Aboriginal Identity Essay

Aboriginal self-government is a long standing issue that continues to be a struggle for the First Nations People. To truly understand the scope of Aboriginal self-government within First Nations communities, more effort is needed to understand the legislative system that runs Canada. This issue of self-governance has been very destructive in First Nations communities. After signing the Treaties, First Nations People was stripped of their livelihood and from that point on to abide by the Dominion of Canadas legislative policies. One current issue that would be a perfect example is the Nisga People in British Columbia who is no longer under the protection of the

How often do we stop to think about the minorities of this country and how they become involved and are treated in the criminal justice system? I surmise; only some of us will concern ourselves with such details. For some like myself; we might work with individuals of the Aboriginal community or have interacted with members of this group whether through school or work. Canada “had an Aboriginal identity in 2011 of 4 % or 1.4 million people” (Kelly-Scott and Smith, 2015). Of this total there is a gross overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in Canada’s Criminal Justice System. This overrepresentation of Aboriginals in the CJS comes as a result of socio economic factors, sentencing reforms, systemic discrimination, education and employment and victimization of Aboriginal women. In partial fulfilment of this course, this paper will address the leading factors which has led to the overrepresentation of this group in the CJS.

Aboriginal people represent less than 3% of the total population in BC. Yet, they account for more than 9% of all suicides in BC (Chandler). The numbers of suicides amongst aboriginal youth are even more alarming – nearly one-fourth of all youth suicides in BC are committed by aboriginals and more than half of all aboriginal suicides are committed by youth (Chandler). The fact that indigenous communities in Canada have the highest rate of suicide of any culturally identifiable group in the world implies that these alarming statistics may not solely be a result of aboriginal communities belonging to a minority cultural group. I will attempt to build a speculative hypothesis behind the significantly high suicide rates amongst aboriginal

The role of elders in today’s society is to pass down cultural and spiritual information as well as make decisions for their communities and provide support to their families and communities. Elders are addressed as “aunty” and “uncle” as a sign of respect, however “Aunty” and “uncle” is not exclusively used to address elders. From my experience Elders of Aboriginal communities are quite different from elders of other communities for example to be known as an elder in an Aboriginal community is not entirely based on age, but rather long and dedicated service to the community. Aboriginal Elders also tend to have say over what happens within their communities and are often relied on by government agencies and bodies as sources of information

The Dreaming: Aboriginal spirituality relies on the dreaming to describe the "fundamental reality" of aboriginals past, present and future. Aboriginals concept of time was and is different to the modern western society. They believe the concept of dreaming began at the beginning of creation and repeats through every generation- "the dreaming began at the dawn of time, remains bound up in the present, and will endure forever." As the dreaming is still present today in Aboriginal spirituality, it shows how the dreaming connecting adherents to their law, customs, spirituality through the paradigms of song, dance, art and rituals. For example, The 'Be' story that comes from the Dalabon country explains the connection between animals and humans

During my interview with Margaret West of Bourke, NSW - I was able to gain first-hand knowledge and understanding of the issues (healthcare, safety and education) that were faced by some indigenous people during the 70’s and 80’s. After the interview concluded, I had enough information to compare the policies of her generation in contrast to the modern policies that deal with the same issues that were discussed in the interview.

Indigenous Australians have poorer health outcomes than Non-Indigenous Australians due to historical events, including Colonisation, that introduced infectious and unknown diseases, and created intergenerational health issues, and the Stolen Generation, that has contributed to psychosocial implications. The continuing inequities of social determinants, including but not limited to, poor education and low socio-economic status, have contributed to the poor health outcomes of Indigenous Australians. The health of Indigenous Australians has largely been affected by history through the inhumane treatment by Non-Indigenous Australians and English settlers. Sherwood comments on documents from the First Fleet illustrating the “good health” of the

Annotated Bibliography: INDG 1160 Colbung, K., ‘On being Aboriginal: a personal statement’, in Berndt, C. and Berndt, R. (eds.), Aborigines of the West: Their Past and Present, Perth, University of Western Australia Press, 1980, pp. 100-105. In this concise, yet powerful proclamation of self, Ken Colburg a Noongyar man and chair of the Aboriginal Land trust describes growing up in a time of extreme oppression of his people. He depicts the prolific way the Australian government has defined the Aborigines through a series of legislation instead of letting his culture have the freedom to self-identify. This statement was written in 1980 during a controversial time where mining bills superseding the previous land grant legislation.

