Colonization of Indigenous people resulted in the appropriation of lands and resources for the benefit of early European settlers. Through colonization, there has been an imposition of Western ideology which enforces a patriarchal view that had negative effects for Indigenous women. In this patriarchal system, Indigenous men internalize views of superiority resulting in violent acts on women. These views are illustrated by Sherene Razak, in “Gendered Racial Violence and Spatialized Justice”, by Kim Anderson, in “The Construction of a Negative Identity”, and by Lee Maracle, in her book Ravensong. Therefore, this essay will argue how through spatial segregation, Indigenous women lose entitlement of personhood through state laws and that violence
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This is seen in Lee Maracle’s novel, Ravensong, through the Old Snake. Due to colonization, the Old Snake developed a hatred for the white town because he was rejected from the army and fired from his job once the white men came back from war. This results in the Old Snake adopting the ideology of male superiority and having pent up anger towards white town. As a way to relieve his anger, he abused his wife, Madeline, and his daughters. This impact of colonization is further reinforced throughout the village when Maracle uses Stacey to talk about how the Indigenous way of life was slowly being eroded in place of European values. (Maracle 135). As such, in the patriarchal system, men dominate women because it serves as compensation for their subordination to other men due to intersecting forces such as race and class. Indigenous men, like the Old Snake, start to represent how colonization reinforces violence and devaluation of women in order to gain and maintain power. Both Anderson and Marace show how violence against women is perpetuated through stereotypes created through colonization to aid Europeans in their …show more content…
Spatial segregation operates in violent ways that have had implications for all Indigenous people, especially women. Razak explains how Pamela George, a ¬¬Saulteaux nation prostitute, was murder by two white males. Their sentence was taken lightly due to Pamela’s occupation, gender and race as the court described her body as “naturally belong[ing] to these spaces of prostitution, sex and violence” (Razak 116). In these spaces such as the Strolls, violence is seen as inevitable and therefore, laws would not apply here according to the court. State institutions perpetuate colonial conditions that facilitate violence by allowing white men to feel “entitled to the land and the full benefits of citizenship” (Razak 93). As such, Kummerfield and Alex Ternowetsky were protected by the law and due to this protection, the lack of history, race, and gender presented to the court, Pamela’s murder was unfairly dismissed. Evidently, themes of patriarchy have been reproduced throughout Canadian history, and the absence of fair sentence for Pamela’s murder is just another example that depicts how white males, due to intersecting race and gender are able to use their power to their advantage. Through this, Indigenous women lose entitlement of personhood through state laws that prioritize the rights of
This is seen in Lee Maracle’s novel, Ravensong, through the Old Snake. Due to colonization, the Old Snake developed a hatred for the white town because he was rejected from the army and fired from his job once the white men came back from war. This results in the Old Snake adopting the ideology of male superiority and having pent up anger towards white town. As a way to relieve his anger, he abused his wife, Madeline, and his daughters. This impact of colonization is further reinforced throughout the village when Maracle uses Stacey to talk about how the Indigenous way of life was slowly being eroded in place of European values. (Maracle 135). As such, in the patriarchal system, men dominate women because it serves as compensation for their subordination to other men due to intersecting forces such as race and class. Indigenous men, like the Old Snake, start to represent how colonization reinforces violence and devaluation of women in order to gain and maintain power. Both Anderson and Marace show how violence against women is perpetuated through stereotypes created through colonization to aid Europeans in their …show more content…
Spatial segregation operates in violent ways that have had implications for all Indigenous people, especially women. Razak explains how Pamela George, a ¬¬Saulteaux nation prostitute, was murder by two white males. Their sentence was taken lightly due to Pamela’s occupation, gender and race as the court described her body as “naturally belong[ing] to these spaces of prostitution, sex and violence” (Razak 116). In these spaces such as the Strolls, violence is seen as inevitable and therefore, laws would not apply here according to the court. State institutions perpetuate colonial conditions that facilitate violence by allowing white men to feel “entitled to the land and the full benefits of citizenship” (Razak 93). As such, Kummerfield and Alex Ternowetsky were protected by the law and due to this protection, the lack of history, race, and gender presented to the court, Pamela’s murder was unfairly dismissed. Evidently, themes of patriarchy have been reproduced throughout Canadian history, and the absence of fair sentence for Pamela’s murder is just another example that depicts how white males, due to intersecting race and gender are able to use their power to their advantage. Through this, Indigenous women lose entitlement of personhood through state laws that prioritize the rights of