Jennifer Denetdale on Indigenous Feminisms

Jennifer Denetdale, photo from First Peoples: New Directions In Indigenous Studies

First Peoples: New Directions in Indigenous Studies invited Prof. Jennifer Denetdale, author of Reclaiming Dine History, First Peoples Advisory Board member, and INCITE! member,  to deliver an address on the role of feminism in Indigenous Studies.  They write:

First, [Prof. Denetdale] argued that the role of gender violence during the conquest must be acknowledged before the process of decolonization can be fully embraced. Secondly, she made the case that the imposition of heteronormative European gender norms has created an atmosphere of sexism, intolerance, and violence in Native communities that is, in effect, an embodiment of the colonial agenda. Taking both of these critical forms of gendered colonization into account, Denetdale and other Indigenous feminist scholars believe it is essential to develop feminist insights into colonization before true decolonization can take effect.

Jennifer Denetdale’s full speech, “Claiming the “F” Word:  Native Women, Feminisms, and Visions of Sovereignty,” is transcribed here: http://firstpeoplesnewdirections.org/blog/?p=511