The little community of Attawapiskat, Ontario, Canada has been and is currently facing an immense loss due to a high amount of youth suicides. The community has been under a state of emergency since April 2016 after many of the community’s youth have tried to or succeed at committing suicide. These suicides have been the product of colonialism and intergenerational trauma from the generations that came before them. The devastation in the community can teach Child and Youth Care practitioners how to put into action programs that build youth’s strengths and resilience as well as overcome any negative factor that have been created during this epidemic. Though it is important to note there have also been positive factors that have
Throughout the course of American history, Native American women have repeatedly become primary targets of sexual violence from non-native men. Around one in three Native American women has been raped or had undergone attempted rape, which makes them the largest race to experience sexual abuse than any other race in the United States. Before any contact was established between the Natives and the European settlers, the Native population had thrived off the land and they had their own criminal justice systems, which was meant to help all Native citizens find justice (Griffith, 5). Unfortunately, their efficient way of life would soon be interrupted forever following the arrival of white setters upon their lands.
The actual living conditions of most residential schools were not suitable for human beings. In a number of the institutions, the mortality rate from diseases such as small pox or tuberculosis was over 50 percent. (Cbwc.ca, 2016, p. 1) The rapid spread of diseases was promoted by the severe overcrowding in residential schools. (Cbwc.ca, 2016, p. 1) There was poor nutrition with food that was often contaminated, almost no health care and non-existent sanitation that led to high counts of death in residential schools. The dehumanization of students was shown by both the abuse and neglect that was perpetrated by government officials and others running the schools that were badly overcrowded and cheaply built. A medical examiner named P.H. Bryce
The indigenous people have a long and proud history, including the rich cultural and spiritual traditions. However, many of these traditions have been changed or even disappeared after the arrival of the European settlers. Forced introduction of European culture and values, Aboriginal community, indigenous land being deprived, and the imposition of a period of governance outside the pattern of the beginning of a cycle of social, physical and spiritual destruction. You can see the effects of today. Some of the effects include poverty, poor health, and drug abuse. 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.
The death rates for Indigenous Women are statistically a lot higher than non-indigenous woman. On average the rates for missing and murdered women have been growing since the 1980’s.”The Indigenous community makes up less than five per cent of the population in Canada, but accounts for 32 per cent of all suspects accused of murder. In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, it's an astounding 74 percent and 80 per cent, respectively. (The relative percentages for murders committed by Aboriginal women are even higher, but come from much smaller absolute numbers.)”(Scott Gilmore,2016). The rates of missing and murdered woman are astronomically high. Considering all the factors, Indigenous people make up a small percentage of Canada’s population but seem to have the highest rates of homicide. The astonishing thing of it all, is they are six times more likely to be a victim of homicide, than other Canadians. No one is willing to address the issue of the rising rates of missing and murdered woman and by day to day they keep rising and no one is addressing the epidemic. Indigenous Peoples’ are pretty much set up for failure, from they day they are born, because they are faced with so many barriers, with no resources to help them overcome them. Therefore there higher death rates caused by the lack of awareness and people being taken advantage of by people in there own country and becoming a victim of violence and
“American Indian elders have higher death rates for all other causes of death. These causes of death have implications for the health care providers and educators, as most are preventable to some degree and could be addressed by culturally congruent intervention programs.” (stanford) “Gloria Griffin, a tribal member who lost a child to drug abuse, echoed those sentiments in her comments to Tribal Council. Kicking someone off of tribal land for good is essentially a death sentence, she said — instead, tribal government should increase resources for rehabilitation” (smoky mountain news). This is a Tribal Member, a Native American asking for more help concerning drug abuse. If her tribal government isn 't willing to provide adequate help to members, another option would be to implement a Federally funded drug and alcohol abuse prevention
The final concern in which needs to be addressed is the fact that these negative stereotypes of Native Americans make it very dangerous for them because of the rise of crime rates against the Natives. The rates for crimes against the Natives has increased and puts many of them in danger. These crimes are classified as hate crimes because of the fact that these crimes are done in hatred of them as a people and not a personal cause. According to Department of Justice analysis, "American Indians are more likely than people of other races to experience violence at the hands of someone of a different race." These factors only show that we need to take serious actions soon in order to prevent this violence to continue before its too
