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Educational Centre for Indigenous Environmental Justice

Indigenous Women in Canada

Spotlight: Indigenous Women as Stewards of the Environment

Generally, Indigenous communities hold value in being responsible for the environment and the natural resources around them. Indigenous women have a critical role in being stewards of nature and natural resources in many Indigenous communities (ECCCO, 2022). 

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In the Anishanabee community, for example, women bear a responsibility to maintain the quality of water and pass on this knowledge and stewardship role to future generations (McGregor, 2009). The degradation and pollution of water sources will exacerbate the burden of this responsibility, making it much more time-consuming, or impossible, to maintain a decent quality of water (Whyte, 2014).

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As Indigenous women are not typically included in the process of environmental policy-making in Canada, the success of their water-protecting tasks is threatened (Whyte, 2014). The stewardship of water is a responsibility that is taken very seriously, as it is depended upon for sustenance, cleaning, transportation, and spiritual purification. Clean water is also essential for the health of ecosystems that Indigenous Peoples rely on (Alexander-Trusiak. & Ballard, 2022). 

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Spotlight: Indigenous Women's Vulnerability to Climate Change and Pollution
Rosie Canadien and her granddaughter harvest plants and berries. Photo credit: (Kane, n.d.)

As women often take the role of being a household’s primary caregiver, their domestic responsibilities will be greatly impacted by the effects of climate change, such as the depletion of necessary natural resources (ECCO, 2022). Caretaking roles that are usually presumed by women include responsibilities such as cleaning and cooking which rely on natural resources. In Indigenous culture, women usually have an especially close dependence on clean water.

Rosie Canadien and her granddaughter harvest plants and berries. Photo credit: (Kane, n.d.)

Indigenous women also face additional challenges from climate change due to environmental harms that uniquely affect women. A study of Grassy Narrows, where mercury has infested local waters for decades, found that the children of women who regularly ate mercury-contaminated fish while pregnant were four times more likely to develop learning disabilities or nervous-system disorders. (Carmen & Waghiyi, 2012).

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Historically, women have been discouraged or barred from participating in formal politics. In Canada, The introduction of the Indian Act in 1876 did not define Indigenous women as persons and therefore barred them from voting or running for Band Council positions, where community leaders make decisions on local affairs. Indigenous women were only granted the right to vote in 1960 (Alexander-Trusiak. & Ballard, 2022). Despite being traditionally excluded from formal political efforts, Indigenous women lead half of Canada's land guardian programs dedicated to managing and restoring protected areas. (Bulowski, 2022). 

In the Indigenous population of Northern Canada, women are more vulnerable to insufficient sources of food when there is food insecurity (Pearce et al., 2011). As climate change progresses, the frequency and severity of natural disasters will increase. When environmental disasters take place and there are discrepancies between the social and economic rights of men and women, women tend to be more at risk than men (ECCO, 2022). Globally, women are 14 times more likely to die during a disaster than men (UN Women, 2018). 

Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuit leader who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for advocating for climate change action in t

Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuit leader who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for advocating for climate change action in the Arctic. Photo credit: (SFU, 2020).

Works Cited: Indigenous Women in Canada

  1. Alexander-Trusiak, A. & Ballard, M. (2022). Sacred Science – Indigenous women and our relationship with water. UN Human Rights Office. 

  2. Carmen, A. & Waghiyi, V. (2012). “Indigenous Women and Environmental Violence”. United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. 

  3. Cunsolo, A., & Ellis, N. R. (2018). Ecological grief as a mental health response to climate change-related loss. Nature Climate Change, 8(4), 275–281. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0092-2

  4. Durkalec, A., Furgal, C., Skinner, M. W., & Sheldon, T. (2015). Climate change influences on environment as a determinant of Indigenous health: Relationships to place, sea ice, and health in an Inuit community. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 136–137, 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.04.026

  5. Environmental Conservation and Climate Change Office (ECCCO). (2022). Toolkit - Impact of Climate Change on Indigenous Women, Girls, Gender-Diverse, and Two-Spirit People. Native Women’s Association of Canada. 

  6. McGregor, D. (2009). Honouring our relations: An Anishnaabe perspective on environmental justice. In J. Agyeman, P. Cole and R. Haluza-Delay (Eds.), Speaking for ourselves: Environmental justice in Canada (pp. 27-41). University of British Columbia Press.

  7. Pearce, T. D., Ford, J. D., Prno, J., Duerden, F., Pittman, J., Beaumier, M., Berrang-Ford, L., & Smit, B. (2011). Climate change and mining in Canada. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 16(3), 347–368. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-010-9269-3

  8. Pearson, J., Jackson, G., & McNamara, K. E. (2023). Climate-driven losses to knowledge systems and cultural heritage: A literature review exploring the impacts on Indigenous and local cultures. The Anthropocene Review, 10(2), 343–366. https://doi.org/10.1177/20530196211005482

  9. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (n.d.). What is Intangible Cultural Heritage? United Nations. https://ich.unesco.org/en/what-is-intangible-heritage-00003#:~:text=It%20also%20includes%20traditions%20or,skills%20to%20produce%20traditional%20crafts.

  10. UN Women. (2018, July). Facts and Figures: Economic Empowerment. United Nations. https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/economic-empowerment/facts-and-figures#notes

  11. Vogel, B., & Bullock, R. C. L. (2021). Institutions, indigenous peoples, and climate change adaptation in the Canadian Arctic. GeoJournal, 86(6), 2555–2572. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-020-10212-5

  12.  Whyte, K. P. (2014). Indigenous Women, Climate Change Impacts, and Collective Action. Hypatia, 29(3), 599–616. https://doi.org/10.1111/hypa.12089f

Works Cited (Photos) : Indigenous Women in Canada

  1. Kane, P. (n.d.). Presley Simba-Canadien and Rosie Canadien [Photo].

  2. Simon Fraser University (SFU). (2021). Sheila Watt-Cloutier [Photo].

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