Aboriginal People In Canada

The relationship between the Aboriginal people in Canada and the Government of Canada is described as strained and imbalanced due to the opposite perspectives they have on federal laws and policies. Most Aboriginal people argue that the current laws and policies is unfair and that it is a continuation of the past colonial laws, which have made them impoverished. On the other hand, many non-Aboriginal politicians tend to ignore the claims of the indigenous people and the poverty crisis they are in. John Rawls and Robert Nozick are the two political thinkers who could be discussed to analyze the question of whether or not the circumstances of the Aboriginal people are just. In his work, Rawls emphasizes the importance of distributive state with …show more content…
Although the Canadian federal laws allow the Aboriginal people to have the freedom of thought and liberty of conscience and the freedom of movement, they are not guaranteed with the other three types of the primary goods. The territories and the resources of the indigenous people were stolen from them; and consequently, they are put in a dependency relationship. Also, the Aboriginal people were not allowed to participate much in the making of the policies and laws, regarding the reserve lands; they had no power. This indicates that the indigenous people are not provided with positions of authority. Moreover, the Aboriginal people in Canada are not provided with enough income and wealth. This is due to low rates of educational attainment because of the extreme poverty that they suffer from; this whole poverty crisis is caused by the funding inequalities that they face. Lastly, the indigenous people are not provided with the social bases of self-respect; they rarely get recognized as citizens with self-worth. Many Aboriginal people feel social marginalization due to their roots in colonialism and the enduring colonial laws; this has led them to suffer from various mental illnesses. Therefore, Rawls would state that the Aboriginal people are the least advantaged members of society as they are not provided with most of the primary …show more content…
According to Rawls, the original position is a device that is used to represent every citizen as free and equal beings. In the original position, people decide and establish the laws and principles that they will live under by using the veil of ignorance, which lets them make decisions solely based on their notions of morality. This is because the veil of ignorance precludes people from knowing anything about themselves, including their own abilities and social classes; thus, they cannot make choices based on their own personal