Everything in Context: Indigenous Women, International Human Rights Law and Discrimination - Is International Human Rights Law the Way Forward?

This paper discusses the multiple ways in which Indigenous women experience discrimination. In the public sphere, this may occur through practices and policies that discriminate against and undermine the values of Indigenous women. In the private sphere, indigenous women face potentially life- threatening discrimination. The author considers possible solutions to these forms of discrimination. Specifically, the paper contemplates CEDAW and the Optional Protocol as possible means for Indigenous women to address rights violations and engages in an examination of international case law. In the alternative, the author contemplates the value of addressing discrimination within the community and posits that potential solutions may come from a process that includes men and the larger community.