Vicki Chartrand Unsettled Times Summary

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

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