Aboriginal Inequality

The impact of colonization on First Nations peoples in Canada is unsurpassable, regarding every aspect of Aboriginal life and well-being. Throughout Canadian history, the government has been aiming to assimilate and annihilate Aboriginal people by way of racist policies, ethnocentric institutions, discriminatory laws and destructive capitalist behaviours. Because of this, Aboriginal people have suffered many losses, both physically and culturally. One of the main perpetrators of enacting this loss is the education system. The education system in Canada has and continues to threaten the relationship First Nations peoples have with the land. The connection First Nations peoples have with the land is crucial to their cultures, traditions, ceremonies and beliefs. Colonization and colonialism jeopardize this relationship and that is what this essay will address.

Canada has been home to Aboriginals for centuries, who play an imperative role in the history of Canada. Culture and tradition have been brought into this country with the help of millions of Aboriginals. Aboriginals have been known to be very strong supporters of their culture, and heritage and take very high importance towards it. They are very traditional people, and have been looking up to their Ancestral ways for centuries. The treaty relationship between Canada and First Nations has caused a rift and a divide amongst each other for many reasons. Although there has been so much history and tension amidst the two, there is always room for improvement. A lot of things can be done to strive towards a positive relationship, starting with accepting the culture of Aboriginals and realizing that it is something they will not be letting go. Secondly, education can play a big role in helping this situation, and bringing more awareness to the situation starting from a young age. (p. 5) Lastly, The rights and freedoms of all people in the country need to be equal and similar. Certain changes can really help the state of the situation but it is a matter of willing to try and see the change that we all want.

To many people, Canada exemplifies a country that fulfills human rights and equality being the country of ‘freedom’. However, the Canadian government has distorted certain information including poverty that impacts many Aboriginal individuals daily. In theory, it is impossible to effectively analysis the impact that the past has imposed on Aboriginal people in Canada today. With this being said addressed below are several important historical government actions and legislations such as the Indian Act, Royal Proclamation, force segregation on reserves, and residential schooling impacting Aboriginal Canadians social conditions today. Fundamentally my goal is to address the idea that historical events are a crucial factor impacting Aboriginal

Confederation, also known as the Constitution Act of 1867, served as a political purpose and alliance in which made it particularly difficult for European settlers to coexist with preindustrial societies; hence, the years after confederation resulted in confusion about how Canadian government policies would address and affect Aboriginal populations. In contrast to the spiritual and traditional lives of the Aboriginal people, the new European settlers sought to conquer nature and shed traditional values in order to contrive industrialization in Canada; hence, post-confederation policies were largely based on the upper Canadian model. Furthermore, the failure of European settlers to coexist with the Aboriginal populations led to several attempts at civilizing the indigenous people; in other words, the federal government attempted to solve the Indian problem by assuming complete dominance over the Aboriginal populations of Canada. Having said that, the Canadian government’s harsh, prejudiced and paternalistic view of the indigenous people began a cycle of social, physical and spiritual destruction in which fundamentally resulted to economic, social, health and gender inequality. With that being said, the following paper will examine the long, and often bitter series of cultural encounters and exchanges that took place after confederation, such as the brutality of residential schools, health inequality and the Oka crisis dispute.

According to Statistic Canada 2011 survey, “aboriginals represent 4.3% of the total Canadian population, about 1,400,685 people”(2011 National Household Survey, n.d.). Aboriginal people have a long history in Canada since the 17th century, but most of them were not a good experience. For example, Indian Act: they were forced to integrate

Aboriginal people in Canada are the native peoples in North America within the boundaries of present-day Canada. In the 1880’s there was a start of residential schools which took Aboriginal kids from their family to schools to learn the Roman Catholics way of culture and not their own. In residential schools Aboriginal languages were forbidden in most operations of the school, Aboriginal ways were abolished and the Euro-Canadian manner was held out as superior. Aboriginal’s residential schools are careless, there were mental and physical abuse, Aboriginals losing their culture and the after effects of residential schools.

