Thesis Defence: nanâtawihowin (Healing and Finding Place) Through Economic Self-Determination
February 24 at 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Dante Carter, supervised by Dr. Gabrielle Legault and Dr. Onyx Sloan Morgan, will defend their thesis titled “nanâtawihowin (Healing and Finding Place) Through Economic Self-Determination” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies – Indigenous Knowledges theme.
An abstract for Dante Carter’s thesis is included below.
Defences are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. Please email gabrielle.legault@ubc.ca to receive the Zoom link for this defence.
Abstract
This thesis examines economic abuse as a form of gender-based intimate partner violence within Indigenous communities, with a specific focus on Onion Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Drawing on findings from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, the research situates colonial economic systems as pervasive and ongoing forms of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit folx. Economic abuse is conceptualized as being further produced through colonial patriarchal norms, imperialism, and infrastructural violence. Resource extraction and westernized service systems are examined as mechanisms that contribute to cultural disconnection and violence against both the land and its inhabitants, thereby exacerbating intergenerational trauma. These dynamics are further contextualized through national and international frameworks, including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Guided by the questions, “What does economic self-determination mean to nêhiyawak?” and “What cultural connections uphold identity, wellbeing, and economic self-determination?”, the research addresses the central question: How have Indigenous women and Two-Spirited folx in Onion Lake overcome lived experiences of economic abuse to foster wellbeing?
The study was conducted in partnership with the Onion Lake Healing and Wellness Centre and employed nêhiyawak Peoplehood Methodology. Findings were gathered through sharing circles and analyzed using narrative and thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate that Cree women and Two-Spirit folx navigate and resist economic abuse by reclaiming economic self-determination through relational economies, intergenerational knowledge, and culturally grounded practices of care. This thesis contributes to the literature on economic abuse by linking historical and ongoing colonial disruptions to contemporary experiences of intimate partner and structural violence, and by advancing Indigenous-led understandings of economic self-determination as central to wellbeing.