International prison population statistics have found that the female prison population is increasing at a faster rate than the male prison population. Research has confirmed that, in the majority of countries, the male imprisonment rate is predominantly larger than that of the female imprisonment rate, however this does not apply to indigenous women within Australia. Overwhelming research shows that the imprisonment rate for indigenous women within Australia has increased at a significantly faster rate compared to indigenous males, most clearly highlighted through the general trends in prison rates within the last decade. This essay will discuss how the presence of indigeneity plays a key role in explaining the disparity between male and female imprisonment rates, further explaining why indigenous women are incarcerated at significantly highly rates. Moreover, there are numerous sociological and criminological theories, which provide an explanation for the disparity of male and female imprisonment rates. Furthermore, this essay will also discuss the social implications of these prison population trends in relation to criminal justice polices, other social policies related to
Some women are afraid for their lives, that if they leave their partner, they or their family will be harmed. In Heavenfire’s case, she truly loved and cared for Falardeau and did not want to see him go to jail for his crimes. Falardeau financially supported Heavenfire and she did not want to involve her family for support if she were to leave Falardeau. Heavenfire’s was an exceptional case as she was the first aboriginal to be cleared of all charges in her husband’s killings. Inequality in the criminal justice system is evident. 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. Reasons et al., (2016) found that, “offending and victimization are a consequence of multiple risk factors,
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
Domestic violence in Aboriginal community is a cause for concern regarding Aboriginal women 's health and safety. According to Kubik, Bourassa, and Hampton (2009) “In Canada, Aboriginal women have faced destruction in their communities and families as a result of multiple forms of oppression. Aboriginal women experience the highest rates of violence and abuse of any population in Canada”(p.29). Domestic violence is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary (2015) as “ the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another; also: a repeated or habitual pattern of such behavior”. The objective is to look at the cause of domestic violence aimed at Aboriginal
This essay will examine family violence in Indigenous Australian communities as a social issue using the SI and will focus on its development into the issue it is today through structural, historical and cultural context. Domestic violence is defined as ‘a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviours that an adult or adolescent uses to gain and maintain power and control over an intimate partner.’ (Samsel, 2013). Family Violence is the preferred term over ‘domestic violence’ in most Indigenous Australian communities, usually as it includes all forms of violence that occurs in family, intimate or other relationships that consist of support or mutual obligation (NSW Department of Health, 2011).
In the first video Sherman Alexie is asked a series of questions regarding alcohol. Sherman Alexie talks about his experience with alcohol he started by saying how drinking becomes a serious problem when it affects your relationship with people, job and school. He also talks about his family and tribe are filled will alcoholics. Some Indians think it’s a sort of stereotype they been label but Sherman says that there just in denial and indeed they have a drinking problem. In the second video it focuses on a specific reservation in South Dakota. Pine Ridge Reservation is well known for having an alcoholic epidemic. Over 1300 crimes have been committed and 99 % are connected to alcohol. They stopped selling alcohol in the reservation however
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. The documentary series, 8th fire, by Dando and Ingles (2012) supports this claim. The Indigenous peoples ' have long felt betrayed by the government that they had signed a treaty with, so why would an Indigenous person seek health services from this establishment? The mistrust between the Indigenous peoples and the Government of Canada is the result of colonization, specifically the Indian Act, and it undoubtedly impacts Indigenous peoples and their faith in, and ability to get proper care from, the healthcare system.
Legal systems and cultures are intertwined in such a way that allows them to influence one another. While most Western countries focus on top-down approaches that result in changing culture and behavior, others have concentrated their efforts to make the law reflect the culture and values of the people. In the past, when common law heavily influenced tribal courts, tribe members worked towards the preservation of traditions. Now in the modern age, tribes are working to conserve the unity of their people by using programs that center on tradition to bring forth a community. One tribe that has adopted such a program enhanced aboriginal’s Cody Kimewon understanding of his identity through a culture as cause, law as effect approach. Had he not