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Volume 11
Issue 8
10.3390/rel11080380
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Article

Sacred Sites Protection and Indigenous Women’s Activism: Empowering Grassroots Social Movements to Influence Public Policy. A Look into the “Women of Standing Rock” and “Idle No More” Indigenous Movements

by
Francesca Gottardi
1,2
1
Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
2
College of Law, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Religions 2020, 11(8), 380; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11080380
Received: 7 May 2020 / Revised: 7 July 2020 / Accepted: 14 July 2020 / Published: 23 July 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion’s Role in Contemporary Public Policy Controversies)
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Abstract

Religion and public policy are interconnected across a variety of issues. One aspect where this linkage has been understudied is religion and Indigenous sacred sites protection. This article aims to address this gap by analyzing how Indigenous women’s activism advances this cause. The focus is on how Indigenous Peoples, specifically women, use grassroots activism to provoke change on public policy in the context of the protection of Indigenous sacred sites. Two case studies are used to illustrate this concept: the American “Women of Standing Rock” and the Canadian “Idle No More” grassroots social movements. My analysis draws from interpretative methods. Interpretative research revolves around the concept of individuals as active producers of meaning. The women-led grassroots social movements at issue highlight a fundamental lack of awareness of the historical and current struggles of Indigenous Peoples, both in the US and Canada. Modern technologies and social media provide democratic means for grassroots social movements to be heard and empowered. The growing movement by Indigenous women to assert their rights, and their quest for self-determination in land use and sacred sites protection create a positive discourse that advances Indigenous women’s position in crossing the obstacles onto “institutional places of privilege,” hence influencing public policy. View Full-Text
Keywords: Indigenous peoples; Indigenous rights; federal Indian law; land protection; grassroots social movements; Indigenous women’s activism; Indigenous sacred sites protection; international law; United Nations Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; federalism Indigenous peoples; Indigenous rights; federal Indian law; land protection; grassroots social movements; Indigenous women’s activism; Indigenous sacred sites protection; international law; United Nations Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; federalism
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MDPI and ACS Style

Gottardi, F. Sacred Sites Protection and Indigenous Women’s Activism: Empowering Grassroots Social Movements to Influence Public Policy. A Look into the “Women of Standing Rock” and “Idle No More” Indigenous Movements. Religions 2020, 11, 380. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11080380

AMA Style

Gottardi F. Sacred Sites Protection and Indigenous Women’s Activism: Empowering Grassroots Social Movements to Influence Public Policy. A Look into the “Women of Standing Rock” and “Idle No More” Indigenous Movements. Religions. 2020; 11(8):380. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11080380

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gottardi, Francesca. 2020. "Sacred Sites Protection and Indigenous Women’s Activism: Empowering Grassroots Social Movements to Influence Public Policy. A Look into the “Women of Standing Rock” and “Idle No More” Indigenous Movements" Religions 11, no. 8: 380. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11080380

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