Resource information
Aboriginal women in Canada are at the forefront of resistance when it comes to threats to their land and culture. This is the conclusion of this study, which examines the links between Aboriginal women, protest and human security. The study shows that restrictions on fishing rights, expansion in logging, and ski-resort development are being fiercely fought by Aboriginal women. They stand in front of trains, blockade roads and mobilise demonstrations and this often results in clashes with authorities and police violence. Aboriginal women both use and challenge their gender roles. They fight to protect their children's rights as traditional home keepers and life givers and preservers and at the same time challenge traditional ideas of motherhood when they argue for their need to be absent from home. The study concludes with a look at Bill C-36, new Canadian anti-terrorist legislation that increases police powers and curbs civil rights to protest. The report argues that this legislation could be used to further repress Aboriginal protest and recommends that Aboriginal communities be exempt from this law.
