The phrase “Fighting Terrorism since 1492” is inspired by the common sentiment shared by Northern American Natives of being the victims of terrorist attacks by the Federal governments and the Eurocentric attitude that has been perpetuated for more than five-hundred years. It represents the synthesis of present relations between Aboriginal people and Euro-Canadians.
Aboriginal writers are united by the common theme of decolonization and situate themselves within the “resistance literature” genre as they write from an Indigenous perspective and face colonialism in all its aspects: tradition, identity, language, appropriation, assimilation, self-determination, and sexuality. While all Native people experience racism, Native women are also victims of sexism, present in both the white and Indigenous society. According to statistics, more than 500 Aboriginal women have disappeared in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Northern Ontario in the last 15 years. Women continue to pay the highest price of colonization, to be oppressed and to be seen as disposable.
This paper, with the help of activist authors like Jeannette Armstrong, Ruby Slipperjack, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Isabelle Knockwood, Maria Campbell and Marilyn Dumont, intends to focus attention on the following questions: how have women managed to face 500 years of rebellion and activism (passive and active) that have influenced their culture? In which way does this literature contribute to the recognition of freedom and human rights? What are the consequences of the gap between elders and youth created by residential schools on tradition continuity?