ipl-logo

Vicki Chartrand Unsettled Times Summary

952 Words4 Pages

What does the author set out to achieve with their text?
In the article Unsettled Times, author Vicki Chartrand sets out to investigate the ongoing legacy between the Canadian penitentiary system and colonialism. Indigenous studies have shown that colonialism is a recurrent and universal part of human history (Chartrand, 2019). She states that the Canadian penitentiary emerged during early settlement and through this it was modeled on the British system of imprisonment. Chartrand shows how the penitentiary system has always been connected to colonialism and the mistreatment of Indigenous people. She also shed light on the number of Indigenous people, specifically women in the prison system. Indigenous prisoners are disproportionately over-represented …show more content…

First, she uses case studies to highlight how this system has personally affected people of the Indigenous community. In the case of R v Gladue, the Supreme Court did not fully consider section 718.2 (e) of the criminal code. This section requires the judge to consider all other options other than imprisonment and to pay particular attention to the circumstances of an Aboriginal offender (Irons, 2018). It is designed to improve the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in prisons and encourage judges to have a restorative approach to sentencing (Supreme Court Judgments, 1999). Chartrand also uses historical context to demonstrate how the Canadian penal system has always been rooted in colonialism. Her article discusses that even in the early 20th century the British Columbia penitentiary advised that white prisoners should associate as little as possible with Indians and Half-breeds (Minister of Justice, 2895:113, as cited in Chartrand, 2019). She traces back to the colonial era and explains that Indigenous people were punished and imprisoned for resisting the rules. She argues that we need to address the issues within the Canadian penitentiary system there is a need for decolonization. Decolonization allows for the restoration of colonized groups whose power was stolen. Decolonization in the prison system is an important step to reducing systemic racism and can produce fairer outcomes for Indigenous people (Korchak, 2017). We are just trying to mask ongoing genocide rather than trying to mend the mistakes from the past and work to better the

Show More
Related

Joseph D. Osel

232 Words | 1 Pages

First, I want to examine a particularly critical review of Alexander’s text by Joseph D. Osel. According to Joseph D. Osel’s, “while Alexander’s book claims to be concerned with exposing and describing the history and mechanisms of mass incarceration of the American ‘caste system,’ which affect the poor and people of color systematically and disproportionately, her work systematically, strangely, and empathically excludes these voices” (OSEL Whitewash). Osel goes on to contend that Alexander’s work provides the history of criminal justice and imprisonment with a “vast rhetorical and historical facelift where the most relevant and affected voices on the topic at hand are safely expunged from the discussion, from relevance, from history” (OSEL

Read More

Analysis Of Birdie By Tracey Lindberg

1802 Words | 8 Pages

Tracey Lindberg’s novel Birdie is narratively constructed in a contorting and poetic manner yet illustrates the seriousness of violence experience by Indigenous females. The novel is about a young Cree woman Bernice Meetoos (Birdie) recalling her devasting past and visionary journey to places she has lived and the search for home and family. Lindberg captures Bernice’s internal therapeutic journey to recover from childhood traumas of incest, sexual abuse, and social dysfunctions. She also presents Bernice’s self-determination to achieve a standard of good health and well-being. The narrative presents Bernice for the most part lying in bed and reflecting on her dark life in the form of dreams.

Read More

Intergenerational Trauma In Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road

1244 Words | 5 Pages

The book allows the reader to truly understand what Indigenous people went through in Canada’s past by looking at assimilation as a war and not just some event in history. Soldiers battled for their life on the front

Read More

Borders Thomas King Summary

696 Words | 3 Pages

This story is a powerful critique of the ways that Indigenous people are often marginalized. The checkpoint guards do not recognize the Blackfeet as a sovereign nation and instead treat them as if they are simply Canadian citizens. This lack of recognition is a form of invalidation that denies the Blackfeet unique identity and cultural heritage. The story also outlines the allowance of the government system to control and conquer marginalized groups as we see the mother and daughter have been repeatedly denied entry into the United States despite their best efforts to assert their

Read More

Ebrahim Toure's Case Study

949 Words | 4 Pages

Introduction Although Canada is universally known as safe haven for refugees, hundreds of unwanted immigrants across the country are held captive under maximum security. Despite the circumstances of these immigrants and refugees, I believe that keeping an innocent man locked behind bars in maximum security is unfair and hostile. Using Rawl’s Veil of Ignorance, I will be analyzing Ebrahim Toure’s conviction. I will also be applying the Potter Box Model of Reasoning by explaining every detail of his case and exploring the values, the principles and the loyalties that lies within this wrongful conviction to conclude with moral standpoint for Ebrahim Toure.

