Indigenous people and the CJS

Question 1

Describe the numbers that show that indigenous people are overrepresented in the CJS. Why does this happen?

Answer 1

stats:
- 4% of the population
- 28% of admissions to sentenced custody
- even greater in prairie provinces (up to 80%)

why = result of systemic racism and discrimination

Question 2

what created traumatic symptoms/risk factors for indigenous people and what do these cause?

Answer 2

living under oppression and genocide for prolonged period of time (including inter-generational trauma) –> traumatic symptoms –> crime and victimization of Indigenous peoples

Question 3

Describe how we know that there is racial discrimination at all levels of the CJS against Indigenous people

Answer 3

1. the system is structurally racist (covert racism) –> more likely to get caught and go to jail
2. poverty and unemployment –> poor legal representation
3. socioeconomic and cultural differences –> more likely to receive attention from authorities
4. strained relationships between Indigenous peoples and authorities

Question 4

Describe the victimization trends of Indigenous peoples

Answer 4

1. disproportionately high rate of violent victimization
2. more likely to experience multiple victimizations
3. Indigenous women experience violence at a higher rate than any other group of women in Canada

Question 5

what are the major causes of risk factors that contribute to victimization and criminalization of Indigenous people?

Answer 5

• colonization
• residential schools
• abusive government policies
• laws

Question 6

Name some risk factors that contribute to victimization and criminalization of Indigenous people?

Answer 6

• high levels of unemployment
• low income
• poverty
• overcrowded, disorganized, and substandard living conditions
• social exclusion and marginalization
• racism and discrimination
• lack of cultural identity and pride
• alcohol and drug addictions/misue
• poor education
• dysfunctional families

Question 7

What is resilience?

Answer 7

patterns of positive adaptations during or following significant adversity of risk

Question 8

what is the importance of protective factors?

Answer 8

can reduce the effect of risk factors

Question 9

what is residential mobility, what is its relationship to crime, why do people need to move, and how does this effect children?

Answer 9

residential mobility = moving from dwelling to dwelling on a frequent basis

linked to high rates of crime

people often have to move because of poor socioeconomic status (e.g. getting kicked out of your rental) and limited access to proper housing

children have to adjust to new schools and rebuild support systems –> harm the socialization process and manifest in aggressive behaviours

Question 10

Describe the housing on reserves

Answer 10

• they have been compared to 3rd world living conditions
• overcrowded
• boil-water advisories are common

Question 11

Describe how the physical health of Indigenous peoples is poorer than the general population

Answer 11

high rates of diabetes, heart disease, TB, and infant mortality rates

Question 12

Describe the suicide rate of Indigenous populations compared to the general population, why is this?

Answer 12

trends:
- suicide rates are higher
- especially among the inuit populations

why:
- learned behaviour; disruption and perturbation of colonialism, lapses in “cultural continuity”; marginalization; cultural oppression
- interrelated risk factors intersect and amplify the risk of suicide

Question 13

Describe the drinking trends of Indigenous peoples compared to the general population. How does this relate to violence?

Answer 13

Trends:
- fewer indigenous people drink, but when they do, they drink more heavily

relationship to violence:
- heaving drinking and violence are correlated, as both offenders and victims

Question 14

What can risk factors can substance use and abuse further lead to? How do addictive behaviours take a toll on indigenous peoples?

Answer 14

risk factors = poverty, despair, forced removals, loss of resources/traditonal economics, displacement

addictive behaviours –> accidents, death, illness, and violence

Question 15

What link have studies shown between supporting educational achievement and crime?

Answer 15

supporting educational achievement is an effective crime prevention measure

Question 16

Describe the trends of educational achievement in indigenous populations vs the general population

Answer 16

• indigenous peoples have witnessed a significant increase in educational attainment but still lag behind (e.g. lower rates of secondary school completion and high drop out rates)
• it is statistically more likely that students from First Nations communities will go to jail than graduate from high school

Question 17

Describe the conditions of schools in First Nations communities, and how schools discriminate against Indigenous students

Answer 17

conditions:
- underfunded
- falling apart
- overcrowded

discrimination:
- schools fell alien to Indigenous students (very colonialist)
- institutional racism
- racist curricula

Question 18

What are the effects of good education, good jobs, and good income?

Answer 18

less likely to commit crimes and more likely to have stability

Question 19

How does racism impact employment for Indigenous peoples?

Answer 19

reduces the ability for them to attain employment, receive equitable treatments, good earnings, and receiving promotions

Question 20

Describe the long lasting impact of colonization on education and employment

Answer 20

the complete structure of Euro-Canadian society including education and employment is culturally foreign based on the competitive production and consumption that discounts ancestral teachings

Question 21

Describe the family environment trends for Indigenous children and the impacts of this

Answer 21

1. less likely to live in two-parent homes –> instability –> fewer loving attachments/intimate relationships –> criminality
2. overrepresented in the child welfare system and often placed in non-Indigenous homes –> implications for cultural identity –> criminality
3. more likely to have early childhood deprivations –> high levels of stress and stress reactions –> affects rational thinking –> criminality and victimization

Question 22

Describe why the indigenous peoples demographic contributes to their overrepresentation in the CJS

Answer 22

the Indigenous population is young and growing + crime is a young person’s game –> overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the CJS

Question 23

What are the two sources where the cycle of abuse can be traced back to, what does this lead to, and what does this subsequently lead to?

Answer 23

sources:
1. loss of culture and tradition
2. loss of control over individual and collective destiny

leads to:
- trauma
- breakdown of families
- addictions
- increased feeling of powerlessness
- fear, mistrust, and denial

ultimately leads to intergenerational trauma

Question 24

How can we break the cycle of crime that affects Indigenous peoples?

Answer 24

• increase funding to schools and increase graduation rates (providing tutors, making schools friendlier, having curricula that addresses their history)
• mandatory native studies classes
• updating and expanding housing on reservations and providing housing after inmates are released
• create awareness
• more outreach programs
• social programs that continue after prison
• take into consideration different ways of knowing at schools
• increase indigenous representation in the government, educators, and the CJS
• volunteer, educate ourselves and our families