Indigenous Studies

The impetus for this book arose out of a 1995 Winnipeg study involving twenty-six Aboriginal women. The compelling accounts these women give of the domestic violence they experienced, first as children and later as wives and mothers, make it all too clear that any plan to implement diversionary reforms must first take into account this under-represented group. For survivors of domestic violence, jail terms for abusers allow time for healing, and the threat of criminal prosecution may quell violent outbreaks. Lax responses from an inconsistent criminal justice system often put Native women at risk.

The second edition is more confident and less diffident about making the case for Indigenous feminism and in deploying a feminist analysis. The chapters cover issues that are relevant to some of the most important issues facing Indigenous people--violence against women, recovery of Indigenous self-determination, racism, misogyny, and decolonisation. Specifically, new chapters deal with Indigenous resurgence, feminism amongst the Sami and in Aboriginal Australia, neoliberal restructuring in Oaxaca, Canada's settler racism and sexism, and missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada.

Indigenous women and girls are more likely to suffer extreme violence than other women. They are more likely to disappear and never be seen again. And sadly, they are more likely to be murdered by a serial killer. For decades, it has been Canada's dirty little secret. So why is the level of violence towards Indigenous women reaching crisis levels?
Invisible Victims is a shocking work that shines a spotlight on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women tragedy in Canada, its root causes and several cases. It also includes serial killers who specifically targeted Indigenous women as victims, as a direct result of indifference on the part of Canada's law enforcement, media and government.

National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.