Reproduction on the Reservation: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Colonialism in the Long Twentieth Century (Critical Indigeneities)

This pathbreaking book documents the transformation of reproductive practices and politics on Indian reservations from the late nineteenth century to the present, integrating a localized history of childbearing, motherhood, and activism on the Crow Reservation in Montana with an analysis of trends affecting Indigenous women more broadly. As Brianna Theobald illustrates, the federal government and local authorities have long sought to control Indigenous families and women's reproduction, using tactics such as coercive sterilization and removal of Indigenous children into the white foster care system. But Theobald examines women's resistance, showing how they have worked within families, tribal networks, and activist groups to confront these issues. Blending local and intimate family histories with the histories of broader movements such as WARN (Women of All Red Nations), Theobald links the federal government's intrusion into Indigenous women's reproductive and familial decisions to the wider history of eugenics and the reproductive rights movement. She argues convincingly that colonial politics have always been--and remain--reproductive politics. By looking deeply at one tribal nation over more than a century, Theobald offers an especially rich analysis of how Indigenous women experienced pregnancy and motherhood under evolving federal Indian policy. At the heart of this history are the Crow women who displayed creativity and fortitude in struggling for reproductive self-determination. "The first book-length history of reproduction that centers [on] Native American women, Reproduction on the reservation documents the transformation of reproductive practices on Indian reservations from the late nineteenth century to the early twenty-first. Relying on extensive archival research as well as oral histories that allow Native women to tell their own stories, this study integrates a local history of childbearing, motherhood, and activism on the Crow Reservation in Montana with an analysis of trends affecting women throughout Indian country. Historian Brianna Theobald uses the lens of reproductive justice to demonstrate the extent to which colonial politics have been--and remain--reproductive politics. In the process, she offers compelling new analyses of topics ranging from pronatalism to eugenics to relocation. At the heart of this history are the Native women who displayed creativity and fortitude in navigating pregnancy and childbirth in evolving historical contexts and who struggled for reproductive self-determination on--and sometimes off--reservations throughout the twentieth century" -- Provided by publisher Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Introduction......Page 20 Chapter One. Childbearing and Childrearing......Page 37 Chapter Two. To Instill the Hospital Habit......Page 63 Chapter Three. Nurse, Mother, Midwife......Page 90 Chapter Four. Relocating Reproduction......Page 118 Chapter Five. Our Crow Indian Hospital......Page 142 Chapter Six. Self-Determination Begins in the Womb......Page 166 Epilogue. Twenty-First-Century Stories......Page 192 Notes......Page 204 Bibliography......Page 246 B......Page 268 C......Page 270 D......Page 273 F......Page 274 G......Page 275 I......Page 276 L......Page 277 M......Page 278 N......Page 279 O......Page 281 P......Page 282 R......Page 283 S......Page 285 U......Page 286 W......Page 287 Z......Page 288 Cover; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter One. Childbearing And Childrearing; Chapter Two. To Instill The Hospital Habit; Chapter Three. Nurse, Mother, Midwife; Chapter Four. Relocating Reproduction; Chapter Five. Our Crow Indian Hospital; Chapter Six. Self-determination Begins In The Womb; Epilogue. Twenty-first-century Stories; Notes; Bibliography; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y; Z Brianna Theobald. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Electronic Reproduction. Baltimore, Md Available Via World Wide Web.