The Department of Gender Studies Speakers' Series invites you to a presentation by Alyse Stuart, Master of Gender Studies Canada.

On October 17, 2013, the anti-fracking, shale gas protests in New Brunswick attracted national attention. The focal point of the event was the Elsipogtog First Nation’s clash with the RCMP, which resulted in the arrest of 40 people. The media coverage that followed centered on the actions of the protestors as radical, bordering on violent, featuring images of burning police cars and RCMP forces in full riot gear. Amidst the eruption of media coverage the people of Elsipogtog and allies across the country were active in confronting misrepresentations through film, blogs, Facebook, and interviews; among them the women of the community were especially vocal and instrumental in continuing the resistance against shale gas while challenging the dominant media depictions. Using the shale gas protest as a lens and a mixed media discourse analysis as method, I want to explore the relationship between Indigeneity, gender, and citizenship in Canada: What might Indigenous women’s protagonism in the shale-gas protest in Elsipogtog tell us about this relationship? More specifically, I hope to provide insights into how Indigenous women are negotiating the identity/subject position of “Indigenous protestor.” In so doing, are they resisting colonial constructions of Indigenous peoples, especially Indigenous women, as non- or undesired citizens and in the process, modeling “alternative” visions of citizenship and the nation?