www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada/lecture/ckZ0u/indigenous-concepts-of-gender
Commonly, sex is seen as a binary consisting of male and female; but today, scientists recognize that gender and sex are not always so easily categorized, a fact that many Indigenous peoples have always understood.
This Course
Video Transcript
University of Alberta
Dr. Tracy Bear
Dr. Paul Gareau
0:00
[MUSIC] A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground. Then it is done, no matter how brave its warriors nor how strong their weapons.
0:34
Powerful assurances and statements, such as the previous quote, acknowledge and recognize that Indigenous women remain the backbone of our communities.
0:44
This lesson explores the resilience and vitality of Indigenous women, girls, and genderful folks and celebrates the influential roles and responsibility shared with Indigenous men as nation builders. However, as much as this lesson seeks to examine the strength of Indigenous women, we must first take into consideration why there is an entire lesson devoted to this topic at all.
1:11
Indigenous women currently live in an appalling state of extreme marginalization, and oppressive state policies such as the Indian Act, genocidal tactics like the residential schools, and sexist policies have all worked to police and shape attitudes surrounding Indigenous women, girls, and genderful folk.
1:32
Including the examination of colonial history as it applies to Indigenous women does not dishonour the resiliency and strength that they represent today,
1:43
but it is required in order to return to our rightful position and equal status in the world today as healers, hunters, intellectuals, nurturers, and leaders.
1:56
This lesson begins with Indigenous concepts of gender and explores some of the understandings of gender and sexuality across a range of Indigenous cultures, which leads into a discussion about the ways that Indigenous women traditionally held critical roles and responsibilities within their communities.
2:17
One of the key messages we're trying to get across in this lesson is how colonization is a gendered project.
2:25
We outline the ways that the Indian Act discriminated against women and discuss the issue of violence against Indigenous women. We will also talk about the ways Indigenous women in Canada have fought to defend their rights.
2:40
We'll end this lesson with the discussion about Indigenous feminism.
2:46
We will begin by talking about the concepts of gender and sex. Sex as a concept is used to refer to the kinds of biological differences that exist in terms of genetic makeup, anatomy, hormones, and physical characteristics.
3:04
Commonly, sex is seen as a binary consisting of male and female; but today, scientists recognize that gender and sex are not always so easily categorized, a fact that many Indigenous peoples have always understood.
3:20
The concept of gender is used to describe the culturally constructed categories that reflect ideas about a person's role, traits, and position within society, depending upon how they present themselves as male, female, or another category.
3:36
The concept of gender is related to the concept of sex, but they definitely are not the same.
3:43
Social scientists often talk about gender as a spectrum, with male and masculinity on one end, and female and femininity on the other.
3:53
An individual's gender identity is how much they see themselves as either male or female, or somewhere in between.
4:01
Some cultures view gender as being limited to either male or female, but in other cultures, gender is seen as much more fluid.
4:11
Indigenous cultures across North America have different definitions and expressions of gender than is found in Western cultures.
4:20
Gender variance is a concept used to refer to the cultural construction of multiple genders.
4:27
Multiple genders and a wide variance of gender roles existed in many tribal societies and communities.
Through their participation in community and women's councils, Indigenous women held a high degree of political power when it came to management of land, the nomination of chiefs, and tribal governance.
6:32
Women elders chose the best suitable individual for tribal leaders and made important decisions that benefited the well-being and livelihood of the whole community.
Children are raised in flexible ways that allow them to discover their gender identity. For instance, a child may have physically male traits and later take up a woman’s role after they've exhibited they preferred and must be fitting gender identity.