ipl-logo

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

Show More
Related

  • Consider The Supreme Court Of Canada's 2012 Decision In R V Ipeelee

    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,

    Read More

  • Defining Indigenous Space By Ken Coated: Article Analysis

    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.

    Read More

  • National Inquiry Of Missing And Murders Women And Girls Final Report

    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.

    Read More

  • Indian Horse By Richard Wagamese Sparknotes

    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.

    Read More

  • Rising From The Ashes: Breaking Intergenerational Barriers

    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)

    Read More

  • Overrepresentation In The Criminal Justice System

    370 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aboriginal people continue to be victimized and incarcerated at much higher rates than non-Aboriginal people. The overrepresentation of Canadian Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system is a question that has not yet been answered. This research paper will focus on the risk factors experienced by many Aboriginal people, residential school experiences, and institutional racism, and their roles in the overrepresentation of Canadian Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system. The Canadian government system has tried to deal with this issue, but looking at the high rates of overrepresentation, there approach has not been successful.

    Read More

  • Native American Women Essay

    1449 Words  | 6 Pages

    “Bad people commit these horrible crimes against native women, but it is the system that allows it to happen generation after generation. ”(Limberhand, NIWRC) Indigenous people have a history of being underserved and overlooked by law enforcement, politicians, the media, and many more. Native American women and girls make up a significant part of missing and murdered cases. Murder is the third leading cause of death for Native American women and girls.

    Read More

  • Suicide In Canada

    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.

    Read More

  • Sex Trafficking In Canada

    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.

    Read More

  • Birdie And Indian Horse Summary

    1646 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Health Disparity In Canada

    1881 Words  | 8 Pages

    Without enough funding from the federal government establishing programs would be impossible, they won’t be able to provide proper reinforcement program for male youth Aboriginal who are interested about a change. They won’t be able to succeed in motivating youth to join a program that will help male Aboriginal youth. Another barrier is geographic location where Aboriginal reserves are located. In such a way that during the visit, it’s hard to do visitation because it’s far from where they were based. That’s why it’s important that certain programs are to be established near their placed for an easy access and that certain nurse would be able to help and guide a

    Read More

  • Racism In Canada

    1803 Words  | 8 Pages

    Impact of race/ethnicity, gender, and class on immigrants The early 20th century was the time of economic development in Canada which attracted immigrants to fill the spaces for almost exclusively labour intensive jobs. Most of the immigrants were of eastern European descent but some from Asian countries such as China. However due to the Anglo-Canadian tradition and values, some immigrants were regarded highly over others and, as a result, some were impacted more by discrimination compared to others. The economic growth of Canada during the early 20th century invited immigrants into the public sphere, however, the collective project of negative nation building led to the creation of an environment of hostility towards the immigrants in the

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence In Australia Essay

    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).

    Read More

  • First Nations Perspectives Case Study

    552 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • The Impact Of The Colonization Of Indigenous People

    1151 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Dehumanization In Canada

Open Document