Throughout history, there have been government oppression against aboriginal (also known as indigenous) people worldwide. However, the ones who are more affected by this oppression are aboriginal women. They are often being discriminated against for being a woman and for also for being indigenous. This discrimination against Aboriginal women is not often talked about in fact it’s mostly ignored by the government, police officials and even doctors. Many people aren’t aware of this problem however aboriginal women not only suffer from discrimination but also from the violence that often leads to death.
Bareley Jacobs states the following “women are respected for their spiritual and mental strength and men are respected for their spiritual and physical strength.” (Jacobs) These roles in aboriginal communities have been around for a long time. They have been passed down by their ancestors and women and men have managed to work together and get along. If we look back to the history of the indigenous people we could see that it wasn’t like it is now men and women did not have to compete instead they worked together. However, roles were drastically and forcefully changed by the Indian act and any act that’s towards aboriginal people. This change was made to change the indigenous culture but also to deteriorate the power and leadership women held in their communities. Imagine your whole culture being forcefully changed and being forced to be someone completely different, you wouldn’t like it, would you? Would you fight against it, no matter the consequences? Or would you just obey?.
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The juvenile delinquent's act and training school act were established in the 1950s. This act was purposely placed to force young aboriginal women to know and obey the European patriarchal roles. In case they did not obey or follow through they were severely punished. In many cases, the children were taken from their mothers, because social service would often think that children from aboriginal women are in danger and are exposed to alcohol and drugs but that is not the case, instead of taking children away from their mothers they should make time to understand their culture because you can expect to everyone life and follow the American tradition when people are from different countries and religions.
Aboriginal people have been around for a long time it is very unfair they way in which they are being treated by the government. However, we aren’t doing anything, except just ignoring it and looking the other way. While reading the short story “on standing Rock, on the day of its enforced closure” by John Proctor which is about his trip to North Dakota, In his trip the describes his journey to get to standing rock, and once there he describes the people and how they are fighting for the water because they don't want it to get divided. The women in the camp seem to be in-charge. They were also the ones trying to get foreigns to understand their traditions like the elderly women who said: “We value prayer not as an individual act but as communal” (proctor pg.9) this gives in inside of their culture and beliefs and if someone is open-minded will try out and see it for themselves. However, its very few people that are willing to open their minds and explore the indigenous culture.
Women in the Fracklands; On Water Land, Bodies and Standing Rock is an essay written by Toni Jensen which talks about women in the Fracklands and the experiences they have encounter. This essay is very powerful not only does It talk about other women but also Jensen mentions her own experiences such as her first memory of her father trying to drown her mother (Jensen ). If you are a women since very little you are always told by your mother to never leave the house alone or be back home before it gets dark, or as like my mom says “something bad is more likely to happen to a women than to men” in which I complete disagree because a women no matter their background should not have to be constantly worrying about what could happen to them. Another big statement that she makes in her Essay is about the simple fact that indigenous women are ignored by the government, and also the police. In this case and many cases, this statement is very true because in many cases if there are any type of violence or rape the police and the doctors ignore it and say that the victim is a liar.
According to the National House Survey’s (NHS) data from 2011 seven hundred eighteen thousand five hundred aboriginal women makeup four percent of Canada’s population, but they are seven times more likely to be murder. Indigenous territories in North America are used by the Burmese army. The army sees the rape of indigenous women as entertainment but also as a way to weaken the indigenous population since the women are believed to remain abstinent due to their cultural and religious beliefs.(indigenous foundation) This is a big problem because you are destroying someone spiritually but also leaving long-time effects because now they are gonna be ignored by there community.
This discrimination against aboriginal women does not only happen in Canada but also other parts of the world such as Australia in an article called “For Aboriginal women, international women’s day is not a celebration” written by Hannah McGlade it states that aboriginal women make a big percentage of the prison population due to double discrimination they face in the justice system. Many women have spoken out about the suffering they experience from child protection services. The children are often removed from their mothers because authorities think that the children are in danger because they believe indigenous families are poor, overcrowded, there’s often alcohol/drug abuse and lastly, there’s violence. However, when an aboriginal woman suffers from domestic abuse she often ignores by police but also non-Aboriginal nurses and doctors. This was the case of a twenty-year-old West Australian Yamatji woman who died in a cell three days after being arrested for non-payment fines. According to the article, Ms.Dhu had suffered rib fractures as a result of violence from her partner, when her grandmother told the police; but they ignored her and said that she was “faking it”. The police weren’t the only ones who did not believe her but also the nurses and doctors who did not perform the basic medical procedures. They did not take Ms.Dhu temperature nor x-rays, if they had done this they would have noticed how serious her injuries were. The police officers and medical staff did not suffer any consequences for her death. This problem is big and needs to be addressed because women are dying and children are being ripped apart from their roots.
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