Indigenous Criminology

Question 1

Colonialism

Answer 1

• Conflictual relations with non-indigenous societies (European and American settlers)
• dehumanization of indigenous people, forced disconnection from their land/culture/community disqualification of their systems of knowledge
• displacement from their traditional territories, forced into reserves

Question 2

Royal Proclamation of 1763

Answer 2

• Acknowledgement of indigenous nations’ entitlement to their lands, soveirgnty and self-government
• England claimed ultimate control over the colonies in North America
  → attempted to establish trade and military alliances with indigenous peoples against other European colonizers (France)
  → land legally belonged to indigenous people and could only be ceded through treaties

Question 3

Indigenous treaties

Answer 3

• Constitutionally recognized agreements between the Crown and indigenous peoples
  → treaties preserved indigenous sovereignty, culture, and right to self-govern
• numbered treaties: First Nations surrendered their rights to land in exchange for benefits
  → ex. reserve lands elsewhere, farming equipment and animals, annual payments, ammunition, rights to hunt and fish
• critique: indigenous people experiences difficulties when signing treaties and were forced to accept unfair and unfavorable terms
  → treaties have been systemically and repeatedly dishonoured by the Canadian government

Question 4

1876 Indian Act

Answer 4

• Consolidation of laws that invasively controlled aspects of the daily life for indigenous people
  → Canada’s control of Indian status
  → strict control over reservations
  → regulated residential schools
  → subordination of indigenous women and dependence upon men
  → replacement of traditional governance with government-imposed structures
• goal was to acculturate and assimilate indigenous people into mainstream Canadian society

Question 5

The CJS and indigenous people

Answer 5

• Assimilation policies dismantled indigenous soveirgnty and governance
  → forced them to incorporate into Canadian society with a marginalized status
• impoverished conditions of life: poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, interpersonal violence, family breakdown, obstacles to education and job opportunities, discrimination and racism
• deficit narratives: indigenous people can be blamed for the issues they experience and are individually responsible for criminality and deviant behavtour
  → does not account for the history of systemic racism and intergenerational trauma
• indigenous people are overrepresented in the CJS (victims/survivors and accused/convicted)

Question 6

Indigenization of the justice system

Answer 6

• involving indigenous principles into the structure of services and programs
  → first movement: hiring more indigenous justice professionals
  → second movement: incorporating indigenous justice processes within the CJS
  → third movement: indigenous systems that focus on community accountability and restorative justice

Question 7

Gladue principles

Answer 7

Judges must consider the unique systemic or background factors which may have played a part in bringing the aboriginal offender before the courts
→ must also choose the best sentencing procedures and sanctions for that individual

Question 8

Indigenous criminology

Answer 8

• Challenges the domination and oppression perpetrated by administrative (mainstream) criminology
• mainstream criminology serves as the source of knowledge for policy makers
  → crime control policies targeting the criminality of marginalized populations (subjugation of subaltern groups and their systems of knowledge)
• mainstream criminology researches ON indigenous issues, not WITH indigenous people (no experience with the reality of indigenous life)
  → dismissive of indigenous knowledge and lived-experiences; considered unscientific, subjective and folklore
• mainstream criminology claims for scientific objectivity (not influenced by politics and emotions)
• silenced indigenous experiences and perspectives regarding crime and social harms

Question 9

Three principles of indigenous criminology

Answer 9

1. Researchers can be socially and politically involved in their work and in the life-world of indigenous people
2. The need to give back to the community by “speaking the truth to power”
   → role of organic intellectuals
   → recognizing the political aspect of all research
   → rejecting scientific impartiality in favour of speaking up and with the silenced people
   → goal is to privilege the lived experience, perspectives, and issues of indigenous peoples
   → propose measures to empower indigenous people’s struggles for self determination and political/legal autonomy
3. Knowledge must come from within indigenous peoples and communities
   → western academics do not respect the indigenous experience; research on indigenous people, not with them
   → research must contribute to the community empowerment
   → the community must perceive the research topic/question as relevant
   → indigenous knowledge must not be treated as folklore, superstitious, or inferior to western science
   → indigenous criminology must employ indigenous knowledge, experience and respective about conflicts and harms