Gender Equality and Indigenous Peoples' Right to Self-Determination and Culture

This paper addresses gender inequalities within Indigenous communities. The author posits that the rights of Indigenous peoples should be considered with attention to the rights of women. Moreover, human rights entail a minimum level of respect to every human being. Gender equality should be addressed with the same strength within indigenous communities as within the international community. The author proposes an alternative means of interpreting the collective rights of indigenous peoples so as to protect collective rights and gender equality. This argument avoids the conclusion that individual rights of women trump the collective rights of Indigenous peoples.