"United we stand, divided we fall?" : activism among aboriginal women in Nova Scotia, 1970-1985

Abstract

Through an analysis of primary and secondary documents, this study determined that from the early colonial period to the mid 19th century, adversative colonial and state policies imposed on Aboriginal communities initiated an activist spirit among Aboriginal women in Nova Scotia. In the 1970s this activism found expression in the formation of the Nova Scotia Native Women’s Association and the Non‐Status and Métis Association of Nova Scotia. This study examined the policies imposed on Aboriginal communities in Nova Scotia, determined the most critical issues within these communities identified by Aboriginal women, analyzed activism among Aboriginal women and the opposition women faced from local band governance and the Canadian state. The research was largely focused on the loss of legal “Indian” status among Aboriginal women through discriminatory provisions in the Indian Act and women’s struggle to regain their “Indian” identity under Canadian law.