ABSTRACT
In 2017, Canada celebrated its 150th anniversary of Confederation. The federal government aimed to bring Canadians together under a shared history of national progress. A version of history that emphasises Canada’s connection to monarchy and military leaves little room for the history of Canada’s colonial project, a joint venture between the federal government and missionaries to “disappear” Indigenous people from the Canadian state. Indigenous women in particular have been living under “double discrimination” as both Indigenous and as women. I argue that the colonial project has been propagated through the stereotype of Indigenous women as immoral and, therefore, violable. These stereotypes have influenced official legislations (including the Indian Act) and the government decision to allow churches to act as vestigial states through church-run residential schools to assimilate Indigenous children. Indigenous women’s lives have been greatly affected by these stereotypes and have been disregarded, lacking context and ties to history. This can be seen in the high numbers of violence against Indigenous women who have been subject (and continue to be subjected) to discrimination that has resulted in the erosion of agency and a lack of access to social and economic opportunities.
