POVERTY ABORIGINAL WOMEN

Poverty Aboriginal Women

Poverty Aboriginal Women

Introduction

Aboriginal women in Canada are considered to be the most victimized group within the nation's society. The effects of this marginalization and victimization can be seen through low numbers of Aboriginal women attending post-secondary institutions, through the high unemployment rate of Aboriginal women and ultimately in the incredibly high percentage of Aboriginal women in the prison system within Canada. The high occurrence of Aboriginal women in prison has been investigated by numerous sources and several of those shall be examined in the following.

Discussion

Just as ethnic differences have long been a popular reason for discrimination, so too has gender. Causes of marginalization faced by Aboriginal people in general are multiplied by the issues that are distinct for Aboriginal women (Brunen 2000). Cassidy, Lord, & Mandell, (1995) contend that “Aboriginal women must deal with discrimination based on gender, class, and race”. This is unlike women of the dominant white culture who may face gender and class issues, but rarely must challenge racial discrimination (Cassidy et. al 1995).

Statistics show that Aboriginal people and especially Aboriginal women are heavily over-represented in jails and prisons across the country (LaPrairie 1987). For a number of years it has been apparent that “the Canadian criminal justice system has failed Aboriginal people and, more specifically, Aboriginal women” (Sparling 1999). Should the concept of women's history within the judicial system be one of disregard and negligence, “it should come as no surprise that the history of Aboriginal women's imprisonment is an exaggeration of the same” (Sparling 1999).

Compared to other offenders, Aboriginal women are charged more frequently for certain types of crimes. Statistics show that Aboriginal women are being incarcerated for more violent crimes than are non-Aboriginal women (LaPrairie 1987).

Canadian History Held Accountable

The many problems that face the Canadian Aboriginal woman of today can be attributed to many different factors, some of which include instances of emotional, sexual, and physical abuse beginning at a very early age at the hand of their “fathers, foster and adoptive parents, husbands, teachers, priests, social workers, and police” (EFS 1992). The following will demonstrate how the inequitable treatment of Aboriginal women has led to a number of ill-fated trends and tendencies, through a close look at several articles which delve into the cause and effect of countless years of persecution and maltreatment at the hand of a white, male-dominated society.

“Aboriginal women constitute a disadvantaged minority within the general Canadian population. Relative to non-aboriginal women and even aboriginal men, aboriginal women are marginalized members of society. They suffer from a variety of disadvantaged conditions and life experiences, including poverty, unemployment, abusive family situations, poor education, criminal victimization, and prejudice” (Johnson 1987).

An in-depth look into the history of Aboriginal people can help to explain and shed some light upon the previously-mentioned incidences. Looking back into our nation's history, we can easily pin-point the initial cause of strife within the very livelihoods of Canada's Aboriginal peoples - colonization by the Europeans.

“Through the well-documented processes of Christianization, subjugation, segregation, and in some cases, ...