Aboriginal Women: The Right to Self-Determination

This article discusses the relationships between international human rights, the state, and indigenous communities. The author considers how the formulation of these relationships affects Indigenous women. She argues that Indigenous rights as implemented by the state and adopted in communities may promote an impoverished form of self- determination. This result impedes the capacity of Indigenous women and girls to determine their political status and control their social and cultural identity. This occurs through a translation of self- determination by the state that undermines gender equality. A reimagining of self- determination in light of the specific contexts of women's lives may more effectively provide self-determination for Indigenous women.