The impact of settler imposed identities for Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit peoples

Abstract

Gender based violence continues to be a pervasive part of settler society. Settlers have continued to perpetuate the erasure of Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people through various means. These means have included the dispossession from land, disconnection from water, controlling sexuality, identity and through colonial legislation. All of these have impacted the value and place of Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people in settler society. Through the methodologies of storytelling and the Medicine Wheel as a framework, I used photovoice and semi-structured conversational interviews to explore my research question of “how settler-imposed identities have impacted the value and place of Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people?”. Through extensive reflexivity, society can implement changes to stop the violence perpetuated towards Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people.