Mary Annette Pember has made a film about the forced sterilizations of indigenous women.
‘Amá’ and the Legacy of Sterilization in Indian Country
“When I learned about my ancestor’s true name I realized I was supposed to have lots of children. But the government took that away from me,” she said. “I can never live up to my Navajo name, but I can tell people my story,” she told Rewire.News.
Whitehorse also shared her story in the recently completed film Amá, in which British filmmaker Lorna Tucker documents the history of the IHS’ sterilization program, a part of the U.S. government’s shameful neo-eugenics policies during the 1960s to late 1970s. Amá is the Navajo word for mother.
The story of sterilization of Native women is a history that has been overlooked for far too long, explained Charon Asetoyer, director of the Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center (NAWHERC) in South Dakota. Asetoyer of the Comanche Nation is featured in the film.
Here is a diary, Forced Sterilizations of Indigenous Women, I wrote to educate people about this (I’ve reposted it for years now).
“The story of sterilization of Native women is a history that has been overlooked for far too long,” indeed it has.
The Forced Sterilizations of indigenous women were covert means of the continuation of extermination policy against Indian Nations. At least three indigenous generations from 3,406 women are not in existence now as the result. The sterilizations were not unintentional or negligible. They were genocide. What would the indigenous culture and political landscape be now? One can only imagine, but the sterilizations like the relocations - were forced.