Resisting Colonial Limitations, Building Community and Sharing Knowledge

Urban Indigenous Women Determine their Reproductive and Sexual Futures

Authors

Keywords:

Canada, Indigenous, First Nations, Métis, women, reproductive justice, self-determination

Abstract

Colonial forces in North America have long targeted the reproductive practices of Indigenous women and gender-diverse people as part of the project to assert sovereignty over Indigenous lands and these oppressive forces continue to shape struggles for reproductive rights. While the reproductive choice movement remains predominantly focused on rights and access to abortion and contraceptives, Black women, women of colour, Indigenous women and Indigenous youth activists have taken up reproductive justice as a framework to analyze reproductive violence and advocate for reproductive freedom. Yet, missing from the extant literature are ways that Indigenous women activate reproductive justice in everyday contexts. Grounded in a collaborative, action-oriented study that amplified an Indigenous reproductive and sexual justice framework that is relational and centers self-determination, this paper examines how urban Indigenous women in Canada build reproductive and sexual self-determination through resisting colonial influences, drawing on government and community-based services, and contributing to the resurgence of Indigenous teachings and practices. Through foregrounding these material-discursive practices, our analysis highlights resistance work taking place outside of what is usually considered both reproduction and politics. In doing so, we aim to foster a broader view of ongoing resistance work, as well as illuminate future potential sites for movement-building.

Author Biographies

  • Holly McKenzie

    Holly McKenzie’s (PhD) community-engaged research program focuses on reproductive justice and health. Holly is a white-settler who works in alongside Indigenous communities to “make good trouble” and promote policy, service and community change. She is an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Saskatchewan, an adjunct professor at the University of Regina in the Department of Gender, Religion and Critical Studies, and co-director of the Politics of Reproduction Research Group. Holly has published peer-reviewed articles in Qualitative Health Research and Cultural Studies and Critical Methodologies, among others, and shares her research through various strategies, including blogs, fact sheets, podcast episodes and community presentations. Holly lives on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland on the Métis (in Saskatoon) with her partner, two dogs, and a cat. You can learn more about Holly’s research at www.hollyannmckenzie.ca 

  • Dory Nason

    Dory Nason (PhD) is an associate professor of teaching at the University of British Columbia in First Nations and Indigenous Studies and the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice. Dory’s research and teaching focuses on contemporary Indigenous Feminisms, exploring the rich intellectual history, activism and literature of Indigenous women. She is co-editor of the volume Tekahionwake: E. Pauline Johnson’s Writings on Native America, contributed to the anthology The Winter We Danced, and she has also published in the American Indian Culture and Research Journal as well as other journals and online platforms. She is Anishinaabe and an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. She also currently holds the position of President of the UBC Faculty Association.

  • Colleen Varcoe

    Colleen Varcoe (RN, PhD) is a professor emeritus in the University of British Columbia School of Nursing. Her work aims to decrease inequity and violence including interpersonal and structural forms of violence such as racism and stigma related to poverty and substance use. Completed research includes studies of the risks for and health effects of violence and promoting health for women who experience violence, especially Indigenous women. She has studied how to promote equity-oriented healthcare (cultural safety/anti-racism, substance use health/harm reduction, and trauma- and violence-informed care) at the organizational level and worked with Indigenous communities, organizations and issues in health care and criminal justice contexts. She has published over 200 articles and book chapters and several books.

