Aboriginal Social Justice

Statistics as drastic as the above can only lead to the conclusion that Aboriginal people receive unequal justice in comparison to the majority population. The Aboriginal Justice Strategy (AJS) group was created specifically in response to the disproportionate number of Aboriginal persons involved in the criminal justice system, both as offenders and victims (Bennet, 2012). In their evaluation of the justice system, they found that “there remains a need for culturally relevant alternatives to the mainstream justice system” that are able to address the needs of Aboriginal populations (Bennet, 2012, p.1). Therefore, the pursuit of justice for Aboriginal populations must be culture based to not only administer uniform justice going forward, but also to address past wrongs.

It is a commonly known issue in Australia that as a minority group, the people of Indigenous Australian ethnicity have always been treated, or at least perceived, differently to those of non-Indigenous disposition. This can be applied to different contexts such as social, economic, education, or in relation to this essay – legal contexts. Generally, Indigenous Australians face issues such as less opportunity for formal education, less access to sufficient income, more health issues, and higher rates of imprisonment (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service

For the last 200 years Indigenous people have been victims of discrimination, prejudice and disadvantage. Poor education, poor living conditions and general poverty are still overwhelming issues for a large percentage of our people and we remain ‘as a group, the most poverty stricken sector of the working class’ in Australia (Cuthoys 1983).

This meant that all matters that had to be discussed had to be approved by the government appointed Indian agent before a chief and council could address the matter. Once matters were discussed any resolution had to be agreed upon by the appropriate federal minister before being enacted. When people attempted to address grievances or complaints they had with the government and the Indian Act System, new laws were passed to stop them from organizing and effectively dealing with the issues brought to their attention.

This essay looks at Indigenous Australians in relation to the institution of ‘Criminal Law’. In this context, criminal law refers to legal processes such as police questioning, investigation and detainment as well as arrest, custody and bail. It also encompasses associated court procedures up to the point of sentencing. The focus will be to first outline the importance of criminal law to Indigenous Australians and then provide a critical analysis of the unique experiences and barriers that this group encounter in accessing criminal law in a positive way. Following this analysis, the development of possible ways to improve Indigenous access to criminal law will be discussed. Particular attention will be given to the way in which Indigenous Australians are affected by the transition of our modern justice system toward broader social justice concepts that incorporate risk management of potential criminal behaviour. From this discussion a conclusion will be drawn as to whether or not Indigenous Australians enjoy equality of criminal law and whether the structural elements of the law itself perpetuate Indigenous injustice and disadvantage.

In 1967, a landmark event occurred for the Indigenous Community of Australia. They were no longer declared Flora and Fauna This means that Aboriginal people would be considered a part of the landscape and not humans in their own right.. In 1967, a Referendum was held by all members of Australian society voting on the issue of allowing Indigenous Australian to be a part of the census and thereby able to vote and be counted as part of Australia’s population. This achieved not only citizenship for Aboriginal people, but put the issue of Indigenous Rights on both the political and social platforms. This essay will look at the lead up to the Referendum, how Aborigines and their supporters communicated their belief in their rights to the

To what extent has Canada affirmed collective rights for Aboriginals? Has Canada done their job properly by confirming collective rights for one of our main collective groups in Canada? From looking into some of the issues involving our Aboriginal peoples with the Government, it’s clear that the government has done a very weak job of affirming their rights. The government hasn’t completely affirmed the rights of our Aboriginals through the Indian Act, the issue on housing of the Attawapiskat peoples, and the land claims/rights of the Lubicon Cree.

