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Dehumanization In Canada

1334 Words6 Pages

Indigenous peoples of Canada have been considered inferior to all other citizens, and have been abused and neglected through European history, and can be seen as a form of genocide. In Canadian residential schools, children were removed from the home, sexually assaulted, beaten, deprived of basic human necessities, and over 3 500 women and girls were sterilized, and this went on well into the 1980 's (Nicoll 2015). The dehumanization of Indigenous peoples over the generations has left a significant impact on society today; the generational trauma has left many Indigenous peoples heavily dependent of drugs and alcohol, and the vulnerability of Indigenous women has led to extremely high rates of violent crime towards these women. A report that …show more content…

Of the fifty eight studies conducted, over 700 recommendations have been made, and only a handful have been implemented; this is a very good example of how the federal government has breached their fundamental and moral obligations to protect all women without discrimination (Legal Strategy Coalition on Violence Against Indigenous Women 2015). In a discussion held at the University of Toronto, Pam Palmater (2015), an aboriginal lawyer, said that “the days of saying the federal government should save [aboriginal peoples] are long over. All of it should not be up to the state, but it starts at the top with accountability.” While Harper has agreed to keep raising awareness, he has not committed to a national inquiry; he said “it [is not] high on our radar, to be honest” (Fitzgerald 2015). It is comments such as this that deter the general public from caring about this dire issue; if the head of state does not acknowledge that this is a pressing issue, it is understandable to see why the rest of the country does not understand the severity and scope of the issue. “A national inquiry commissioned by the government would also change the …show more content…

Canada already knows what the cause of this problem is; by clearly defining the term “national inquiry” we are able to start looking deeper into the issue and figuring out ways to begin to solve this problem. More attention and education also needs to be brought forth to the general public; people need to be aware that this is a human rights and colonialism issue and is riddled with sexism and racism. Finally, this inquiry needs to look into why over 700 recommendations have not been implemented, and why the government is putting up so much resistance to the issue; the government is failing to uphold its moral and fundamental obligation to protect all women without discrimination. “What a national inquiry has the potential to do is foster a national discussion. I say discussion rather than narrative, because the story is not over. It continues to unfold around us, laying our hearts to waste one grisly discovery after another (âpihtawikosisân

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The voices of Indigenous children are unheard and purposely ignored. This is portrayed through the literature of Birdie by Tracey Lindberg and Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. Despite receiving apologies from Prime Ministers Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau, the government system to protect First Nations families appears to have detrimental effects on the native children. This is proven by young children turning to drugs in order to satisfy their growing pain, by family members who abuse their kids because of alcohol addictions, and the increasing discriminatory behaviour by surrounding communities. To begin with, young children are turning to drugs in order to satisfy their growing pain.

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1199 Words | 5 Pages

Indigenous people are incarcerated at much higher rates than non-Indigenous in Canada and are incarcerated for longer periods of time (Cook & Roesh, 2012, p.222). Canadians have put Indigenous communities through much heartache and pain. With the colonization of Indigenous people to residential schools, Canadians continue to stigmatize and treat Indigenous people poorly. Indigenous people are more likely to suffer from drug abuse using needles because of the intergenerational trauma suffered through their parents attending residential schools in Canada (Bombay, Matheson, & Anisman, 2014, p. 327). This puts them at a higher criminal risk than others because of what they have been subjected to.

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899 Words | 4 Pages

This criminal code encourages sentencing judges to have recourse to a restorative approach to sentencing. Also, the enactment of s. 718.2 (e) is a definite direction by Parliament to pay particular attention to the circumstances of aboriginal offenders during the sentencing process because those circumstances are unique and different from those of non-Aboriginal offenders. Further, when sentencing Aboriginal offenders, courts must take judicial notice of such matters as the history of colonization, displacement, and residential schools. And they should look at how that history continues to translate into lower educational accomplishment, lower income, higher unemployment, higher rates of substance abuse, suicide, and, of course, higher levels of imprisonment of Aboriginal peoples. (Canadian Law, an Introduction 6th Edition: Neil Boyd 2015; page,

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1010 Words | 5 Pages

The Metis people whole dynamic and attitudes changed and faced such degrading racism every time and everywhere they went. The effects of the past are still a problem and struggle today for the aboriginal people, as stated “Activism for the ages” “will take a long time to change attitudes at all levels of government, throughout society, as well as in our schools such a long time that it will be the children, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, who will need to carry on this work. And we have a responsibility for helping them.” (Shaker 3). Attitudes of the hegemonic society need to shift in order to make way for real social change.

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1164 Words | 5 Pages

Indigenous people have been called savage, inferiors, negligent, uncivilized, and a scalping party. All this genocide was caused and started by John A. MacDonald and faced by Indigenous communities and their children, who went to residential schools, and some survived the harsh environment. White kids were allowed to succeed while being unaware of humbled by the plight of Indigenous children, whose land

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Critical Summary #3: First Nations Perspectives In Chapter eight of Byron Williston’s Environmental Ethics for Canadians First Nation’s perspectives are explored. The case study titled “Language, Land and the Residential Schools” begins by speaking of a public apology from former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He apologizes for the treatment of “Indians” in “Indian Residential Schools”. He highlights the initial agenda of these schools as he says that the “school system [was] to remove and isolate [Aboriginal] children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them[…]” (Williston 244).

