Research suggests that native women are over represented in the Federal and provincial correctional institutions. They are also incarcerated for more violent offences than are non-native women. Data on employment, marital status, causes of death, and suicide rates suggest that native women rank among the most severely disadvantaged of all groups in Canada. Perhaps the most important factor for native women in Canada is the loss of status through marriage of a non-native or non-status man. In addition, the employment situation is bleak for native women due to lack of skills, poor educational attainment, and discrimination in the labor market. The marital/family situation of native women is problematic. First, the birth rate for registered Indian women is almost twice as high, and the birth rate for unmarried, registered Indian women is about five times as high as those of non-Indian, unmarried women. Second, Indian women are also more likely to be heads of households but less likely to be married than non-Indian women. The most notable difference for Indian women in comparison with non-Indian women is in respect to death attributable to accident, poisoning, and violence -- 31.4 per cent for Indian women as compared to 6.9 per cent for the total female population in 1975. Suicide rates for natives in Canada far exceed those for the rest of the population. In order to address adequately some of the problems and needs of native women, a comprehensive research and programming strategy is required. Footnotes and references are included.