Introduction In the book, Dying from Improvement: Inquests and Inquiries Into Indigenous Deaths in Custody by Sherene H. Razack. Razack talks about the Canadian approach to Indigenous people and the different forms in which they are mistreated in the Canadian Justice System. Indigenous people in Canada have been viewed as “less of a person” than the normal white civilian. European Settlers have been trying to assimilate the Aboriginal community into the “white way of life” since they took over their land, when Canada first came about. Canada disadvantaged Aboriginal people by creating the Indian Act (1876). Razack has many arguments that arise throughout the book, I will analyze and critique them in regards to the history of Canada, racial profiling and Indigenous peoples encounters with authority and the law (most police issues).
History
Canada is known for its many cultures, ethnics, and races within its borders. We pride ourselves for being so diverse that we are considered a “toss salad”. Despite our efforts of being pro- culture oriented there are many issues dealing with racism. Razack makes the argument that the “violence state actors visit on indigenous bodies imprint colonial power on the skin, much like branding on the skin as they did for slaves or the whipping of the children as residential schools once did” (Razack, p.4). This type of branding depicts that indigenous bodies and their land are a settlers property. Which infers that Indigenous people are “subhuman”, the kind of human one can only deal with through force. This argument deals with discrimination toward Indigenous people because of their race, class, or category in which they are perceived to belong to. This is displayed through marginalization and stigmatizations. Discrimination is hatred for another culture, who are marginalized and disadvantaged based on numerate groups that are limited to nationality, gender, age, status, sexual orientation, religion, race and ethnicity. Often times people describe discrimination as a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Genocide has been an ongoing problem within the Aboriginal community and is part of an annihilative impulse at the heart of colonialism. The inquest or inquiry is tailored to present both the story of the disappearance of a race and the story of white settlers assisting Indigenous people into modernity. For Aboriginals to disappear, law must produce their disappearance as independent sovereign nations. The origin story of settler sovereignty, a superior modern race inevitably triumphed over a pre-modern and dying race, mostly through land claims in past generations. This argument applies to the theory of Critical Race. Critical Race theory (Brooks & Schissel, p. 128-129) states that racial minorities are not equally served by the law because of their race. It has been demonstrated that law is structurally racist and that Indigenous people are intrinsically diseased. Frank Paul & Paul Alphonse had been in the hospital multiple times for lungs, liver and limbs, inquest and inquiries connect these bodily failings to residential schools but only time could make these men vulnerable. The historical events that were demonstrated on these men would not be held accountable by the colonial state. Even if Aboriginal people wanted to make it clear it was colonial violence that made them …show more content…
They plead guilty because they did not understand what was going on, they did not have a lawyer, and the justice system did not trust them therefore, they had lower credibility. There can be no encounter more typical in settler colonialism than the encounter between a police officer and an Indigenous person arrested for drunkenness. The relationship between the police and Indigenous people is one of regular, intimate, and violent contact, a relationship in which the indigenous boy itself is treated as a frontier. Parks and streets where indigenous people are to be found become a frontier, a place where law has authorized its own absence, and where the police can violate Indigenous people with impunity. The most iconic deaths of Indigenous in custody looks at freezing deaths. Indigenous men are found on the outskirts of the city of Saskatoon, where police all had encounters with them before their deaths. This misconduct has been seen as an extreme issue where Human Rights have been
History
Canada is known for its many cultures, ethnics, and races within its borders. We pride ourselves for being so diverse that we are considered a “toss salad”. Despite our efforts of being pro- culture oriented there are many issues dealing with racism. Razack makes the argument that the “violence state actors visit on indigenous bodies imprint colonial power on the skin, much like branding on the skin as they did for slaves or the whipping of the children as residential schools once did” (Razack, p.4). This type of branding depicts that indigenous bodies and their land are a settlers property. Which infers that Indigenous people are “subhuman”, the kind of human one can only deal with through force. This argument deals with discrimination toward Indigenous people because of their race, class, or category in which they are perceived to belong to. This is displayed through marginalization and stigmatizations. Discrimination is hatred for another culture, who are marginalized and disadvantaged based on numerate groups that are limited to nationality, gender, age, status, sexual orientation, religion, race and ethnicity. Often times people describe discrimination as a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Genocide has been an ongoing problem within the Aboriginal community and is part of an annihilative impulse at the heart of colonialism. The inquest or inquiry is tailored to present both the story of the disappearance of a race and the story of white settlers assisting Indigenous people into modernity. For Aboriginals to disappear, law must produce their disappearance as independent sovereign nations. The origin story of settler sovereignty, a superior modern race inevitably triumphed over a pre-modern and dying race, mostly through land claims in past generations. This argument applies to the theory of Critical Race. Critical Race theory (Brooks & Schissel, p. 128-129) states that racial minorities are not equally served by the law because of their race. It has been demonstrated that law is structurally racist and that Indigenous people are intrinsically diseased. Frank Paul & Paul Alphonse had been in the hospital multiple times for lungs, liver and limbs, inquest and inquiries connect these bodily failings to residential schools but only time could make these men vulnerable. The historical events that were demonstrated on these men would not be held accountable by the colonial state. Even if Aboriginal people wanted to make it clear it was colonial violence that made them …show more content…
They plead guilty because they did not understand what was going on, they did not have a lawyer, and the justice system did not trust them therefore, they had lower credibility. There can be no encounter more typical in settler colonialism than the encounter between a police officer and an Indigenous person arrested for drunkenness. The relationship between the police and Indigenous people is one of regular, intimate, and violent contact, a relationship in which the indigenous boy itself is treated as a frontier. Parks and streets where indigenous people are to be found become a frontier, a place where law has authorized its own absence, and where the police can violate Indigenous people with impunity. The most iconic deaths of Indigenous in custody looks at freezing deaths. Indigenous men are found on the outskirts of the city of Saskatoon, where police all had encounters with them before their deaths. This misconduct has been seen as an extreme issue where Human Rights have been