Indigenous rights about environmental policy

Indigenous rights about environmental policy

Women, Contemporary Aboriginal Issues, and Resistance is a film that features five different Aboriginal women who are activists, scholars, and artists. Dr. Joan Glode, CM, First Nations Child & Family Caring Society board members and a social worker; Dorothy Christian, film-maker, Ph.D. candidate, Okanagan-Secwepemc Nations, Vancouver; Ruth Cuthand, Visual artist, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon; Ursula A. Johnson, performance artists, and basket-maker, Eskasoni First Nation; Dorothy Christian, film-maker, Ph.D. candidate, Okanagan-Secwepemc Nations, Vancouver. The film is arranged in nine chapters with chapter one, beginning with the introduction of the five women featured in the movie, Chapter two provides the women’s opinions on life for Aboriginal people in Canada.

In chapter three, the five women discuss the impacts of the Residential Schools on them and other individuals. In section four, women give their opinions on the role of women in today’s Aboriginal communities. Chapter five discusses the fundamental misconceptions non-Aboriginal people hold about the Aboriginal persons. Section six outlines why the women cannot move to the city even though the reserves in their areas of residents are too bad. In chapter seven, the Aboriginal women talk about the misconceptions that Aboriginal hold about non-Aboriginal people. In section eight, the women discuss how Aboriginals and non-Aboriginal can come together and talk to one another. In chapter nine, the women talk about what they can teach if they are allowed to lead non-Aboriginal Canadians in professional development.

This film is being shown in policy class to enable students to explore and understand various issues concerning Aboriginal people. Understanding the multiple aspects of the Aboriginal people allows students to get rid of the different wrong stereotypes they hold about the native people in Canada. Showing this film in the policy class also eliminates the tendency of teaching students about issues concerning foreign nations and exotic countries but forget to look around Canada and see how strange and exciting the country, and its culture is. Many people in Canada always get the wrong information through the media about the Aboriginal people, and they create their stereotypes based on incorrect information (Sandlos & Keeling, 2016). Therefore, showing this film in policy class helps students to understand how the culture of the Aboriginal people was created and how it influences individuals throughout Canada. For example, many rivers, streets, and cities in Canada bear Indian names, and many people ignore how deep the roots of the Aboriginal culture run in the country.

Some of the policy areas reflected in this film include stereotypes, violence, and the justice system. Aboriginal women in Canada always face unique challenges daily originating from stereotypes of them disseminated by non- Aboriginal males. The image of an “Indian Princes” gives way to immoral “squaw,” which has rendered women susceptible to mistreatment and violence (Kuokkanen, 2015). When Aboriginals were displaced from their original settlement areas, and their placement in reserves and the loss of male duties of hunting and providing for the family members led to role conflicts, frustration, and rage, which is always let out in violence against women (Shelton, 2013). The violence, poverty, and deprivation experienced by numerous Aboriginal People in Canada, is linked to higher incidences involving the law than the general population.

Failure to pay fines may lead to incarcerations of many Aboriginals. Aboriginals contribute to about 26% of the incarcerated people in Canada. Statics also indicate that more Aboriginal women than men are behind bars. The Aboriginal population in Canada also experiences poorer health outcomes when compared to the non-Aboriginal population. The government has established various policies to address Aboriginals’ health issues. However, the Aboriginal population is still vulnerable to multiple types of diseases and earlier death than non-Aboriginals.

I have learned that Indigenous people in Canada face many challenges within the policy context. The Aboriginal people are left out during policy formations because most of the policies formulated in the country do not benefit the Aboriginal people. The nature of Canadian law causes most of the challenges that the Aboriginal people face in Canada because many Aboriginals are incarcerated because of simple issues such as failure to pay fines. The number of Aboriginal people in Canada is more than the number of non-Aboriginals. Most of the government policies formulated to solve the problems are never effective because, despite their implementation, native people remain under the same conditions. For example, the government implemented policies to address the health and housing issues affecting Aboriginals, but many Aboriginals are still living under poor conditions in crowded places. Furthermore, many Aboriginals remain unemployed regardless of many policies to transform the unemployment issues facing the natives. Again, many Aboriginals face discrimination because of the wrong information provided by the media, and many Aboriginal women face many violence and sexual abuse issues than non-Aboriginal women in Canada.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created in 2008 to document the experiences of residential school survivors before, during, and after studying in residential schools. The commission was also established to establish ways through which new relationships founded on mutual respect and understanding in Canada. TRC plays a vital role in promoting changes for Aboriginal people in Canada. The commission reveals the truth about the past and the current legacy of the residential schools to Canadians. TRC documents the experiences and the general harms inflicted against the native populations, and it recognizes the agility and courage of former students, their communities, and families. TRC also leads and promotes the process of truth and healing, which results in reconciliation within native families and between natives and non-Aboriginal communities, governments, churches, and the general population of Canada (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015). The whole process aims at renewing relationships founded on mutual understanding, respect, and inclusion. This entire process aims at eliminating all the stereotypes held by the non-Aboriginals to ensure that all Canadians are treated fairly and given equal opportunities in the country. The commission also aims at ensuring that the rights of all the Aboriginals are respected despite their backgrounds.

The commission also aims at addressing issues such as over representations of Aboriginals in Canadian jails and prisons, health and education issues faced by the native populations, the increasing number of missing or murdered Aboriginal girls and women, and the high number of Aboriginal children under foster care. This film relates to class notes and knowledge in that it discusses the general issues affecting the Aboriginal population in Canada. These issues should be solved so that all Canadians may have the opportunity to live in the country without fear or without being discriminated against by other people. The issue of missing or murdered Aboriginal women and girls should be discussed, and various policies should be put in place to ensure that native girls and women do not live in fear, and they can speak up or fight for their rights.

References

Kuokkanen, R. (2015). Gendered Violence and Politics in Indigenous Communities: The Cases    of Aboriginal People in Canada and the Sami in Scandinavia. International Feminist        Journal of Politics, 17(2), 271-288.

Sandlos, J., & Keeling, A. (2016). Aboriginal communities, traditional knowledge, and the environmental legacies of extractive development in Canada. The Extractive Industries           and Society, 3(2), 278-287.

Shelton, R. (2013). Women, Contemporary Aboriginal Issues, and Resistance (Videos).    Retrieved 9 February 2020, from http://dc.msvu.ca:8080/xmlui/handle/10587/1732

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Truth and reconciliation commission     of Canada: Calls to action. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.