Critical Analysis of the Circumstances of Indigenous Peoples in Canada

In this assignment, you will be analyzing the information in the Indigenous Peoples in Canada supplement (booklet/document posted to blackboard) in order to better understand the issues faced by Indigenous Peoples and to apply sociological concepts to the issue.

For all information, you must either paraphrase material in your own words or appropriately quote sources and properly reference (APA format*) the textbook/Indigenous Document where applicable. Check the Library website for formatting.

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Questions:

1. Define the ‘sociological imagination’ and explain how using the sociological imagination can help us better understand issues facing Indigenous People today. (hint: pg 20*)

The main concept of the Sociological Imagination is that it intertwines our personal life experience with the broader society and historical aspects that shape our society – the Sociological Imagination also helps us differentiate between our personal troubles and our public issues. Sociological Imagination plays a crucial role in our understanding of the issues that Indigenous people face today. (Washburn, Beth. “Theories”)

Indigenous people have been being treated malevolently by the European colonizers throughout the course of history. They have degraded their peaceful nature in calling them Savages and have taken their children from them by force and placing them in a residential school where they would ‘take the native out of the children’ (Fine, Sean. “Chief Justice Says Canada Attempted 'Cultural Genocide' on Aboriginals.”) it was there that the children were mentally, verbally, sexually and physically abused. They would not be able to develop proper parenting skills nor would they develop a sense of identity. Many of them were broken as a result and had taken their lives after a few years of freedom.

Abuse is not simply one generational thing, and it can have an impact on their significant other or future children. When one is not mentally stable it is exceedingly hard to maintain a stable career or a stable home environment. The Measure of well-being among the Indigenous people can be compared to the measure of wellness of the African-Americans and their measure of well-being is actually lower than that of African Americans which is quite alarming considering how much the African-Americans have suffered through slavery and discrimination. (Denis, Jeffrey. “Sociology of Indigenous Peoples in Canada”.)

The family contributes an important role in the well-being of the child as it sets expectations for the children, for example, if the parents are both educated than they naturally expect that their child will receive a good education. However for Indigenous people whose drop-out rate is 24 percent – which doesn’t seem like much, however, you must take into account that the highest amount of dropouts in Canada and America are Indigenous people. (“The NCES Fast Facts Tool Provides Quick Answers to Many Education Questions (National Center for Education Statistics).”

2. Define Stuart Hall’s theory of ‘representation’ and use it to analyze how Indigenous People have been represented throughout history by the colonial powers. (hint: pg 9-10)

Stuart Hall’s ideology on representation is that there is no true meaning about a person or persons or an institute and that the meaning resides in the way it is represented – sometimes it can be represented with distortion and sometimes it can contain more accuracy. The deciding factor on how cultures are represented depends entirely on the people in power. (Washburn, Beth. “Culture”)

When the colonial powers were dependent on the Indigenous people in order to survive the harsh Canadian weather the Indigenous people were seen as ‘friendly, innocent, and trusting good trading partners, and skilled survivalists,’ (Denis, Jeffrey. “Sociology of Indigenous Peoples in Canada”.) However, when greed consumed their hearts and their real purpose had come to light, it was made clear to the Colonial powers that the Indigenous peoples would not abandon their respective lands for the Colonial powers nor would they change their cultural identity so the Colonial powers resorted to malevolent acts – the image of Indigenous people had turned from ‘friendly, innocent, and trusting to ‘Savage’. (Denis, Jeffrey. “Sociology of Indigenous Peoples in Canada”.)

Indigenous people have been represented in several Media as Savages or uncivilized peoples whereas the colonial powers were the civilized ones. This has been represented in several western films including the ‘River of No return’ (“River of No Return.” Wikipedia). In the film the people in power which are the Colonizers portray innocent Europeans being attacked for no reason by Indigenous people while riding the rapids.

The representation of Indigenous people have been distorted partially due to the fact that the colonial powers to feel a sense of justification to behaving the way they have been towards the Indigenous people.

