1 Overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples in the Canadian Criminal Justice System Mohtashim Shakir Department of Human and Social Sciences, Wilfrid Laurier University CC102A: Introduction to the Canadian Criminal Justice System Dr. F. Wayne Morris February 17, 2022 2 The Canadian criminal justice system has many important parts that work together to provide the most fair and efficient pathways for individuals to be tried and acquitted. These parts include Corrections, Policing, and Courts. However, in this paper, the primary focus is on the overrepresentation and misrepresentation of Indigenous peoples within the Canadian criminal justice system and how it is important to understand the disparities between the treatment of nonIndigenous peoples and Indigenous peoples within the criminal justice system. As citizens, it is additionally to address the history of colonization and its impact on future generations of Indigenous peoples and their families. While addressing Indigenous families, directly related to this is the struggle of Indigenous women; they have been persecuted more so than their male counterparts and hence it is important to learn about their struggles to fully understand the impact of correctional systems on these individuals. Lastly, correctional institutions as a whole have negatively impacted the lives of indigenous peoples and rather than just focusing on the past, paying attention to how Indigenous peoples are denied their charter rights and institutionalized is critical. To fully grasp the impact of correctional institutions on the legacy of the Indigenous peoples in Canada, it is firstly important to understand the history of colonization and how it changed the course of how Indigenous peoples lived their lives. Within this argument, the arguments of imprisonment such as residential schools, the sixties scoop, and segregated hospitals will be discussed and its impact on indigenous incarceration. Residential schools were a type of boarding school solely for Indigenous children that operated from the 1880s to the 1990s which were also funded by the Canadian government and run by the Christian state. Indigenous were taken from their homes and there were several goals after this such as following a regimented schedule much like a prison and suppressive tactics in regards to culture and 3 tradition. Additionally, these Indigenous children faced sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their superiors (pastors and teachers). This further confirmed the Weatherburn thesis which stated that the higher level of incarceration of Indigenous groups was because of lack of parenting, poor schooling, and substance abuse (Weatherburn, D. & Fitzgerald, J. 2006, P. 450). As mentioned, these three factors are directly correlated to residential school since children were forcefully taken from their parents. Additionally, as the children got older, to cope with personal trauma and also intergenerational trauma, they turned to alcohol and drug abuse to cope (FNRHS, 2008, p.102, para. 2). To further push this thesis, the Sixties scoop took place and was where a child-welfare policy was enacted and Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes and placed with non-Aboriginal families (Honouring the truth, reconciliation, n.d). Similarly, the Sixties scoop and residential schools both had a negative impact on the well-being and future of Indigenous children as they became a product of their abusive environment and subsequently were and currently are incarcerated more highly than non-Indigenous peoples. Concurrently, the incarceration of Indigenous women has long surpassed that of the male population. Indigenous women are the fastest growing population of prisoners in Canada (Marques & Monchalin, 2020). Further back this is the statistic that despite accounting for 4.3% of the population, Indigenous women make up 40% of the total female prisoner population in Canada (Office of the Correctional Investigator, 2018). This subsequent information comes in accordance to the oppression and embedded colonial violence that Indigenous women have incurred. To give some context, the basis of colonization was to force assimilation, seizing land, and demonstrating overall control over Indigenous land. Since Indigenous women have a central role within Indigenous communities and “viewed as both life-givers and caretakers of life” (The justice system and Aboriginal people, n.d.), they were the main focus of colonizers as their goal 4 was to dismantle communities from the most crucial point – the women. Subsequently, these patriarchal values were perpetuated through generations and resulted in the harm of Indigenous women and results in the socioeconomic marginalization of Indigenous women such as not providing them the economic aid to help them attain skills jobs or be able to sustain themselves financially. Another result of these experiences was the pattern of over-policing and systemic discrimination of Indigenous women and girls which results in the incarceration of these women for menial crimes such as petty theft or robbery. An example of this statement is the case of the Quewezance sisters and how they served 29 years for the wrongful conviction of a murder they did not commit even though their cousin admitted to the murder in 1993 (Martens, 2021). Lastly, it is crucial to understand the inaction and lack of accountability displayed by the Canadian government and steps moving forward. Previously, the federal government had created policies such as ‘The Aboriginal Continuum of Care’ to combat the high rate of Indigenous incarceration, however rates of incarceration have increased since implementation (Mussell, 32). Although, in recent times, the Supreme Court ruled on the R v Gladue case that it would take into account colonialism and discrimination including the social, historical, and economic preconditions in regards to sentencing of the Indigenous peoples (Griffiths, 169). But regardless of any implied positive reform, it is stated that Gladue principles are “ineffective and inconsistently applied” (Mussell, 33) and hence do not actively reflect and acknowledge the complex trauma and experiences lived by Indigenous peoples today. Furthermore, the only path the Federal government must take is full policy reform along with more funding for communitybased programs such as the Indigenous justice program which has disparities in providing service to enough Indigenous individuals and to connect with more people who may benfit from 5 these services (Mussell, 36). Thus, it is shown that there must be work done in regards to policy by the federal government to fully encompass Indigenous trauma, experiences, and futures. In summary, the overrepresentation of the Indigenous peoples surveys a wide variety problems and potential solution. In order to understand their struggle, it is crucial to take into account the history of colonization and intergenerational trauma caused by colonizers and previous government leaders. Such examples include the residential school’s Indigenous youth were forced to attend and endure along with the Sixties scoop which broke families and forced assimilation. Also, not only were families and youth affected, but Indigenous women were marginalized and discriminated more than any other subsection of peoples within the Canadian population. This is due to colonial and patriarchal tactics enforced not only by the federal government but also Indigenous communities who were influenced by the former. In response to these major problems within the criminal justice system, policy has been created since then such as ‘The Aboriginal Continuum of Care’ but proved ineffective, hence R v Gladue was enacted and the policy attempted to take into account trauma and experiences but still needs major reform. The Canadian government has made attempts to solve the overrepresentation and misrepresentation of Indigenous peoples within the Canadian criminal justice system but still needs major improvements in order to help create a better system and life for indigenous peoples across Canada. 6 Citations Aboriginal Women. The Justice System and Aboriginal People. 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