Aboriginal People In Canada Essay

How different would life be if your nation was discriminated and seen as unequal to the rest of the people in your country? Unfortunately, this is a major problem in the Indigenous community of Canada today. Discrimination against the Indigenous dates back to early European settlement, and although efforts have been made in recent generations to make the country a mosaic of peoples and cultures, a recent poll suggests that more than one-third of respondents believe racism against Indigenous people is increasing in Canada. Although the Indigenous are considered the “First Peoples of Canada,” they are continuously being discriminated because of their ethnicity / race, they are being unreasonably searched, and they are not receiving the basic

I believe that the Canadian government is guilty of genocide against the aboriginal people of Canada because of the residential schools, the creation of the Indian act and the enfranchisement of first nations people.

Essay Outline The human race that inhabited the lands earlier than anyone else, Aboriginals in Canada had conquered many obstacles which got them to what they are today. In the past, Canadian Aboriginals have dealt with many gruesome issues that primarily involved the Canadians opposing them or treating them like ‘‘wards.’’ The Indian Act is a written law which controls the Indian’s lives and it is often amended several times to make Indian lives either peaceful or cruel but especially, cruel. Aboriginals found the Indian Act a massive problem in their lives due to it completely controlling them and how they lived on their reserve.

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).

Canada is known for its amazing healthcare and it is considered one of the best in the world. In Canada, healthcare is ‘universal’ to its citizens under the Heath Care Act. However, not everyone has equal access to healthcare, Aboriginals being some of them. Aboriginals have trouble getting the access they need because of socio-economic status, geography, lack of infrastructure and staff, language or cultural barriers an more.

Over the past century, assimilation has been the predominant solution to the challenges posed by the existence of Indigenous people. Historically, Canadian sovereignty depended on maintaining the relationship between Canada’s Indigenous people and the Crown through treaties of peace and friendship (Macklem 122). It was not until 1973 when the Calder case formally recognized pre-existing Aboriginal titles to land that the Canadian government committed to settling all pending land claims (Légaré 344). The legitimacy of self-determination was further entrenched when the Constitution Act in 1982 recognized all existing treaty rights as well as the inherent Indigenous right of self-government (Macklem 2001, 101). Indigenous peoples have always wanted control over their own affairs which lead to the constant pressure on the Federal Government to grant them wider powers in the government which they had before the coming of the Europeans.

Introduction Discrimination based on race, gender and Aboriginal status continues to be a recurring theme in the lives of Aboriginals that live in Canada. Colonialism has had a negative impact on the lives and lifestyles of Aboriginals throughout Canada. They were forced into reserves that were located in unsuitable land for the European settlers to use. The European settlers would refer to the aboriginals as ‘barbaric’ and ‘uncivilized’ while they categorized themselves as ‘educated’ and ‘cultural’ (Farihah Ali, 2015). This mentality is what emerged the negative stereotypes directed towards Aboriginal people and has also had a negative impact in their way of life.

The Indian Act is a part of Canadian legislation that is intended to elucidate how the federal government handles its responsibilities to the Aboriginal population of Canada. The Indian Act was created to civilize, protect and assimilate the Aboriginal people; however, in the past the Canadian government perceived Aboriginal people as wards, and thought that the Native communities and governments were unqualified of running their affairs (Coates, 2008). In the past the Indian Act was also utilized as an instrument to limit rights of the Aboriginal population. It banned Aboriginal people from practicing their cultural practices, denied them the right to vote, controlled who was permitted to travel from reserve settings, and decided where

With this, we’ve seen the Canadian government treat aboriginal people as less than them. Residential schools embody all of these traits, continuing to in its symbolic representation of pain, desperation, and racism among Canadian

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.

Introduction After the Red River Rebellion, the Metis received many of their demands in the Manitoba Act, but because of the scrip system, many didn’t receive the land they were promised causing them to move west into nowadays Saskatchewan. While living in the west, the Metis were losing patience with the Canadian government to gain title to their land. The government had surveyed the land out to pay for the Canadian Pacific Railway, which the Metis didn’t know, and wouldn’t give any away. The government was treating the Aboriginals cruelly; they let them starve and didn’t keep their promises to help them flourish in the western economy. The Metis had had enough with the government and decided to bring back Louis Riel from Montana.

The basis of these problems is a loss of identity and a sense of knowing that their values are oppressed, and their rights are ignored. Likewise, non-indigenous Canadians have become increasingly aware of the unfairness of the richness of indigenous and aboriginal cultures that are taking place.

Aboriginal Poverty within Canada Introduction Aboriginal people are a name for the original people of North America and their descendants (“Aboriginal Peoples and Communities”, 2015). The different types of groups of aboriginal peoples are First Nations, Métis and Inuit (“Aboriginal Peoples and Communities”, 2015). In Canada over 1.4 million people identify themselves as an Aboriginal person (“Aboriginal Peoples and Communities”, 2015).

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

Richard Wagamese brings to light the troubles of aboriginals living in Northern Canada in his book Indian Horse. Wagamese demonstrates the maltreatment aboriginals have faced at the hands of the Zhaunagush and their residential schools. The disgusting truth of the treatment of aboriginals in Canada is shown through recovering alcoholic, Saul Indian Horse, who recounts his life from the time he lived in the bush with his native family, the Anishinabeg, to the the time he checked into The New Dawn Treatment Centre. Seen through Saul’s eyes, the Canadian government captures and transports native children to residential schools. Not only are these children stripped from their native way of life, they are placed in an environment that eerily resembles an internment camp.