Ethnic Groups In The United States

Nancy Macdonald (2016), an editor who works for the Maclean’s, writes an article on the way Indigenous and non-Indigenous citizens are treated by the law and police force. At least 36 per cent of the women and 25 per cent of men, who are Indigenous, were already sentenced to provincial and territorial custody in Canada. Nancy explains, from these scores, these statistics make up at least 4 per cent of the national population. She also explains, if you add in the federal prisons, the statistics will now account for 22.8 per cent Indigenous inmates of the total incarcerated population.

Canada’s treatment to the Aboriginal people and other racial minorities is sadly something that it cannot take pride in, especially after all, Canada is commended globally as an exemplary of cultural variety and has a commendable repute for its liberal anti-racist policy. This essay will prove that today’s government should be held accountable for injustices of the past as first nations people were treated unequal for many years and other immigrants in Canada weren’t recognised and were made to be different and struggle. Canada is recognised for, and prides herself on, the abundant diversity of cultures, ethnic backgrounds, races and beliefs which live inside its borders. Therefore the government should be responsible for ensuring that all its qualities are met with high standard and the Canadian government should facilitate injustices of the past.

Since the colonization of Canada First Nations people have been discriminated against and assimilated into the new culture of Canada through policies created by the government. Policies created had the intentions of improving the Aboriginal people’s standard of living and increasing their opportunities. Mainly in the past hundred years in Canadian Society, policies and government implemented actions such as; Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reserve systems have resulted in extinguishing native culture, teachings, and pride. Policies towards the treatment of Aboriginal Canadians has decreased their opportunities and standard of living because of policies specified previously (Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reservation systems).

For example, since 2005 there has a been a 3% decrease in the number of Caucasian offenders being admitted to facilities while simultaneously the number of aboriginals and blacks have increased by 47.4% and over 75% respectively. As a whole, the representation of aboriginals and blacks in the correctional system is 22.8% and 9.8% in contrast to 4.3% and 2.9% of the general population. (2) (3)

A closer in depth analysis into Canada’s justice system will show that their acceptance of all cultures did not leak through to the confinements of its courts. Why it is that one race or class is more likely to be an inmate? From a racial standpoint,

No community in Canada comes into conflict with criminal justice system officials more disproportionately than Aboriginals (Dickson-Gilmore, 2011, p.77). Indeed, Aboriginal Canadians are often subject to both overt and unintended discrimination from Canadian law enforcement due in large part to institutionalized reputations as chronic substance abusers who are incapable of reform (Dickson-Gilmore, 2011, p.77-78). One of the more startling contemporary examples of this is the case of Frank Paul; a Mi’kmaq Canadian who was left to die in a Vancouver alley by officers of the Vancouver Police Department after being denied refuge in a police “drunk tank”. Not surprisingly, this event garnered significant controversy and public outcry amongst

How often do we stop to think about the minorities of this country and how they become involved and are treated in the criminal justice system? I surmise; only some of us will concern ourselves with such details. For some like myself; we might work with individuals of the Aboriginal community or have interacted with members of this group whether through school or work. Canada “had an Aboriginal identity in 2011 of 4 % or 1.4 million people” (Kelly-Scott and Smith, 2015). Of this total there is a gross overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in Canada’s Criminal Justice System. This overrepresentation of Aboriginals in the CJS comes as a result of socio economic factors, sentencing reforms, systemic discrimination, education and employment and victimization of Aboriginal women. In partial fulfilment of this course, this paper will address the leading factors which has led to the overrepresentation of this group in the CJS.

In recent years the issue of mass incarceration in the United States and Canada has begun to take a spotlight in the media, government and public discourse. This paper will examine how Canada incarcerates Aboriginals at much higher rates than those who are not of Aboriginal descent. By examining the culture clash between Aboriginals and the rest of the population and the socio-economic conditions they live in, this paper will show that the criminal justice system works against them, therefore leading to mass incarceration. Finally, this paper will make suggestions as to how the criminal justice system can change in order to reduce the incarceration rates of Aboriginal peoples.

