Reproductive Justice: The Politics of Health Care for Native American Women

217 Pages·2015·3.675 MB·English

by  Barbara Gurr

Reproductive Justice

Reproductive Justice
The Politics of Health Care
for Native American Women
BARBARA GURR
Rutgers University Press
New Brunswick, New Jersey, and London
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Gurr, Barbara Anne, author.
Reproductive justice : the politics of health care for Native American women / Barbara Gurr.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978– 0– 8135– 6469–2 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978– 0– 8135– 6468– 5 (pbk. : alk.
paper) — ISBN 978– 0– 8135– 6470– 8 (e- book)
I. Title.
[DNLM: 1. United States. Indian Health Service. 2. Reproductive Health Services— organization
& administration— United States. 3. Healthcare Disparities— United States. 4. Indians, North
American— United States. 5. Reproductive Rights— United States. 6. Women’s Health— United
States. WQ 200 AA1]
RG121
362.1981— dc23
2014014276
A British Cataloging- in- Publication record for this book is available from the British Library.
Copyright © 2015 by Barbara Gurr
All rights reserved
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or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permis-
sion from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 106 Somerset Street, New
Brunswick, NJ 08901. The only exception to this prohibition is “fair use” as defined by U.S.
copyright law.
Visit our website: http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu
Manufactured in the United States of America
This work is small and humble, but I dedicate it to the many
strong and beautiful women in my life:
To my mother first,
and to my aunts, especially Aunt Patty and Aunt Kathy
—h ow lucky I am to have such women to guide me,
both here and there!
To my cousins and their daughters, and to all my sisters
To my grandmothers Anita and Edna, and to the many grand-
mothers of my children
To Anita Garey, mentor, teacher, and friend.
To the women of Indian Country who shared their
stories with me.
And to my own Hailey
This is for Charlie, so that you will know
and for Hailey, free to be.
This is for you both, together. Mine. Yours. God’s.

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Commonly Used Acronyms xi
Part I Introductions: The Stories We Tell and Why
1 Introducing Our Relatives and Introducing the Story 1
2 Stories from Indian Country 11
3 Whose Rights? Whose Justice?: Reproductive
Oppression, Reproductive Justice, and
the Reproductive Body 26
Part II Tracing the Ruling Relations: Health Care,
the Reproductive Body, and Native America
4 The Ruling Relations of Reproductive Health Care 39
5 Producing the Double Discourse: The History and
Politics of Native- US Relations and Imperialist Medicine 51
6 “To Uphold the Federal Government’s Obligations . . .
and to Honor and Protect”: The Double Discourse
of the Indian Health Service 68
viii • Contents
Part III Consequences of the Double
Discourse: Native Women’s Experiences
with the Indian Health Service
7 Resistance and Accommodation: Negotiating
Prenatal Care and Childbirth 91
8 One in Three: Violence against Native Women 105
9 Genocidal Consequences: Contraception, Sterilization,
and Abortion in the Fourth- World Context 119
Part IV Reproductive Justice for Native Women
10 Community Knowledge, Community Capital,
and Cultural Safety 137
11 Conclusions: Native Women in the Center 152
Appendix A: Methods and Methodologies 159
Appendix B: A Brief Chronology of Federal Actions
Affecting Native Health Care 171
References 175
Index 193
Acknowledgments
My first thanks, always, go to Creator.
My partner, Steve, has been unfailing in his support for a long, long time.
To paraphrase an Indiana Jones movie, “I chose wisely.” Yes, honey, I would
rather just sleep, but we have promises to keep and miles to go. My mother
and father have stood behind me and beside me on every step of every journey
I have ever taken, and that is a gift beyond measure. My sister- in- law Marylee
has been the endless provider of dinners and babysitting, and this research
simply could not have been completed without her constant support. My Pop
still reminds me that I am loved. That’s pretty cool. Thanks, Pop. But it was my
Grandma who first opened this door for me, long before I was even born, in
the way that Grandmas do. There is a longue durée here, too.
Dr. Nancy Naples introduced me to sociology and to institutional ethnog-
raphy and ensured that I learned the skills and the knowledge to feel adequate
to the job of this research. More importantly, her belief in me personally and
professionally gave me the confidence to persevere with conviction. I will pay
these gifts forward, as I can never pay them back. Dr. Anita Garey had the
wisdom to slow me down and to assure me that slow was okay. These women
continue to motivate me to be better, personally and professionally, even as
they continue to guide me from near and far. I would like to also express my
appreciation to my editor Peter Mickulas for his support, encouragement, and
patience (especially patience!) throughout this process.
I am, always, indebted to John Around Him. The world is darker without
you, leksi, but I am brighter for having known you. I am, always, grateful for
ix