What happens when centuries-old reproductive traditions clash with colonial impositions?

In Indigenous Women’s Reproductive Traditions, Stephanie A. Sellers delves into the rich history of Indigenous women’s reproductive practices before European colonization. The book highlights traditional methods such as birth control, abortion, and child spacing, which were integral to maintaining agency over their bodies. Sellers explores how these practices were disrupted by European patriarchal structures and examines the impact of forced sterilization in the 20th century. Today, Indigenous women are reclaiming their rights through movements for reproductive justice, advocating for a return to their ancestral practices and redefining concepts of womanhood and motherhood on their own tribal terms.

Ideal for courses in Women and Gender Studies, Cultural Anthropology, and Native American Studies, this book offers crucial insights into the intersection of traditional practices and colonial impacts on Indigenous women's reproductive rights.

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Epigraph
• Abstract
• Table of Contents
• Foreword by Jana McKeag
• Learning objectives
• Introduction
  • Addressing the information gaps
• 1 Since the beginning of time: Indigenous divine creatrixes and Gender Complementary civilizations
  • European settlers’ culture stories
  • Eurosettler culture stories in practice
  • Non-Indigenous Mother Goddess cultures
  • Influence of European witchcraze on settlers
  • Gender Complementary social structure
  • A different perspective on gender binary
  • Some Indigenous origin stories
  • Sky Woman of the Haudenosaunee and other Eastern Woodlands nations
  • Copper Woman of First Nations of the Pacific Northwest
  • Changing Woman of the Diné (Navajo) nation
  • Two-Spirit (LGBTQIA+) deities
  • Other Indigenous divine creatrixes
  • The issue of Indigenous matriarchies
  • Not Indigenous fertility cults
  • Summary
• 2 Indigenous female sexuality, menstruation, reproduction, and motherhood
  • Menarche and menstrual rituals
  • Indigenous menstrual practices: A study of a few nations
  • The Ojibwe Berry Fast
  • The Navajo (Diné) Kinaalda
  • The Lakota Ishna Ta Awi Cha Lowan ritual
  • Indigenous marriages and family systems
  • Indigenous women’s sexuality and reproduction before colonization
  • Reproductive autonomy and birth control practices
  • Summary
• 3 What happened? How gendered colonial strategies targeted Indigenous women’s bodily sovereignty and harmed the nations
  • Attacks on Indigenous women’s leadership and sovereignty
  • Indian boarding schools and cultural disruption
  • Forced sterilizations and reproductive coercion
  • Environmental violence and extractive industries
  • Contemporary challenges to sovereignty and reproductive justice
  • Native women’s leadership and barriers from within Native nations
  • Summary
• 4 Stealing back the thunder: Indigenous communities decolonizing reproduction and motherhood
  • Indigenous feminisms
  • Mainstream American feminism and Indigenous feminisms
  • Indigenous motherhood as anti-colonial political power
  • Statistics and Indigenous organizations for Native women’s reproductive health
• 5 Final thoughts
• Notes
• Recommended projects & discussion questions
• Bibliography
• About the author
• Index

Stephanie A. Sellers is a scholar in Native American Studies with a focus on women and gender issues, currently designing and teaching courses at Gettysburg College.