Justice: Aboriginal People

STORIES                        

aboriginalsFour days after being released from jail, Mary died in an accident involving the stolen car she was in. She had previously survived a string of abusive relationships, had been on and off the street for years, but had recently graduated from a drug rehabilitation program.  Mary struggled with health issues, depression, anxiety and anger.  She was teased at school because of her learning difficulties, and “acted out” when confronted with authority.  She was sexually active at an early age, and by 16 had her first child, a beautiful little girl. Mary never did finish high school, but had a quick wit and knew when an opportunity presented itself.(1) 

A Superior Court judge issued a temporary order aimed at keeping the peace in the short term between a land developer and Six Nations groups that are protesting his building project.  The judge gave the Council a deadline to file their legal materials, and, in the meantime, Aboriginal organizers are entitled to engage in peaceful protest in public areas near the development site.  The plan to develop the land is contentious because the land falls within the area granted to the Six Nations in 1784 in recognition of their loyalty to the Crown during the American Revolution.(2)
____________________________________________________________________
Who are Aboriginal People? | Challenges | Do Justice | Through Ministry |
Through Advocacy | More Links & Resources

WHO ARE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE?

Aboriginal people are the descendants of the original inhabitants of North America and are recognized as indigenous groups. The Canadian Constitution recognizes 3 groups of Aboriginal people – First Nations, Métis and Inuit. These are 3 separate people groups with unique heritages, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs.  They constitute about 3.8% of Canada’s population and live all across Canada from urban centres to reserves.  

More On Aboriginal Peoples:  From the 2007 census

  • Aboriginal adults make up 4% of the Canadian population.
  • Employment rate for Aboriginal adults between 25-54 years of age: 65.7%; Non-aboriginals: 84.7%
  • Alberta had the highest rate of employment for Aboriginal people at 71%.
  • Employment rate for Métis people is 8-14 %, lower than for non-Aboriginal people.
  • Employment for Aboriginal people with a university degree is 80.2%, with high school is 70.4%, and with no high school is 51%.
  • In Canadian prisons, 30% of all provincial prisoners and 25% of all federal prisoners are Aboriginal.
  • Aboriginal peoples with membership in the Christian Reformed Churches: likely less than ½ of 1%.

 

CHALLENGES

Urban Aboriginals

More aboriginal people, especially the younger population, live in urban centres than on reserves.  This is more evident in the western cities of Canada.  Statistics indicate that there are disproportionately higher numbers of Aboriginal people living in poverty, incarcerated, struggling with addictions, or leading high-risk lifestyles.  Urban aboriginals face seemingly more challenges than those experienced by the general public: domestic violence, inadequate income, and inequitable access to education, health care, housing, and employment. Negative societal attitudes towards Aboriginal people, as well as past policies and decisions of the Canadian government, have contributed to this inequality.(3)

Aboriginals living on Reserves

Tensions and on-going negotiations have resulted from disagreements between the Crown and First Nations about the location and size of reserves that were set aside under treaties.  The issues in land claims usually concern the meaning of the original treaty agreements, the extent to which treaty commitments have been honoured, and how to provide redress in cases where treaty commitments were breached.  The gradual occupation of Canada by immigrants, with or without treaties, has continued for almost 400 years and has made the native people a small minority within an industrial nation. Native people, many of whom had been nomadic, often find themselves isolated on reserves with little or no access to wildlife and no money, skill or natural resources to make a living on their reserves. Society also pays a bitter price when unresolved issues lead to social violence, either internalized within Aboriginal communities (seen in disproportionately high suicide and domestic violence rates, for instance), or focused onto external conflicts with non-Native peoples.(4)

Aboriginal communities also still lag far behind Canadian non-Aboriginal communities in the key social infrastructure like health, housing, education and other quality of life indicator.  Canada must address the social and economic gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. Unsettled land rights cause economic uncertainty. Inadequate housing, non-drinkable water, and lack of education take an economic toll in increased costs for health care, social services and other after-the-fact treatments. Lack of access to resources and economic infrastructure also means elevated rates of unemployment and poverty with attendant social problems that will only worsen as the Aboriginal population continues to grow faster than the Canada average.(5)

On many reserves in Canada today, First Nations people must deal with problems that would challenge the resources of much more prosperous communities.  High rates of infant mortality, substandard housing, few social services and low life expectancy create conditions closer to those found in countries associated with the bottom half of the Human Development Index.(6)

In his speech at the Make Poverty History campaign launch in 2006, First Nations Regional Chief Angus Toulouse said, “The reality today for First Nations communities is ongoing poverty, and an increasing gap in living conditions with other Canadians…First Nations poverty is the single greatest social issue in Canada today. Poverty breeds helplessness and hopelessness, which results in far too many of our young men and women committing crimes of despair.”(7)

Residential Schools

Residential schools were boarding schools operated or subsidized by religious orders or the federal government to accommodate Aboriginal or Métis students.  Many aboriginals carry with them the pain of the residential schools where they were assimilated into Canadian society, discouraged from speaking their language or practicing native traditions.  They experienced psychological, physical and sexual abuse and a loss of identity as a native.(8)

DO JUSTICE...

