Indigenous women’s evaluation of anti-Indigenous violence: an intersectional analysis

Abstract

This study examines how Indigenous women evaluate their experiences regarding inequality, discrimination, and violence using an intersectionality approach. The contributions of ethnicity, class, and gender as robust systems have been mainly overlooked in traditional studies on anti-Indigenous violence. However, this study shows significant disparities in perception and experience based on gender and ethnic identities through 33 in-depth semi-structured interviews. Participants experienced inequality, discrimination, and violence rooted in gender and Indigenous identity. Indigenous women also implied that they were misrepresented or negatively represented due to ethnicity and being culturally distinct historically by non-Indigenous scholars. Such negative representation leads Indigenous women to experience various kinds of formal, informal, physical, and verbal discrimination and violence at the workplace, where non-Indigenous people often defamed the participants using Indigenous slurs. In addition, findings suggest multiple layers of oppression because of their social position oppressed Indigenous women; this should be examined through intersectional lens.