Reclaiming Indigenous Sexuality in Vancouver

Abstract

This paper illustrates Indigenous sexual being on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam),Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, through a narrative of resurgenceand sovereignty. Discussions regarding Indigenous sexual being in Vancouver within scholarship andmedia tend to share a single story which focuses narrowly on a theme of violence. This paper utilizesthe Indigenous concept of a Sovereign Erotic (Driskill, 2004) to illustrate how sexuality can be used as asovereignty practice. I exemplify this concept as an active practice of decolonization through erotics byexploring the works of Virago Nation, an all-Indigenous burlesque group. This paper works to exposenarratives of colonization and gendered violence in Vancouver, in order to share a competing narrativeof sovereignty through sexuality. This narrative of sovereignty provides a broader scope of Indigenoussexuality in Vancouver by including those who reflect resurgence, reclamation, and hope.