Assembling Unity: Indigenous Politics, Gender, and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs

by Sarah A Nickel

Established narratives interpret the drive for Indigenous unity solely as a phenomenon that emerged in response to the political agenda of the settler state. But the evolving and multifaceted concept of unity has long shaped the modern Indigenous political movement.

Through a detailed history of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), one of Canada’s leading Indigenous political organizations, Assembling Unity explores the relationship between pan-Indigenous politics in British Columbia and global political ideologies. Situating Indigenous perspectives on governance firmly in the foreground of her study, Sarah Nickel demonstrates that while unity has been an enduring goal for BC Indigenous peoples, its articulation was heavily negotiated between UBCIC members, grassroots constituents, and Indigenous women’s organizations. She draws on oral interviews, newspaper articles, government documents, and UBCIC records to expose the uniquely gendered nature of political work, as well as the economic and emotional sacrifices that activists make.

Assembling Unity offers new insights into the evolution of political movements, the concept of unity in politics, and gendered political expressions. In the process, this incisive work unsettles dominant Western and patriarchal political ideals that cast Indigenous men as reactive and Indigenous women as invisible and apolitical.

This book will appeal to scholars and students of history, BC studies, and Indigenous studies, particularly those with an interest in gender and politics. It will also find an audience among Indigenous communities, activists, and political leaders.

Genres: History

224 pages, Hardcover

Published February 12, 2019

Reviews

[Dasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Assembling Unity, Nickel focuses on how Indigenous peoples in British Columbia attempted to unify during the mid-twentieth century to combat unfair settler-colonial practices. Although the book centers around the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), Nickel pays great attention to gendered political expressions. European colonialism perpetuated gender norms which led to Indigenous women’s exclusion within Indigenous politics and society. Colonial policies such as the Indian Act actively removed women from their kinship networks if they married non-Indigenous men, excluded them from voting in band elections, and prevented them from holding political positions. These policies forced women to exercise political beliefs through alternative methods, such as the British Columbia Homemakers’ Association (BCIHA) and the British Columbia Native Women’s Society (BCNWS). Both groups capitalized on Indigenous women’s roles as mothers and caretakers for the community as a way to express political goals. Although it created a narrow focus of how they framed political goals and male-dominated governments continued to view such work as social rather than directly political, these organizations facilitated women's political involvement.
The UBCIC applied the Indian Act’s definition of status and membership to determine who could participate. This meant that Indigenous women navigated both colonial restrictions as well as constraints that privileged males within politics. Women used the BCIHA and BCNWS to advocate for their involvement in the UBCIC. As well, Indigenous women worked with larger feminist movements to advocate for greater political recognition. An important aspect of these organizations was that women framed their politics within the structure of motherhood. For example, the BCIHA demanded the UBCIC provide more resources for families and community foster systems.
Nickel establishes Indigenous women's long-standing involvement in B.C. politics that were not solely reactions to the Canadian government. Instead, due to laws and restrictions, women adapted how they participated in the political sphere and advocated for themselves and their community against both colonial and patriarchal practices.