Indigenous Knowledges and Gender

Abstract

This entry discusses how each indigenous community has their own approaches to gender, gender roles, and sexuality that differ from settler perspectives. Indigenous people's conceptualization of gender and gender roles is reflected in their traditional social systems and governance. Within indigenous societies, men and women had their own roles and spheres of influence that were linked to political power. Gendered indigenous languages are included in this discussion as an example of the connection between indigenous culture and gender construction. The connection between indigenous belief systems and the construction of gender and gender roles is also included. The roles of both men and women were viewed as essential in contributing to the community's social systems and for creating balance within the world. Indigenous views towards gender diverge from the settler's gender binary of male/female. Many indigenous communities recognize the presence of third‐gendered and multi‐gendered people in addition to the roles of males and females. However, colonization has led to acts of violence against women and gender variant individuals, and the erasure of indigenous people from the politics of settler states. This entry concludes by introducing current scholarship that aims to revitalize and reinstitute indigenous knowledges and views of gender.