Read More

Annotated Bibliography: The New Jim Crow

1343 Words | 6 Pages

Her central thesis is that mass incarceration is “The New Jim Crow,” or the new system of control used by the government to uphold racial class in the U.S. This book will be helpful to my research because it directly discusses the topic of race and the criminal justice system. Amnesty International. (2003). United States of America: Death by discrimination

Read More

Summary Of Charlie By Lee Maracle

665 Words | 3 Pages

Lee Maracle’s short story “Charlie” raises themes of imperial education on Aboriginal children in Canada and the harmfulness this standardized European schooling causes on the people, communities, and livelihood of Aboriginal tribes. In just a few short pages, “Charlie” manages to convey the severity of the situation for Aboriginal children taken to Residential Schools in Canada in an attempt to assimilate them into the foreign culture, religion and values of European imperialism. The children in the school are shown to have adapted to the situation by feigning stupidity and dull resignation, while quietly resisting in their own ways; Charlie, the titular character, escapes his imprisonment through daydreaming and, later, running away. The

Read More

Rawl's Veil Of Ignorance Case Study

1405 Words | 6 Pages

Introduction Although Canada is universally known as safe haven for refugees, hundreds of unwanted immigrants across the country are held captive under maximum security. Despite the circumstances of these immigrants and refugees, I believe that keeping an innocent individuals locked behind bars in maximum security is both unfair and hostile. It is also an unethical issue that many are not aware of due to the lack of discussion surrounding this topic of unwanted immigrants. Using Rawl’s Veil of Ignorance, I will be analyzing Ebrahim Toure’s conviction.

Read More

Identity And Identity In Thomas King's Short Story 'Borders'

608 Words | 3 Pages

Blackfoot is a native tribe that resides in the Great Plains of Montana and Canadian provinces of Alberta. King writes about how the mother had to face several guards and spend a few nights in the car with her son because of their treatment by Canada. In my point of view, I find the theme to be that aboriginals are treated as objects and are forced to give up their identity and lifestyle. Just like in America, it seems like that Canada is pushing aboriginals are pushed to the side and cover it with some sugar. For instance, when parked at an border office, a woman tried to persuaded the mother to pick a identity by saying “I can understand how you feeling about having to tell us about your citizenship, and here’s what I’ll do.

Read More

Kingston's Penitentiary Vacation

599 Words | 3 Pages

    Kingston, of the many cities in Canada, is in fact very well known for their large quantity of prisons. Ever since 1835, the amount of Kingston’s penitentiaries and prisons have grossly increased in numbers. The city has been heavily populated for a long time. Therefore, many prisons and penitentiaries were made to accommodate to higher crime

Read More

The Discourse Of Hospitality And The Rise Of Immigration Detention In Canada

1396 Words | 6 Pages

Still, Dawson points out, when pointing out the responsibilities of citizenship, “Kenney argued that ‘Canada is not a hotel’.” Dawson employs discourse analysis to examine the tension between the Canadian ideal of hospitality and the realities of a growing immigration detention system. The preferred national self-image of Canada as intrinsically hospitable is visible in both of the antithetical references to hotels above. The first endeavors to obscure the astringency of the detention system, and the jail-like conditions in which people are held, by suggesting that they are not astringent but hospitable, in keeping with Canada’s preferred self-image, and thus that detainees are treated as if they were hotel guests. The second utilization surmises that Canada is hospitable and therefore is vulnerably susceptible to exploitation, for example by those who seek asylum under erroneous pretenses.

Read More

Overrepresentation Of Indigenous People Essay

1076 Words | 5 Pages

The overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the Canadian criminal justice system is a deeply concerning issue that has garnered significant attention from academics, policymakers, and the wider public. The notion that Indigenous peoples account for more than 30% of the federal prison population, despite comprising just 5% of the Canadian population, highlights the extent to which they are disproportionately impacted by the legal system. The overrepresent of indigenous peoples in the justice system in Canada needs to be addressed through a review of the fairness, equity and effectiveness of the legislation that is currently in force, due to its lasting impacts on indigenous communities. Through examining the failures of Canada's

Read More

Murdered Indigenous Women

735 Words | 3 Pages

In the case of Robert Picton, a pig farmer, who had killed more then a dozen Aboriginal women (Oppal 2012). These findings show that although Picton was tried and received his punishment the media did not focus on how he had largely targeted Aboriginal women. This topic is essential as I find that these women are often ignored by the media, whether they are Aboriginal or not.

Read More

Thomas King's A Short History Of Indians In Canada

1283 Words | 6 Pages

The indigenous people are literally crashing into the buildings produced by the colonizing culture, “Look out! Bob shouts. There are Indians flying into the skyscrapers and falling on the sidewalk.” (King 63) and it adequately represents the lack of adaptability of the Native Canadians. Thomas King taps again into the effects of colonialism and notions the indigenous people as uneducated and an untamed species.

Read More

Race In The Prison System Essay

965 Words | 4 Pages

Along with African-American/Blacks, the Hispanic population is underrepresented at both the state and federal levels while the Caucasian/White population are underrepresented (Walker, Spohn, & DeLone, 2018). This essay will discuss multiple different races and ethinicities to regard their population make up within the prison system. Although race and ethnicity relate to one another they are different. According to Walker et al. (2018), race is defined as the, “major biological divisions of mankind,” for

Read More

More about Vicki Chartrand Unsettled Times Summary

Related Topics

Open Document