposedly historical coerced sterilizations, of culturally safe care in hospitals in Canada. This paper goes on to investigate the case of M.L.R.P., who was coercively sterilized in 2008. Lastly, this paper relates to Audre Lorde's work on the "master's tools" to the activism put forth around the case of indigenous women's coercive sterilizations highlighting again, the settler colonial contexts of these cases.