  • Elder Betty McKenna, Independent

    Elder Betty McKenna is Anishinaabe and speaks Anishinaabemowin. Her family reserve is Sapotaweyak Cree Nation. She follows the traditions of her people, speaks her traditional language, conducts numerous ceremonies, and gathers medicines. Elder Betty is an author of several peer reviewed publications and editor of the book “Listening to The Beat of Our Drum”. Betty is very passionate about Indigenous health, education and returning people to their traditional practices and languages. Elder Betty is currently involved with many research projects and is a lecturer at the First Nations University of Canada and Luther College in Regina. Betty is also an Elder in Virtual Residence to the Canadian Virtual Hospice. She is also currently the first Resident Elder for the Mackenzie Art Gallery and recently became a Resident Elder for CAAN. Elder Betty currently also is currently the Guiding Elder to RESOLVE Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse, Institute of Indigenous People’s Health-Canadian Institutes of Health Research (IIPH), Guiding Elder to IGNITE Adult Learning Corporation and she is an Elder in Regina Public Schools. Previously, she was a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Saskatchewan Council and the Saskatchewan Police Commission Board, and she also was a member of the Elders National Advisory of Corrections Canada. She is widely recognized for her work and has received numerous awards over the years, these include: the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal, the Queen’s Gold Jubilee Medal, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. She has also been recognized with the Excellence in Health Award, the RESOLVE Saskatchewan Community Award, the Regina Board of Trustees Shared Values Recognition Program Award, the Wakamow Valley Award of Distinction for Conservation of Prairie Plants, as well as the Sovereigns Award for Volunteers. She is also a member of the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan’s Prayer Breakfast committee.

  • Paulete Poitras, 2 Spirits in Motion Society

    Paulete Poitras (MFA, BHJ), she/they a 2 Spirit Dakota/Cree from Muscowpetung First Nation in Treaty 4 territory is the Executive Director of 2 Spirits in Motion Society. Currently lives in Treaty 6 territory (Saskatoon, SK) with her wife Cheryl Prosper and has three children Amy, Cetera, Milburn II and two grandchildren Kaden and Amiya. Paulete is a bundle maker and 2SLGBTQQIA+ Indigenous advocate with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Justice and is a Master’s degree in Fine Arts with Ontario College of Arts and Design.

  • Jenelle McArthur, First Nations University of Canada

    Jenelle McArthur (MISW, RSW) is a devoted mother and life-partner and grounds herself in the foundational value of family. She is from Ocean Man First Nation, Treaty 4 Territory. She is Dakota and Nakota (Sioux, Assiniboine, and Plains Cree). Her educational journey has guided her towards the completion of a Master of Indigenous Social Work Graduate Degree, and she is an experienced community-based researcher who follows an Indigenous methodology. As a helper within communities, she has spent most of her time contributing to program creation and community development. She is an approved mental health therapist with the Non-Insured Health Benefits program, a program and content consultant with the “Wāsākāmā (‘Make a Circle): Regenerating Capacity for Birth and End-of-life Care in Indigenous Communities” project, and a sessional instructor in Indigenous Social Work at First Nations University of Canada. She is also a Moontime Facilitator, trained by Moontime Connections, through which she is bringing this crucial knowledge back to communities. She has also previously held impactful roles with YWCA and Regina Planned Parenthood.

  • Cassandra Opikokew Wajuntah

    Cassandra J. Opikokew Wajuntah (PhD) is a proud member of Canoe Lake Cree Nation and was raised in Meadow Lake, SK. Cassandra works in the areas of Indigenous research methods and ethics and Indigenous policymaking and systems. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology in the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. Most recently, she was the Director of the Indigenous Peoples' Health Research Centre at the First Nations University of Canada. Dr. Opikokew Wajuntah has over 15 years of experience building relations with Indigenous communities both locally and internationally and helped IPHRC contribute over $20 million in Indigenous health research funding to Saskatchewan. She is also former co-chair of the U of Regina's Research Ethics Board and is an appointed member of the Public Health Agency of Canada's Ethics Consultative Group (PHECG).

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Published

2026-08-05

Issue

Vol. 47 No. 2 (2026): Open Issue

Section

Original Research

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Copyright (c) 2026 Holly McKenzie, Dory Nason, Colleen Varcoe, Elder Betty McKenna, Paulete Poitras, Jenelle McArthur, Cassandra Opikokew Wajuntah

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