Grant: Doctoral Research Award -PA: Research in First Nations, Métis &/or Inuit Health

The colonization and control of Aboriginal women's bodies, enacted through forced sterilization, misuse of long-term reproductive technologies, and child welfare system interventions has not come to an end. Rather, it continues in new forms. In the face of the surveillance, Aboriginal women, particularly Aboriginal women living in poverty, are subjected to there is a call from Indigenous women for reproductive justice. Reproductive justice focuses on the rights of women to choose not only whether or not to have children, but also how to raise them in safe and healthy environments, an understanding consistent with First Nations and Métis peoples holistic views of health. This research uses a collaborative, participatory approach to examine Aboriginal women living in poverty's access (or lack of access) to reproductive justice as well as how this access can be improved. This project seeks to determine: 1) What constrains and fosters Aboriginal women living in poverty's reproductive justice? 2) What changes to social and health services would increase Aboriginal women's access to reproductive justice? 3) What structural and cultural shifts would increase Aboriginal women's access to reproductive justice? In order to examine these questions, this project will collaborate with Aboriginal women living in poverty and service providers who work closely with them as co-researchers. This project will engage ethnographic approaches including qualitative interviews, photography, and field notes. This data will be supplemented by an analysis of the federal and provincial policies relating to reproductive justice. Together, the research team (the Principal Applicant and co-researchers) will determine how to disseminate the study's results and recommendations.