Article Title

Transforming "Rights" to "Justice" and "Power": Reframing Attitudes on Environmental and Reproductive Health of Indigenous Women in the United States

Authors

Jayla Johnson, Denison University

Abstract

The effects of environmental degradation, targeted acts of violence against land and reproductive capacities, and Christian fundamentalism on Indigenous women’s spiritual/health practices are inseparable when addressing the mistreatment of Native women’s environment and the reproductive oppression within their communities in the United States. Johnson argues that reframing the language around environmental and reproductive “rights” to mean “justice/power” is pivotal to the process of re-envisioning a more justice-oriented framework towards Indigenous women’s environmental and reproductive health. The five components of this paper are 1) The Historical Impact of Colonization on Indigenous Women’s Health, 2) the Influences of Christian Fundamentalism on the Health of Indigenous Women, 3) Environmental Injustice as an Attack on Reproductive Health, 4) the Mainstream Discourse on Reproductive Health as Reproductive Oppression, and 5) Women’s Reproductive Health and Justice Paradigm. For a reformation to occur in the current paradigm of Indigenous women’s reproductive health, the discourse surrounding reproductive health must be altered to recognize the historical impacts of colonization, especially its influences of Christian fundamentalism, and the environmental injustices against Indigenous women as intricately linked to Indigenous women’s reproductive health issues. Reframing women’s reproductive paradigm to address the link between colonialization and the reproductive and environmental health of Indigenous women in the United States is essential for integrating Indigenous women’s voices into the movement.

Jayla Johnson ‘19 is a Women’s and Gender Studies and Anthropology/Sociology double major from Blacklick, Ohio. After she graduates, she plans to attend graduate school for an MPH with a concentration on maternal and reproductive health.

Recommended Citation

Johnson, Jayla (2018) "Transforming "Rights" to "Justice" and "Power": Reframing Attitudes on Environmental and Reproductive Health of Indigenous Women in the United States," Denison Journal of Religion: Vol. 17, Article 5.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.denison.edu/religion/vol17/iss1/5