DMC wants to encourage a comprehensive community ministry model which goes beyond only charity or relief for Aboriginal people, to incorporate justice and advocacy.  We suggest seeking opportunities for the following:

...THROUGH MINISTRY

  • Begin with dialogue - activities that promote respectful understanding across cultures. This includes listening and learning exchanges.  Invite someone from the aboriginal community to share their story with your church or visit an Aboriginal worship centre.
  • Join with others at your church to reflect on how you can respond to poverty in your community.  Make an action plan together.
  • Promote awareness of important and positive recommendations such as the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples at www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ap/rrc-eng.asp
  • Empower local KAIROS groups to challenge racism and stand in solidarity with Aboriginal peoples. Join or form your own local KAIROS group focused on Aboriginal rights.
  • Educate through resources which challenge our society’s relationship with Aboriginal peoples, and help us to envision a new relationship. There are many resources for classroom, faith community, and small group use that explain Aboriginal rights, explore the past 300 years of Canadian history, and invite Canadians to confront the racism and injustice faced by Aboriginal peoples.
  • Challenge your own stereotypes. Support the work of others in your community who are addressing some of the issues of injustices that urban aboriginals are facing.  Some programs may focus on food, housing or child care. Others may focus on challenging stereotypes or influencing decision makers in your community.

 

...THROUGH ADVOCACY

  • Educate yourself: Learn about the many root causes of poverty for aboriginals .
  • Encourage and support businesses to practice unbiased hiring practices.
  • Voice your concern over the inequitable housing and resources for aboriginals.
  • Advocate: Call on provincial, federal and territorial governments to implement “poverty reduction strategies”; advocate for a national child care program, decent minimum wages, and a national housing program with good funding .
  • Change federal Aboriginal policy by calling for recognition of Aboriginal title and nationhood, and the implementation of Aboriginal land, treaty and inherent rights.
  • Write or visit your M.P. and/or M.P.P. and ask where his or her government stands on reconciliation and land rights issues.
  • Critique legislation such as the First Nations Governance Act.
  • Write your city councilors and MP’s and encourage them to address the poverty issues facing the aboriginal community .

 

MORE LINKS AND RESOURCES:

Worship

In worship, we interact with God, singing, listening, speaking, waiting. We present our lives to God and watch for the ways that God will shape us. Worship roots us in the story of our God, who is a God of justice. This rootedness gives us hope and patience to continue God's mission of justice and reconciliation.

Explore the following link to worship resources that have a special focus on Indigenous justice. We encourage you to use them with your congregation, small group, or in your own devotional life: www.crcna.org/pages/publicdialogue_worship1.cfm. Find responsive reading, sample sermons and examples from our ecumenical partners.

 

Websites

 

Articles From CCG's Mobile Justice:

 

Videos

  • "A Stolen Identity” tells the story of an aboriginal girl’s experience of abuse at a Saskatchewan residential school, and how years later she found the path toward healing at the Indian Metis Christian Fellowship (a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church). This was originally broadcast as an episode of Primary Focus, a series from Back to God Ministries International

 

Books

  • “Dancing with a  Ghost” by Rupert Ross to gain understanding of Native culture
  • "One Church, Many Tribes" by Richard Twiss
  • "Stolen Continents:Conquest and Resistance in the Americas" by Ronald Wright, 1992, Penquin Books
  • "Through Black Spruce" by Joseph Boyden, 2008, Penquin Books
  • "Black Elk's Religion" by Clyde Holler, 1995 Syracuse University Press ISBN 0-8156-0364-9
  • "Native and Christian" by Jame Treat, 1996 Routledge Publications ISBN 0-41591374-8
  • "Whiteman's Gospel" by Craig Stephen Smith, Indian Life Ministries, Winnipeg ISBN 0-920379-12-5
  • "Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder" by Kent Nerburn, New World Library (Novato California)
  • "One Native Life" by Richard Wagamese, Douglas and McIntyre

__________________________________________________________

Footnotes:

1  Based on an Edmonton Journal article that appeared in February 2009.

2  Based on a Hamilton Spectator article that appeared in March, 2009.

3  Based on an article by Calvin Hanselmann "Urban Aboriginal People in Western Canada: Realities and Policies" in Canada West Foundation, September 2001.

4  Land, L. from “The Reconciliation Bandwagon?” Found the Citizens for Public Justice website at www.cpj.ca/en/content/reconciliation-bandwagon

5  Land, L. from “The Reconciliation Bandwagon?” Found the Citizens for Public Justice website at www.cpj.ca/en/content/reconciliation-bandwagon

6  Cranny, M., Moles, G. (2001). Counterpoints - Exploring Canadian Issues (p. 354-355). Toronto: Pearson Education Canada Inc. found at www.sd79.bc.ca/programs/abed/ACIP/articles/guyana/poverty_aboriginal_reserves
_canada.pdf

7  Graydon, Jody. “Canadian Aboriginal Reserves in Crisis.” November 13, 2008.  Found at Suite 101.com’s website  www.canadian-aboriginal-peoples.suite101.com/article.cfm/canadian_reserves_in_crisis

8  From the CBC news “Indian Residential Schools.” April 29, 2009.  Found at www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/16/f-faqs-residential-schools.html