Forced and coerced sterilization
Forced and coerced sterilization refers to the provision of permanent contraception without true informed consent. In Canada, this topic is particularly relevant to Indigenous peoples because of this country's history of racialized eugenics programs, such as the Sexual Sterilization Acts in Alberta (1928–1972) and British Columbia (1933–1973). Indigenous peoples from other provinces also report they were coerced into having tubal ligation procedures by their healthcare providers up until the present day.
Books & Articles
Sacred bundles unborn by ISBN: 9781039116375Publication Date: 2021Sacred Bundles Unborn acknowledges the voices of women who have come forward and recognizes that coerced forced sterilization is happening, while establishing a narrative on this critical issue as it is currently playing out in 2021, while educating people of the dark reality of Canada's negligence of the human rights of Indigenous women and women of color, whom are at a greater risk within the health system in their most vulnerable state during pregnancy.
An act of genocide : colonialism and the sterilization of Aboriginal women by Call Number: PWH N38 N35 2003ISBN: 9781552667323Publication Date: 2015Examines long-buried practice of the forced sterilization of Indigenous women in Canada, linking this practice to colonialism, the oppression of women, and the denial of Indigenous sovereignty. Asserts that it should be understood as an act of genocide, and explores the ways Canada has avoided the charge.- Forced and coerced sterilization of persons in Canada byPublication Date: 2021
- Forced and Coerced Sterilization of Indigenous Peoples: Considerations for Health Care ProvidersIn this commentary, we briefly review the history of forced and coerced sterilization in Canada, describe the clinical considerations for health care providers who work with Indigenous patients in this context, and outline calls to action for health care providers and organizations to support the provision of culturally appropriate reproductive health care to Indigenous people.
- Indigenous Women and the Risk of Reproductive Healthcare: Forced Sterilization, Genocide, and Contemporary Population ControlThis brief, yet current, commentary discusses the way eugenically guided policies, like the Sexual Sterilization Acts in Alberta (1928–1972) and British Columbia (1933–1973), have impacted Indigenous women’s reproductive healthcare in Canada. Indigenous women from Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Northwest Territories, and Saskatchewan have reported they were coerced into having tubal ligation procedures by their healthcare providers, the most recent account occurring in 2018.
- Forced or Coerced Sterilization in Canada: An Overview of Recommendations for Moving ForwardBetween 2015 and 2019, over 100 Indigenous women from six provinces and two territories have come forward to say that they were forced or coerced to undergo a sterilization procedure in Canada. Despite this, government action is lacking. Through this paper, the research team aims to collect and synthesize the recommendations that have been made in response to the recent cases of forced or coerced sterilization of Indigenous women in Canada.
- Indigenous Women’s Resistance of Colonial Policies, Practices, and Reproductive CoercionThis analysis of urban Indigenous women’s experiences on the Homeland of the Métis and Treaty One (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), Treaty Four (Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada), and Treaty Six (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) territories illustrates that Indigenous women have recently experienced coercion when interacting with healthcare and social service providers in various settings. We foreground techniques Indigenous women use to assert their rights within contexts of reproductive coercion, including acts of refusal, negotiation, and sharing community knowledge.
History and context
Reproduction on the reservation: pregnancy, childbirth, and colonialism in the long twentieth century by ISBN: 9781469653181Publication Date: 2019This pathbreaking book documents the transformation of reproductive practices and politics on Indian reservations from the late nineteenth century to the present, integrating a localized history of childbearing, motherhood, and activism on the Crow Reservation in Montana with an analysis of trends affecting Indigenous women more broadly. As Brianna Theobald illustrates, the federal government and local authorities have long sought to control Indigenous families and women's reproduction, using tactics such as coercive sterilization and removal of Indigenous children into the white foster care system. But Theobald examines women's resistance, showing how they have worked within families, tribal networks, and activist groups to confront these issues.
Taking medicine: women's healing work and colonial contact in Southern Alberta, 1880-1930 by Call Number: SAB B87 T35 2010ISBN: 9780774818285Publication Date: 2010History of Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, Tsuu T'ina, and Nakoda midwifery, health work, colonization and reproductive sovereignty.