Over the past decades, Aboriginal people (the original people or indigenous occupants of a particular country), have been oppressed by the Canadian society and continue to live under racism resulting in gender/ class oppression. The history of Colonialism, and Capitalism has played a significant role in the construction and impact of how Aborignal people are treated and viewed presently in the Canadian society. The struggles, injustices, prejudice, and discrimination that have plagued Aboriginal peoples for more than three centuries are still grim realities today. The failures of Canada's racist policies toward Aboriginal peoples are reflected in the high levels of unemployment and poor education.

Aboriginals are disproportionately overrepresented in provincial and federal jails across Canada is an issue that originates from race alone. Many studies have concluded as well that the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in prisons is caused in part by systemic discrimination against them in the criminal justice system. The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics report: in 2003, Aboriginal people made up 18-20 per cent of all sentenced admissions to jail, but only take up 3.6 per cent of Canada's population (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2004). As statistics accumulate, it is important to note that the overrepresentation of Aboriginals in correctional institutions is connected with a high degree of social context issues. Based

Honorable Minister Kai, Today I present my provisional report on the Aboriginal incarceration rates. As you know the Prime Minister in his Closing the Gap speech mentioned the indigenous community being deprived of jobs and education, which are important issues that require further investigation. However he hasn’t discussed the high rates of incarcerated indigenous people and the impact, which can have adverse effects on many other aspects such as education and job seeking. I have conducted wide research and gathered extensive data and evidence on the recent statistics graphing the evident difference in the incarceration levels between indigenous and non-indigenous people.

Racial inequality inside of Canadian prisons is shocking and sometimes unbelievable when taken into account the percentage a minority group takes up in Canada’s overall population versus behind bars. The injustices against Canada’s First Nations people are unfortunately not just historic, as their mistreatment is still evident today. Despite representing only 3% of the population, First Nations account for about 25% of the prison population in provincial/territorial facilities. More specifically, 31% of the female population, and 22% of the male population were First Nations in 2015. More than one in five admissions to men’s prisons are of Aboriginal descent, and one in three in women’s prisons. Although it can be said that more and more attention has been drawn to this issue by citizens and politicians alike recently, First Nations people continue to suffer from poverty, injustice, and a lack of opportunities compared to the average Canadian citizen. About one in four native children live in poverty, leading to criminal activity, and eventually

Both males and females amongst the aboriginals are overrepresented in the various levels of secured custody. However, based on the enormity of the native involvement in the Canadian Penal System, there

This essay endeavors to explain what risk factors are and discuss four key risk factors that may assist in explaining the over-representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system. These include family violence, alcohol and drug abuse as well as employment and

Throughout the history of Canada, we have acknowledged Indigenous cultures as being the first people of Canadian land. However, society has not treated them as equal members of society since the first explorers settled. The Euro-Canadian culture has impacted the Indigenous people negatively; as a result injustice between the two cultures has developed and inequality has widened as the two cultures interact more frequently. Lisa Monchalin (2016), author of the text The Colonial Problem: An Indigenous Perspective on Crime and Injustice in Canada, noted multiple reasons how Aboriginal people are discriminated against in society, and how they are over-represented in Canadian correctional system. In society, according to Aylsworth, L., and Trovato, F. (2012) of The Canadian Encyclopedia, the indigenous population was approximately 4.3% of the total Canadian population, yet, the 2015-2016 Annual Report of the Office of the Correctional Investigator noted “an unabated increase in the number of Indigenous people behind bars, a rate now surpassing 25% of the total federal incarcerated population” (2016, n.p.). This raised the question as to why there was such a blatant over-representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system. Indigenous history has been speckled with injustices, hardship, discrimination, racism, and have been on the receiving end of multiple attempts to rid Canada of Indigenous ways and people. The history of these