3. Why do Indigenous Women experience higher rates of violence and murder than other women in Canada? (hint: pg 23-24)

The reason why Indigenous Women experience higher rates of violence and murder than other women in Canada is partially due to the history of ‘colonialism, racism, and sexism’ (Denis, Jeffrey. “Sociology of Indigenous Peoples in Canada”.)This dark history which is embedded in the mind of many Indigenous and non-Indigenous men can cause the belief that violence against them is justified. The violence of Indigenous to another Indigenous person is ultimately the result of a violent upbringing stemming from those who were forcibly taken away from their homes and placed in a residential school. It was there that they faced verbal, physical, sexual, and mental assault. Assault is a generation prospect and cannot change without the proper education and aid. (Berube, Kevin. “The Intergeneration Trauma of First Nations Still Runs Deep.”). Violence against women were essentially brought in by the Colonizers due to the fact that in their societal norm was to treat women as if they objected and were not allowed to have a mind of their own and had to serve and obey their husbands. The Indigenous people instead had equality between men and women where women were in positions of power such as being to serve as spiritual guides, political figures, and warrior women, and had a right to divorce as well as other rights. (Denis, Jeffrey. “Sociology of Indigenous Peoples in Canada”.)

4. Explain how the following 2 concepts relate to the issue of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. In your answer, clearly define the concept (using your textbook as a reference) and apply the concept to the experiences of Indigenous Peoples in Canada by providing an example of the concept.

Involuntary resocialization (3 marks) the definition of resocialization is adapting from one set of norms to another set of norms. An example of Involuntary resocialization could be like prison because the person is forced to give up their set of norms for another set of norms.

The main concept is that the Indigenous people were forced to adapt from one set of norms to another set of norms that were imposed upon by the Colonized power. They were taken away from their parents, their family, and their community in order to ‘take the native out of the child’. The children would experience all manner of unacceptable treatment such as physical, mental, verbal, and sexual abuse. In addition to abuse, due to insufficient government funding, the children were malnutritional and their physical and health needs were not met. Due to their inability to care for the Indigenous children ‘more than 4,000 of them died in the residential schools.’ (Saunders, Doug. “Residential Schools, Reserves and Canada’s Crime against Humanity.”) Involuntary resocialization can be compared to prison, however, it seems that for the Indigenous people and children it had been more of a death sentence and centuries of injustice. (Crossman, Ashley. “How Resocialization Can Change a Person’s Life”)

Ethnocentrism (3 marks) the definition of Ethnocentrism is essentially the fanatical mindset that one’s culture is more superior than other cultures. (Washburn, Beth. “Culture”)

This connects to the issues of Indigenous peoples is because the essential reason why the Indigenous people have been suffering at the hands of the colonial powers and continue to do so is because of the mindset of superiority that the Colonizers possessed. The colonizers believed that the European culture had been far more superior than Indigenous beliefs. I think the concept of Ethnocentrism basically sums up the other aspects such as Involuntary Resocialization, Violence against Indigenous Women, the distortion of representation – all this is due to the fact that the Colonizers had a firm belief that they were better than the Indigenous people and even though the Residential schools are closed and the government has made a public apology they are still committing underhanded acts to ensure that Indigenous people are not able to prosper in their own country something which stems from the days of the residential schools because that has left a dark legacy for future generations – the Indigenous people suffer from poorer health which is partially as a result of mental health, financial instability, and social factors. (Joseph, Bob. “8 Key Issues for Indigenous Peoples in Canada.”)

Reference:

1. Berube, Kevin. “The Intergenerational Trauma of First Nations Still Runs Deep.” The Globe and Mail, 12 May 2018, www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health-advisor/the-intergenerational-trauma-of-first-nations-still-runs-deep/article23013789/.
2. Crossman, Ashley. “How Resocialization Can Change a Person's Life.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 28 Aug. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/resocialization-3026522.
3. Fine, Sean. “Chief Justice Says Canada Attempted 'Cultural Genocide' on Aboriginals.” The Globe and Mail, 15 May 2018, www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/chief-justice-says-canada-attempted-cultural-genocide-on-aboriginals/article24688854/.
4. Joseph, Bob. “8 Key Issues for Indigenous Peoples in Canada.” 8 Key Issues for Indigenous Peoples in Canada, www.ictinc.ca/blog/8-key-issues-for-indigenous-peoples-in-canada.
5. “River of No Return.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Nov. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_of_No_Return.
6. Saunders, Doug. “Residential Schools, Reserves and Canada's Crime against Humanity.” The Globe and Mail, 15 May 2018, www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/commissions-report-puts-canada-on-brink-of-a-historic-reckoning/article24825565/.
7. “The NCES Fast Facts Tool Provides Quick Answers to Many Education Questions (National Center for Education Statistics).” National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education, nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16.
8. Washburn, Beth “Culture”
9. Washburn, Beth “Theories”
10. (Denis, Jeffrey. “Sociology of Indigenous Peoples in Canada”.)