Opinion Essay:
Over-representation of Aboriginals as Offenders
Amy Brown
ID #201591413
Diversity and the Justice System – CRJS 1013-001
Professor Aulakh Harpreet
Tuesday, February 3. 2015
In 2006, Statistics Canada found that 21% of people sentenced to custody and 18.5% in federal institutions were in fact of aboriginal descent (King & Winterdyk, 2010, p. 63). In a graph presented in the text by King and Winterdyk (2010), from Statistics Canada, the graph suggests the highest percent of over-representation of aboriginals were found in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Yukon (p. 64). This information given provides a hard truth in our country, and I believe it exists for several reasons. The reasons being that First Nations are being over-represented in the justice system is due to alcoholism, violence, and residential schools. After examining reasons why this unfortunate reality exists, there will be a discussion to figure out how we can solve this problem as a society.
Alcoholism and Violence There is a typical stereotype associated with aboriginals, they are generally perceived as alcoholics. I can form this opinion because it is a common issue associated with aboriginals, but not all. In Chansonneuve’s paper (2007), a health Canada report from 2003 found that alcohol abuse was a problem for 73% of aboriginals (p. 25). There are explanations regarding why alcoholism is a problem for aboriginals, a large part associated with that, is their past. Aboriginals struggled until 1996 when there were residential schools. Alcohol plays a vital role in their lives because it is the common drug ingested when they commit a crime, usually assaults and property damage are reported (Chansonneuve, 2007, p. 25). The result of alcoholic parents also result in abusing their children. (Chansonneuve, 2007, p. 25). Parents that have an addiction are more likely (three times) to be assaulted physically or sexually. (Chansonneuve, 2007, pp.25-26). This information given by a report from No Safe Haven: Children of Substance Abusing Parents in 1999, incorporates into why there are more incarcerations of aboriginals than non-aboriginals. You can also see that violence with or without the consumption of alcohol play a role as well. There is a tendency that an aboriginal women is eight times more likely than a non-aboriginal women to commit spousal homicide (Chansonneuve, 2007, p. 26). This can also explain why there is an over-representation of aboriginals in the justice system, with the violence that occurs in the culture. You can see how this becomes a cycle that is hard to break. You can see with the information above, that an alcohol addiction heightens the odds that an aboriginal person is going to commit a crime. Taking alcohol into consideration, you can gather and form a correct opinion and state that alcohol increases the violence within a person, causing them to be reckless, which in turn enhances the likeliness they would commit a crime. And with this, you can see that this statement is true and that there are higher crime rates among First Nations than non- First Nations. Residential Schools As I briefly mentioned above, residential schools play a vital role in the way a child grows and develops. For those who are not familiar with what residential schools, a generalization made by Historica Canada, “residential schools were government-sponsored religious schools established to assimilate aboriginal children into Euro-Canadian culture” (Miller, 2014, para. 1). They also abused, the children were unable to speak their mother’s tongue and were stripped of their culture and identity. According to Chansonneuve (2007), it is essential for a child to develop physically, mentally, psychologically, and emotionally healthy (p. 19). These will be the foundation for the child in years to come, in forming relationships, reacting to situations, etc. If there is an inability to build the foundations, you are unable to continue to grow in that area. And that’s when you will see development issues, anxiety (abandonment and separation), attachment issues, PTSD (post-traumatic sleep disorder), etc. (Chansonneuve, 2007, pp.19-20). This is relevant to the over-representation of aboriginals in the justice system because if a person is unable to form bonds, or have the inability to cope to trauma in healthy ways, this can cause a person to act out in ways that are not
Over-representation of Aboriginals as Offenders
Amy Brown
ID #201591413
Diversity and the Justice System – CRJS 1013-001
Professor Aulakh Harpreet
Tuesday, February 3. 2015
In 2006, Statistics Canada found that 21% of people sentenced to custody and 18.5% in federal institutions were in fact of aboriginal descent (King & Winterdyk, 2010, p. 63). In a graph presented in the text by King and Winterdyk (2010), from Statistics Canada, the graph suggests the highest percent of over-representation of aboriginals were found in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Yukon (p. 64). This information given provides a hard truth in our country, and I believe it exists for several reasons. The reasons being that First Nations are being over-represented in the justice system is due to alcoholism, violence, and residential schools. After examining reasons why this unfortunate reality exists, there will be a discussion to figure out how we can solve this problem as a society.
Alcoholism and Violence There is a typical stereotype associated with aboriginals, they are generally perceived as alcoholics. I can form this opinion because it is a common issue associated with aboriginals, but not all. In Chansonneuve’s paper (2007), a health Canada report from 2003 found that alcohol abuse was a problem for 73% of aboriginals (p. 25). There are explanations regarding why alcoholism is a problem for aboriginals, a large part associated with that, is their past. Aboriginals struggled until 1996 when there were residential schools. Alcohol plays a vital role in their lives because it is the common drug ingested when they commit a crime, usually assaults and property damage are reported (Chansonneuve, 2007, p. 25). The result of alcoholic parents also result in abusing their children. (Chansonneuve, 2007, p. 25). Parents that have an addiction are more likely (three times) to be assaulted physically or sexually. (Chansonneuve, 2007, pp.25-26). This information given by a report from No Safe Haven: Children of Substance Abusing Parents in 1999, incorporates into why there are more incarcerations of aboriginals than non-aboriginals. You can also see that violence with or without the consumption of alcohol play a role as well. There is a tendency that an aboriginal women is eight times more likely than a non-aboriginal women to commit spousal homicide (Chansonneuve, 2007, p. 26). This can also explain why there is an over-representation of aboriginals in the justice system, with the violence that occurs in the culture. You can see how this becomes a cycle that is hard to break. You can see with the information above, that an alcohol addiction heightens the odds that an aboriginal person is going to commit a crime. Taking alcohol into consideration, you can gather and form a correct opinion and state that alcohol increases the violence within a person, causing them to be reckless, which in turn enhances the likeliness they would commit a crime. And with this, you can see that this statement is true and that there are higher crime rates among First Nations than non- First Nations. Residential Schools As I briefly mentioned above, residential schools play a vital role in the way a child grows and develops. For those who are not familiar with what residential schools, a generalization made by Historica Canada, “residential schools were government-sponsored religious schools established to assimilate aboriginal children into Euro-Canadian culture” (Miller, 2014, para. 1). They also abused, the children were unable to speak their mother’s tongue and were stripped of their culture and identity. According to Chansonneuve (2007), it is essential for a child to develop physically, mentally, psychologically, and emotionally healthy (p. 19). These will be the foundation for the child in years to come, in forming relationships, reacting to situations, etc. If there is an inability to build the foundations, you are unable to continue to grow in that area. And that’s when you will see development issues, anxiety (abandonment and separation), attachment issues, PTSD (post-traumatic sleep disorder), etc. (Chansonneuve, 2007, pp.19-20). This is relevant to the over-representation of aboriginals in the justice system because if a person is unable to form bonds, or have the inability to cope to trauma in healthy ways, this can cause a person to act out in ways that are not