In the midst of the government's interference in the lives of the Indigenous after colonisation, they believed that bringing along protection legislations would work on the behalf of Aboriginals in order to make their lives easier. The Acts were used, as a way of implementing procedures for protection, separation and assimilation amongst the Indigenous populations. In the case of Aboriginals protection Acts are a representation of systematic control. The 1909 NSW Aboriginal Protection Act gave power to the Broad to regulate the lives of the Indigenous. They were monitored throughout their everyday lives, their employment, wages and who they marry or come in contact with. Undoubtedly the Aboriginals are left feeling caged within their own land. Sometime

protest for their rights. For example, civil rights movements were essential in supporting the Aboriginal People. The Australian Aboriginal Rights Movement aimed to gain full citizenship for Aboriginal peoples. This effort in Australia was one of the largest civil rights movements in the last one hundred years across the globe. These Australian Aborigines suffered from significant racial oppression and dispossession. The Aboriginal Movement was defined by student protestors such as Charles Perkins, who displayed the power of public protest through the Freedom Ride of 1965. The Freedom Ride focused on enlightening the world on the discrimination the Aboriginal people faced each day, so the Aboriginals could ultimately become equal with the whites in Australia, Progress was also made through the political process with the Commonwealth 1967 Referendum, which led to a review of two discriminatory provisions regarding the Aborigines in the Australian Constitution. However, the Freedom Ride was more influential in ending many social and economic inequalities for Aborigines than the Commonwealth Referendum because it shone a light on the struggles Aboriginal people faced, served as a lesson to the Aborigines on how to resist discrimination, and created momentum for making real changes in Australian society that benefited the Aborigines.

In the article ‘Public Reason and the Disempowerment of Aboriginal People in Canada’, written by Matthew Tomm, the author begins by providing a general perception towards the aboriginal perspective in the political and legal discussions through the use of a brief narrative. The author then transitions this background information into his argument surrounding this injustice. The author’s argument regarding the struggles of aboriginal people in Canada is clearly identified as a two-part statement. Part I features the obstacle of public justifiability, the idea utilized to actually justify the injustice towards the aboriginal people, defined by the author as “a central idea of contemporary political theory, which says that to be legitimate the laws of a democratic state should be justified to all its citizens” (Tomm 294). Part II illustrates the idea of public justifiability being at work in Canadian courts; regardless of their effort to implement the aboriginal perspectives into the legal system, their ambivalence is causing inefficiency and inconsistency. The author discusses the impact of the principle of public reason, the political liberal stance on the matter, the courts approach and handling of the normative dimensions of aboriginal perspectives, and the injustice of legal pluralism in regards to one being considered superior. All these ideas and events occurring within the law contribute to strengthening the author’s argument. In summary, the author’s argument surrounds

In Canada, several key Aboriginal principles challenge modern liberal ideology. One of these principles is the importance of the collective, whereas liberalism focuses on individual freedom and equality. The value system of the dominant socio-cultural system in Canada is liberalism, which places emphasis on the individual, individual rights, and private property. This is in contrast to the value system of Native peoples which places a far higher value on the collectivity or upon the community. Liberalism, with its individualism, ignores the value that the community has to Aboriginal people. Aboriginal form of life places more emphasis on the communal and the spiritual than does the individualistic and materialistic. Collective beliefs

Despite changing times, the Indigenous population still experience inequality through the education and criminal justice system, specifically Indigenous women. This is highlighted throughout the report through various statistical data including tables and graphs. Further discussion on the link between these statistics to current unit concepts will be addressed in this report to expose the barriers that Indigenous Australian women face within the criminal justice system. The statistical overview on the education system will focus on the Indigenous population as a whole.

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.

2. What are some recent events in the news that deal with indigenous rights? How do they relate to the module?

Patriarchy, power, and land have resulted in the collapse of indigenous social structures and culture. Indigenous culture is rooted in tradition that is the foundation of identity for Indigenous people. Patricia, Justino and Julie Litchfield, Economic Exclusion, and Discrimination: The Experiences of Minorities and Indigenous People (Minority Rights Group International Issues Paper, 2003). The Minority Rights Group International aims to protect the rights of ethnic, minorities and Indigenous individuals. (Justino and Litchfield, 2003) provides a broad overview on the issue of poverty and discrimination across different countries and districts. Indigenous people are disadvantaged when it comes to accessing services because most minorities are facing poverty. Indigenous people are experiencing lower health, education, employment, and housing outcomes than non-Indigenous. Recognition for Indigenous customary law should not be separated from the Aboriginal community, culture, and religion. The