In Good Relation: History, Gender, and Kinship in Indigenous Feminisms

Over the past thirty years, a strong canon of Indigenous feminist literature has addressed how Indigenous women are uniquely and dually affected by colonialism and patriarchy. Indigenous women have long recognized that their intersectional realities were not represented in mainstream feminism, which was principally white, middle-class, and often ignored realities of colonialism. As Indigenous feminist ideals grew, Indigenous women became increasingly multi-vocal, with multiple and oppositional understandings of what constituted Indigenous feminism and whether or not it was a useful concept. Emerging from these dialogues are conversations from a new generation of scholars, activists, artists, and storytellers who accept the usefulness of Indigenous feminism and seek to broaden the concept.

In Good Relation captures this transition and makes sense of Indigenous feminist voices that are not necessarily represented in existing scholarship. There is a need to further Indigenize our understandings of feminism and to take the scholarship beyond a focus on motherhood, life history, or legal status (in Canada) to consider the connections between Indigenous feminisms, Indigenous philosophies, the environment, kinship, violence, and Indigenous Queer Studies. Organized around the notion of “generations,” this collection brings into conversation new voices of Indigenous feminist theory, knowledge, and experience. Taking a broad and critical interpretation of Indigenous feminism, it depicts how an emerging generation of artists, activists, and scholars are envisioning and invigorating the strength and power of Indigenous women.

ISBN-13: 9780887558511

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: University of Manitoba Press

Publication Date: 05-01-2020

Pages: 272

Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.68(d)

Sarah Nickel is a Tk'emlupsemc Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Her first book, Assembling Unity: Pan-Indigenous Politics, Gender, and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, was published in 2019. Her next project explores Indigenous women’s political work in the twentieth-century west. Amanda Fehr is a white settler from Saskatoon. She completed her PhD in History at the University of Saskatchewan in 2018. Her doctoral research included community engaged oral history work in the predominantly Metis community of Ile-a-la-Crosse and with the English River First Nation. She works as an educator, researcher, and public engagement consultant.

What People are Saying About This

Sarah DeLeeuw

“In Good Relation breaks ground, extends knowledge terrains, and respectfully invites readers to open their mind, to be challenged, changed, and even charmed.”

Gina Starblanket

“In Good Relation accomplishes precisely what the early Indigenous feminists worked so hard to pave the way for; that is, it unapologetically engages a diverse and multi-dimensional range of conversations around the violences and erasures of settler colonialism and heteronormative patriarchy, continually generating new knowledge, connections, relationships, and ideas about how to work towards a better life.”

Table of Contents

Introduction The Uninvited Us Ch. 1 Making Matriarchs at Coqualeetza: Stó:lō Women’s Politics and Histories across Generations Ch. 2 Sami Feminist Moments: Decolonization and Indigenous Feminism Ch. 3 “It Just Piles On, and Piles On, and Piles On:” Young Indigenous Women and the Colonial Imagination Ch. 4 “Making an honest effort”: Indian Homemakers’ Clubs and Complex Settler Engagements Ch. 5 Reclaiming Traditional Gender Roles: A Two-spirit Critique Ch. 6 Reading Chrystos for Feminisms that Honour Two-Spirit Erotics Ch. 7 Naawenangweyaabeg Coming In: Intersections of Indigenous Sexuality and Spirituality Ch. 8 Morning Star, Sun, and Moon Share the Sky: (Re)membering Two-spirit Identity through Culture-Centered HIV Prevention Curriculum for Indigenous Youth Ch. 9 Honouring our Great-Grandmothers: Or, an Ode to the Urban Indigenous Feminists “who didn't take shit from nobody!” Ch. 10 on anishinaabe parental kinship with black girl life: 21st century ([de]colonial) turtle island Ch. 11 Towards an Indigenous Relational Aesthetics: Making Native Love Ch. 12 Conversations on Indigenous Feminism Show More