Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Finding Dawn

Lorraine and Dawn Crey


We will be watching the movie "Finding Dawn".  As you watch this film, I want you to consider the following issues:
  1. Systemic racism - how is the inherent racism in the justice system demonstrated in the story of Dawn Crey?
  2. How did Dawn suffer from a loss of identity and how did this affect her?
  3. What made the missing women of the downtown eastside nameless and faceless?
  4. Can you see a difference how the women on the Highway of Tears and the women of the downtown eastside are viewed?  How was the response of the community different?  Why might that be?
  5. "Women's issues are men's issues too."  How is this statement demonstrated in this film?

Read one of the following articles:
  1. Stolen Sisters
  2. Seeking Justice for Canada's 500 Missing Native Women.   
  3. Investigating Violence Against Aboriginal Women
  4. Vancouver Eastside Missing Women
  5. Racism Keeps Native Women's Killer Anonymous 

Write a response in your blog to this article.

    Tuesday, April 19, 2011

    First Nations and the Justice System

    Less than 3% of the population of Canada is Aboriginal, yet about 40% of the population of Canada’s prisons is Aboriginal.  What do you think might be the cause of this?


    Make a list of five things that you think might be factors in the over-representation of Aboriginal people in Canada's prisons.

    1.

    2.

    3.

    4.

    5.



    Notice how all these factors hold the person in a web of poor choices.  

    Traditional Aboriginal justice varied from nation to nation, however there were some common themes.  What are the common themes and the different practices in traditional Aboriginal justice?  What is the basic philosophy of Aboriginal justice compared to the Canadian justice system?





    Aboriginal people have faced a justice system that has racism embedded in it for many, many years.  Aboriginal people did not have equal rights in the law to other Canadians.  They were not allowed to hire lawyers to settle land claims.  Traditional ceremonies like the potlatch were made illegal.  On the prairies, First Nations people would have to get permission (and a card) from their Indian agent if they wanted to travel from their reserve to a different reserve. The pass-card said where the person could travel to, and how long they could stay. The Canadian government didn’t want different reserves to organize and either make demands or war against them. It was also illegal under the Indian Act for an Aboriginal person to have any alcohol. Aboriginal people who did not speak English or French were not given translators. An Aboriginal person who only spoke their traditional language could end up in court, but not understand what was being said. Obtaining a fair trial was impossible. 




    Today, the numbers of Aboriginal prisoners is a serious problem - 40% of all prisoners in federal and provincial prisons are Aboriginal. 

    Racism aside, many of these prisoners suffer from personal histories that have thrown them into the circle you looked at above. 

    Problems experienced as youth
    % of FN prisoners
    Parental neglect
    39.1%
    Absent parent(s)
    35.9%
    Group/foster homes
    10.9%
    Runaway
    9.4%
    Poverty
    35.9%
    Alcohol Abuse
    84.4%
    Drug use
    50%
    Learning problems
    15.6%
    Behavioural problems
    65.5%
    Emotional problems
    21.9%
    Physical abuse
    50%
    Sexual abuse
    21.9%

    Highest grade achieved
    Percentage of FN prisoners.
    Grade 6 or less
    12.5%
    Grades 7-9
    46.9%
    Grades 10-12
    37.5%
    Post graduate
    3.1%

    Vocational Skills
    Percentage of FN prisoners
    No Response
    7.8%
    Unskilled
    45.3%
    Semi-Skilled
    23.4%
    Skilled (Non-traditional skills)
    18.8%
    Craftwork/Artwork
    4.7%



    Needs of Aboriginal Inmates
    Percentage of FN Prisoners
    Substance Abuse Treatment
    88%
    Personal/Emotional Counselling
    82%
    Employment Counselling
    63%
    Education and Training
    54%


    Other causes of higher arrest rates are:

