Native women members of two minority groups

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"Bill C-31 has instilled awareness among Canadians of the government's different laws for Natives, those that exist for non-Native people, and the still different laws that are especially prejudicial and discriminatory laws for Native women."

This statement was made by Vicki English-Currie at the women's issues forum presentation to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples held in Calgary May 26 and 27.

Vicki-English is one of the handful of women in the Doctorate program at the University of Calgary. English believes that the women are the "movers and shakers" in the Native community and are not being treated fairly within their own community. Nationally, women have been discriminated against in terms of equality and Native

women have a two-fold situation where they fall into minority groups. Much of this discriminatory action is primarily to political policy at the federal and band level.

"Bill C-31 and band membership codes have called attention to legal discrimination and inequity to Native women in Canada,"said English-Currie. These discriminations have produced numerous divisions but at the same time this bill has the potential to ensure the equality of Native women with other Canadians.

Bill C-31 was introduced to reinstate women to the rolls of Indian Affairs as "status" after gender discrimination removed them from the lists. Native women were disenfranchised when they married non-Native men, yet Native men did not lose their status when they married non-Native women. The purpose of Bill C-31 was to clarify this discrimination, she said. The Bill has potentially given them their status but women's voices are not heard and the decision making policies exclude them.

"The women rear the children, but are excluded from the decision making process that determines the future of those children," English said. "At many band levels the women are not entitled to much more than a treaty card." When George Erasmus asked English what recommendations she would make, she said, "We must redefine our roles: men, women, children and Elders because our roles have changed significantly. Bill C-31 is incomplete and women are victims of policy."

Historically the roles have changed, according to Josie Oltrop.