In 2009, the city of Edmonton announced a ten-year plan to eradicate poverty within its bounds. There is no denying that poverty is a major social problem: as of 2011, 100 810 Edmontonians lived in poverty – almost one in every eight people (Galarneau and Morissette, citation 11). Different social and cultural groups prove to be especially vulnerable to poverty, and it is important to consider the perspective of each to arrive at a solution. In this paper I will analyse different perspectives on poverty to determine to what extent it is feasible to eradicate poverty in Edmonton, and how it could be done. Aboriginal Perspective An important cultural and social group when discussing poverty in Edmonton are the Aboriginal peoples who live there.

It can be said without a doubt that the indigenous peoples of Canada have had to undergo much turmoil in order to reach the point that they are at today. When one looks at the timeline of events and the laws implemented since the arrival of the Europeans in North America it can be considered a miracle that so many aspects of the rich culture and tradition of these people have survived to see today. It is a blessing that these people have been able to pass down the languages, cultural and societal beliefs, as well as their stories from generation to generation so that the people of North America and the world today may be able to know and study these civilized and multifaceted cultures. The First Nations people of Canada have had to go

The labeling of individuals and groups as ‘different’ is part of the process of creating social hierarchies, which represents the foundation of oppression (de Leeuw, Kobayashi, & Cameron, 2011). This story brings to light the denial of systematic racism of the indigenous people in Canada. It was established that although Canada prides itself in the great variety of culture and ethnicity and religion. However, despite such practices, racism is still a significant issue. Oppression is a contemporary issue for indigenous people because Canadians are still ignorant about aboriginal history. There is a misconception that aboriginals are either living in an idyllic utopian society or in a primitive world. “underprivileged” and “disadvantage”, lazy,

Significant health disparities exist between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians. A complex phenomenon is considered as triggering issues that hinder the ability to address this gap. The purpose of this paper is to first, summarized the key issues of the article. Second, explore my personal arguments and finally, provide some recommendation for the implications of the Canadian health care system.

Cultural oppression, social inequality, the loss of self-government and systemic discrimination are all things that are negatively effecting Aboriginal social welfare in Canada. They all contribute to the overall issue of the oppression that aboriginal people face in Canada creating a social problem. Although steps forward have been taken, for example Justin Trudeau investing significant funds into the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, there is much more work that must be put into this problem before it can even be close to resolution.

In 1982, the federal government of Canada enshrined the rights of Aboriginals in Section 35(1) of the Constitution Act, hereby recognizing and affirming the “existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada.” Although the Constitution Act played a vital role in setting a resolute framework in establishing the

Lee Tunstall provides insight regarding discrimination against Aboriginal people in Canada. The article recaps the history and hardships between European and Aboriginal groups, while discussing the beliefs of each of the groups. Additionally, Lee Tunstall reminds the reader of the harsh reality of the deculturalization, ranging from the development of residential schools, the banning of many important gatherings and cultural bans. Tunstall also mentions the continued discrimination of Aboriginal peoples today and how Canada still needs to continue to improve and rebuild the ties with Aboriginal people. The article also discus the rapid population growth of the many different Aboriginal populations and how they contribute to the modern day twenty-first century. Despite the fact that Lee Tunstall is not an aboriginal woman, she still continues to be a credible source, for she is apart of

Canada is compared to America in almost everything, specifically racial inequality, and this Maclean’s article illustrates that Canada might have an even worse racial problem than America does. When discussing racial inequality in America, the treatment of African-Americans is highlighted, and in Canada the unequal treatment of Aboriginal people must be discussed. This article proves through many statistics, that the treatment of Canadian Aboriginals, is worse than the treatment of African-Americans in the United States, and yet this social problem is still ignored often by the masses. This article tries to figure out why this social problem persists in such a modern day society, and found that the inequality is represented in all different forms of Canadian institutions. Meaning that this social problem is perpetuated by the treatment, and sometimes lack of positive recognition, of visible minorities in the justice system as well as other institutions.

Structure This paper explores the issue of diversity and its importance and setbacks in the Canadian society by analyzing Indigenous Canadians. It will explore the historical context impacting the Indigenous culture in Canada, the oppression they