    • Police arresting without cause.
    • Police are more likely to patrol areas of cities that have a higher Aboriginal population.
    • These areas have higher poverty levels, other social problems, and  higher crime rates
    • This results in Aboriginal peoples being arrested for minor offences that would be overlooked in the white community.   Fewer non-Aboriginal people are arrested for the same offence because there are fewer police in their area.
    •  There is also evidence that police are less likely to arrest a non-Aboriginal for being drunk in a public place than an Aboriginal person.
    • There can also be different community standards for behaviour in cities and towns compared to reserves. Reserves are smaller and are more tightknit.  Behaviour that is criminal off reserve might not be considered criminal on reserve – it is seen as being part of who that person is. Being arrested in a city usually results in the accused being dealt with through the formal, legal justice system.
    Reforming Canada's Prisons:  

    In groups, discuss these questions.


    • What is the purpose of prison?
    • Is it to punish the offender, or is it to rehabilitate the offender?
    • Is prison always the answer to criminal activity? 
    • Is the incarceration of offenders always the best option?



    Sentencing Circles: Sentencing circles are one way that the prison system is trying to make things better for Aboriginal offenders.


    In a sentencing circle, the aboriginal community decides a person’s punishment. Also the offender is expected to make amends not just to their victim but to the community. This is called restorative justice.



    Restorative justice doesn't work for everyone or every situation.  In a group, create a list of criteria that an offender would have to meet before they can take part in restorative justice.






    …the [current] system is right now just a punishing system…They’re not looking at what’s causing these problems, they’re looking at, hey, we have to punish this guy for what he’s done…a lot of these guys go to jail, and they sit around this ten-by-twelve cell…And they get very bitter. …Here in a sentencing circle, we make sure somebody tells the offender that we’re here to help, for support…if recommendations are made that he takes some kind of programming to better himself back in society, he’s not only promising the magistrate or probation officer, he’s promising it to his own community.

    Restorative justice and sentencing circles can allow offenders to begin to heal.

    Criticisms of Sentencing Circles:


    What do you think might be some of the criticisms of sentencing circles?








    How do you think this fits into the concept of social justice?

    Sunday, April 17, 2011

    Indigenous Peoples - Comparison

    Create a Venn diagram looking at the history of the First Nations people, the Australian Aborigines, and the Ainu and their contact with colonists/settlers/late-comers.  Your Venn diagram should look something like this:



    When you are finished your Venn diagram, you will write a composition comparing the experiences of each group as well as the indigenous people you researched for your poster.  After you compare them, write another paragraph expressing why you think there are so many similarities in the treatment of tribal people by the colonists/settlers/late-comers.  Hint:  I want you to think about power. 

    Friday, April 8, 2011

    Indigenous People's Experience

    Around the world there are indigenous people -  tribal people who are defined by familial descent and/or ethnic origin. organized by family, lineage, or clan.  Most tribes are also organized as  political entities, within which people share a common language and culture. Some tribes are spread across large territories, and individual members may never meet or know all of the others. Some are small groups, confined to a limited territory, sometimes a single small island, within which everyone knows everyone else very well. What unites societies of such diverse scales as being “tribal” is their own internal sense of “being a single people,” but are not generally recognized as a legally defined nation-state. Unfortunately, throughout most of written history the terms tribe and primitive were usually linked; however, in recent years it has been recognized that tribal culture, language and history is every bit as complex and rich as any other culture.  The term primitive is to be avoided as it carries with it judgment of the moral or technological development of a people.






    One tribal group that embodies this complexity are the Ainu of northern Japan.  Ainu are racially different from the Japanese and have a different language and a culture and religion based on close ties with the environment.  Their history is an oral one.  Sadly, much of the culture, history, and language has been lost, however recently there has been a renewal in interest and pride amongst the Ainu in their own culture.











    Using the reference encyclopedia on culture and information on the Internet, create a poster on 11" x 16" paper on an indigenous people from any country in the world.  Cover the following topics:
    • location
    • culture
    • language
    • history
    • interaction with colonial powers
    Include at least one visual, i.e. photograph, drawing, chart, map, etc.