Depo-provera and the regulation of indigenous women's reproduction

This thesis examines the role of socioeconomic, political and historical factors that contribute to the regulation of young Indigenous women’s reproduction through the prescribing of Depo-Provera. This study utilizes critical perspectives and qualitative analysis to focus on the intersection of neoliberalism and risk discourse at the site of contraceptive prescription. Based on a critical discursive analysis of several texts, this research illustrates how dominant discourses reflect colonial relations and neoliberal ideals in framing the characteristics of Depo-Provera users. I show that texts aimed at Third World women and/or “sexually at risk” women living in “confounding life situations” seek to control their reproduction with (health) provider-controlled contraceptives such as Depo-Provera. The analysis reveals the ways in which international and Canadian texts construct the identity of young Indigenous women as a risk population in need of reproductive regulation.