Dante Carter
Nanâtawihowin: Economic Abuse, Infrastructural Violence, and Intergenerational Wellbeing in Onion Lake Cree Nation
Research on economic abuse often emphasizes intimate partner violence, yet comparatively little attention has been paid to how coercive control intersects with colonial economic structures in Indigenous communities. Access to housing, employment, income and adequately funded services can shape experiences of safety, independence and well-being.
Working in the context of Onion Lake Cree Nation, Dante’s project examines how Cree perspectives on economics and wealth can inform community wellness and economic development. It also considers the ways community members resist harmful systems through kinship-based care, language revitalization, community-led healing and relational economic approaches.
Research approach
The project is grounded in Indigenous feminist and economic theory. It will examine economic abuse in relation to broader factors described in the original research plan, including policy neglect, resource extraction, colonial services and infrastructural violence.
Expected contribution
The project seeks to contribute a more community-grounded understanding of how economic abuse and economic structures affect safety and mental wellness. It also aims to examine how Cree economic worldviews and community-led responses may inform conversations about economic development, healing and reconciliation.
About the researcher
Dante Carter is a Cree scholar from Onion Lake Cree Nation and a PhD student in interdisciplinary studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Her background includes community-based research, Indigenous research methodologies and Indigenous business and economic theories and practices. She also works as a researcher and lecturer at the Edwards School of Business.
Her interests bring community health together with Indigenous ways of knowing and economic and business disciplines. Dante aims to connect economic and business development with community well-being, particularly in relation to economic abuse, intimate partner violence and the barriers and opportunities shaping Indigenous communities’ experiences.