Aboriginality is not just about skin colour. To many Australian Indigenous people their identity embodies far more complex defining elements than that of race or racial traits, such as skin colour. Cultural values such as kinship, connection to their land and spirituality are foremost in understanding the complexity of Aboriginal identity (Albrecht 1997, p.3). The Australian government’s legal definition of Aboriginality however, continues to rely upon descent, implying race, as a key element to identify a person’s Aboriginality (Australian Law Reform Commission, 2013). This essay will discuss the complexity of Aboriginal identity and the complications that arise from the assumption

The following paper will be discussing how Aboriginal people have been represented as inferior in the history of Canada. In addition, I will be discussing the ways in which this form of representation may influence the identity formation of individuals who are identified are part of that group, while considering why identity formation is complex and why strict definitions of culture may be constraining for individuals. Essentially, removing people's power to select their individual identity results in a lack of authenticity and uniqueness.

Topic 3: Discuss the political struggle for recognition of indigenous rights to land. In your answer, consider the benefits and limitations of the Native Title Act and recent United Nations criticisms of the current Act.

Inequality, specifically income inequality is all over the world and affects the most disadvantaged people. This paper will argue that gender, level of education, location and Aboriginal identity are the causes of the income inequality that exists among Aboriginal men and women in Canada. Gender is a big factor in income inequality, because the hierarchy that is subliminally created in society plays a big role in “Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal relations” (Gerber 122). Education is also a main issue because they cannot make enough money with the high level of education they possess (McDonald and Wilson 3). Knowing this, Aboriginal identity relates to gender and education because certain Aboriginal groups are affected more than the other. Lastly, location affects income because if there are no good jobs around a certain geographical area, then the income an individual earns will be lower. The theoretical lens that I will use to analyze this social problem is an Intersectional lens, because it will demonstrate how these factors are interconnected on many levels and that these cannot be examined by itself. Income inequality in itself is an important issue because we live in a world where so many opportunities are available and it is a shame that individuals who work just as hard do not receive the same rewards. I believe that income inequality is ignored in western society, and is especially ignored in the case of Aboriginal women.

The separation of aboriginal people from their land, kinship and children from families have had a devastating effect on aboriginal spirituality. Indigenous people are connected to the land physically and spiritually, Aborigines land is their home and when colonisation began by the white settlers in 1788 they claimed ‘Terra Nullius’, land that belonged to no one. This separation from land meant that they were not able to access food on the land and cultural practices and ceremonies associated with the land could not be carried out. Seen in source 1 the separation from the land is a disrespect to aboriginal spirituality, this effect did not only hurt the remaining loved ones, however the ancestor themselves as quoted from the source “Our ancestors travel with us all the time, they'll travel with us when we go back home ... till we get back to our land and put them back where

The Indigenous people in Australia are amongst one of the eldest cultures throughout the world. It is estimated that the Aboriginal people of Australia have lived on Australia’s dirt for at least 60,000 years, or so. These Indigenous people had their own way of living so isolated from the rest of the world, they had the means to live directly off the land, to hunt and forage for their food, to heal and provide health to their community through the mother earth, through its animals and their spirits and their cultures traditions. They did not know of money, guns, houses, ships, famine or diseases. However, when the Europeans invaded with their vast great fleets in the year of 1788, everything changed.

An element of the section I found to be important is the need for Aboriginal youth to see the officers as members of the community, rather than officer. For the Aboriginal, the importance of this is due to the fact that they felt that these officers did not care for their communities. In turn, this all ties into the hostility and fear that the youth have against the officers, since they see the officer's job to be just crime and punish, rather than to serve the community. Therefore, perhaps by viewing officers as members of the community, the relationship between the police and Aboriginal youth can be strengthened to the point in which a more trusting community can decrease amount of harsh interactions that officers and Aboriginal youth have, and maybe even reduce the overall crime.