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512 Words | 3 Pages

“The Indian Act was (and many would say, continues to be) a discriminatory piece of legislation”, this quote from (Government of Canada, Department of Justice, 2023), shows how the Indian Act to this day is still very discriminatory, and still affects Indigenous communities today, the name “Indian” was a derogatory term used when creating this act who is still used today, proving the discrimination they still face today through government. Going back to the discrimination through the justice system, an example, many Indigenous people go through something called “systemic discrimination”, which is Indigenous overrepresentation in the Canadian Justice system, the cause of this among many other things is the Indian Act, Indigenous people are more likely to be policed aggressively, brought before the court and detained more than non-indigenous individuals, These are all due to failed attempts to amend certain parts of the Indian Act, which still portrays superiority over Indigenous communities, such as limitations in granting Indian status, the discrimination and stereotypes that were shown during the now affect them through justice systems, “Systemic discrimination, and negative stereotypes result in more indigenous people being arrested, charged, and entering the criminal justice system”, this quote from, (Government of

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1773 Words | 8 Pages

During this time, family members emphasized that understanding and honoring individuals whose lives were cruelly cut short necessitates a detailed accounting of all the ties that molded their loved one's life and that their loved one, in turn, shaped. Throughout the process, public community hearings were held, private statements were collected, expert panels were formed, and written archive records and existing studies on the problem were reviewed. This process aims to find the truth by gathering many stories from many people to have the truths woven together to show the world what violence really looks like for Indigenous women and girls in Canada. The National Inquiry reached out to put families first throughout the process rather than others who hold power, as well as being informed about the trauma encountered and making sure there is no further harm, and decolonizing where in they center Indigenous ways of being, knowing, and doing. The idea of cultural safety emerged from this process as a foundational principle of wellness.

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860 Words | 4 Pages

Countless numbers of Native individuals are traumatized and their unhealthy mindset and physical traits are typically passed on. Many of these Indigenous people probably do not even realize the harm that their actions cause to their future family members which is one of the root issues that makes people struggle to end the cycle of abuse. Thus, it is important for one to recognize their negative behaviours toward others. Fred mentioned that residential schools were not their fault, “We’re not responsible for what happened to us. None of us are,” (120) which is absolutely true, however, he also said, “But our healing—that’s up to us,” (120) and this further proves that in order to end the cycle of traumas, one should take the initiative.

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1015 Words | 5 Pages

But, determinates such as social, economic and historical events that play such a large role in Aboriginal women’s mental health and lead to depression, psychological disorders and self-destructive behaviours (Halseth, 2013). A serious threat that Aboriginal women experience that trampers with their mental health are the physical, verbal and emotional violence they endure in their own homes and in Canadian society as a whole (Halseth, 2013). These women are three and a half more times likely to experience violence and are also more likely to suffer seriously damaging

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1449 Words | 6 Pages

As Jesse describes the events he witnessed as a child, he explains, “The fridge had a few half-drunk beer bottles, an old light bulb, and a hardened turnip. Sometimes he’d go away for two or three days and leave us nothing” (Thistle 18). At this time, Jesse and his brothers, Jerry and Josh, were living with both their parents, and although they had been financially comfortable to a certain extent, they had to suffer from various forms of abuse from their father, which forced them to have to learn how to fend for themselves from an incredibly young age. Unfortunately, the concept of being raised in broken households, is common within the Indigenous populations in Canada, due to the trauma that has been passed down from generation to generation. In the article, “Intergenerational Trauma: Convergence of Multiple Processes among First Nations peoples in Canada,” it states, “It is further argued that the shared collective experiences of trauma experienced by First Nations peoples, coupled with related collective memories, and persistent sociocultural disadvantages, have acted to increase vulnerability to the transmission and expression of intergenerational trauma effects” (Bombay et al. 2009)

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1407 Words | 6 Pages

Historically the highest risk factor of domestic violence followed colonization (Brownridge 2008, p. 355). The loss of history and way of life has caused violence against the Aboriginal women to become normalized through the pathway of poverty, lack of education, substance abuse, and the european worldview. When comparing the violence ratio of Aboriginal woman and non-Aboriginal women the Aboriginal female has an eight time greater chance to be a target of violence such as spousal homicide and severe abuse (Brownridge, 2003, p.66). Aboriginal women were noted to have a significantly higher rate of violent victimization in comparison to a non-aboriginal females. Statistics showed that one quarter of aboriginal women will have experienced partner violence in comparison to only 8% of non-Aboriginal women (Brownridge, 2008, p. 355).

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276 Words | 2 Pages

With the country’s population being around 33 million in 2011 (“Stats Canada,” 2011), and over 1,400,000 of those people were aboriginals making them about 4.3% of the Canadian population. (“CBC News,” 2014) This high percent of aboriginals in Canada impacts many other statistics as well, there are even times where the statistics for aboriginal peoples out number the non-aboriginals. However this is not always a positive aspect. For example, the suicide rate for aboriginal males in Canada is 126 per 100,000 compared to 24 per 100,000 for non-Aboriginal males.

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244 Words | 1 Pages

The Native Woman’s Association of Canada (NWAC) produced to aid and support the welfare of Aboriginal women, girls, their families, and community. Aboriginal women endure discrimination on many grounds and this includes sexual exploitation that often leads to human trafficking. The NWAC is taking an abolitionist position and this means they are pursuing to eradicate an organization such as slavery. In terms of prostitution, this term applied to the women oppressed and sexually exploited and trying to eradicate the system. This association wants to bring awareness to issues that go unnoticed, such as the unfair treatment prostitutes and Aboriginal women experience.

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The colonization of Indigenous peoples has dramatically affected their health, and health-seeking behaviours, in a myriad of ways. The Indian Act of 1876 was, in essence, created to control the Indigenous population. The Indian Act laid out laws and regulations that tightly regulated the lives of natives economically, ideologically, and politically. This included a wealth of ways in which their identities were stripped away, and in which they were taken advantage of by the Government of Canada. This has resulted in a reduced quality of life for Canada 's indigenous population, as well as adverse health problems, and prejudicial perceptions that we still see the impact of today.

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