Colonialism, gender and the family in North America: for a gendered analysis of indigenous struggles

This paper explores the case for a feminist, gendered analysis of anti-colonial Indigenous struggles in two stages: It considers the historical and contemporary relationship between colonialism and gender, moving from pre-colonial Indigenous life through colonisation and assimilation to explore Indigenous life today. It then discusses the problems and possibilities that the intersection of colonial power and gender presents for Indigenous struggles. The paper focuses on Indigenous communities in North America, engaging in particular with Inuit in Nunavut. It suggests that a gendered analysis is critical to understanding colonial power and is therefore vital to thinking about anti-colonial Indigenous struggles; that an Indigenous Feminism may be able to move beyond the limits of dominant, Liberal and European feminisms as well as those of Indigenous resistance strategies.