Lesson 2: Crime Affecting Indigenous Peoples

Question 1

Indigenous peoples are grossly over-represented in jails, as compared to non-Indigenous peoples

(3)

Answer 1

(1) In 2011, Indigenous peoples made up 4.3 per cent of Canada’s total population, yet Indigenous adults (over 18 years of age) accounted for 28 per cent of admissions to sentenced custody, 25 per cent of admissions to remand, and 21 per cent of admissions to probation and conditional sentences in 2011–12
(2) Indigenous peoples represented 14.9 per cent of Saskatchewan’s total population yet accounted for 81 per cent of those admitted to provincial custody
(3) the Stony Mountain Penitentiary in Manitoba (about 11 kilometres from Winnipeg), where more than 60 per cent of those incarcerated are Indigenous

Question 2

Between 2005–06 and 2012–13, the Indigenous incarcerated population increased by:

From March 2005 to 2014–15, it increased by:

Answer 2

(1) over 40 per cent

(2) 47.4%

Question 3

The Canadian criminal justice system is structurally racist

(2)

Answer 3

(1) meaning that its policies and practices, either overtly or subtly, advantage one racial group over another
(2) Indigenous peoples are systematically excluded and marginalized, as this system facilitates racially disparate policies

Question 4

policies that seem race neutral result in the unequal treatment of Indigenous peoples. Take, for example:

(2)

Answer 4

(1) an offence such as driving with your licence suspended.
(2) it disadvantages Indigenous peoples, who have higher rates of poverty and so are less likely to be able to pay a fine and more likely to end up in jail

Question 5

Overt racism also remains.

Answer 5

Indigenous as opposed to non-Indigenous incarcerated peoples are sentenced to longer terms, spend more time in segregation and maximum security, and are less likely to be granted parole and more likely to have parole revoked for minor infractions

Question 6

The Victimization of Indigenous Peoples:
As compared to non-Indigenous groups, Indigenous peoples were:

(3)

Answer 6

(1) twice as likely to report being the victim of violent assault (i.e., physical or sexual assault or robbery) in 2009;

(2) about six times more likely to be the victims of homicide in 2014; and

(3) at a higher risk of being victimized multiple times.

Question 7

The General Social Survey undertaken in 2009 by Statistics Canada shows

Answer 7

that 37 per cent of Indigenous peoples (aged 15 years or older) reported being a victim of a crime compared to 26 per cent of non-Indigenous peoples

Question 8

are major causes of risk factors related to the victimization and incarceration affecting Indigenous peoples

(3)

Answer 8

(1) ordeal of residential schools,
(2) the effects of colonization on traditional values and culture,
(3) abusive governmental practices and laws inflicted on Indigenous peoples (e.g., the Indian Act)

Question 9

These risk factors have been cited by many research studies in recent years and have been highlighted in Statistics Canada surveys

(12)

Answer 9

(1) high levels of unemployment;
(2) low incomes;
(3) poverty;
(4) overcrowded,
(5) disorganized, and substandard living conditions;
(6) social exclusion and marginalization;
(7) racism and discrimination;
(8) lack of cultural identity and pride;
(9) alcohol and drug addictions or misuse;
(10) low education and poor school access and involvement; and (11) poor child rearing and supervision,
(12) dysfunctional, disorganized, and disconnected families.

Question 10

Resilience

Answer 10

defined as “patterns of positive adaptation during or following significant adversity or risk

Question 11

Two concepts to strengthen resilience are discussed

Answer 11

addressing risk factors and enhancing protective factors

Question 12

Risk factors

Answer 12

factors that increase the probability of a negative outcome

Question 13

Protective factors

(2)

Answer 13

(1) aid in counteracting risk factors by decreasing vulnerability to conditions such as crime or victimization and by increasing durable resiliency.
(2) The presence of nurturing parents in a home, for example would be considered a protective factor

Question 14

Risk factors are frequently categorized according to

Answer 14

whether they originate at the individual, relationship, community, or societal level

Question 15

The Four-Category Risk Factors Model: SOCIETAL

Answer 15

Question 16

The Four-Category Risk Factors Model: community

Answer 16

Question 17

The Four-Category Risk Factors Model: relationship

Answer 17

Question 18

The Four-Category Risk Factors Model: individual

Answer 18

Question 19

Crime, however, is not a direct result of the presence of risk factors

(2)

Answer 19

(1) An individual with multiple risk factors related to crime will not necessarily become an offender or a victim.
(2) Risk factors are not totally independent from the dynamics of individual development or from relationships within a community or society, so they can undergo transformations with changing conditions.

Question 20

Research has shown that these can often counter the effects of some risk factors on vulnerable populations.

Answer 20

protective environmental factors

Question 21

Research has shown that protective environmental factors can often counter the effects of some risk factors on vulnerable populations. This research stems from the:

Answer 21

the social development model

Question 22

the social development model

Answer 22

model suggests that risk and protective factors operate reciprocally across five social domains—­individual, family, school, peer group, and community—and that increasing positive relationships within these domains will reduce delinquency, crime, and substance abuse.

Question 23

posited by Richard F. Catalano and J. David Hawkins (both are experts in violence prevention and social development research

Answer 23

the social development model

Question 24

High Residential Mobility and Poor Living Conditions

(3)

Answer 24

(1) meaning moving from dwelling to dwelling on a frequent basis—is linked to higher rates of crime
(2) Physical environments, such as poor living conditions and crowded housing, can put stress on people and families, who are forced to live in close quarters and who struggle to make ends meet
(3) living in a state of perpetual stress affects even an individual’s body chemistry.

Question 25

In 1992, the US National Institutes of Health defined stress

Answer 25

as a state of disharmony or threatened homeostasis

Question 26

stressor

Answer 26

a threat, real or perceived, that tends to disturb homeostasis

Question 27

Studies have also identified the links between overcrowded living conditions, youth substance abuse, violence, and increased aggression in children

(2)

Answer 27

(1) Children who move from dwelling to dwelling on a frequent basis face a host of challenges while trying to adjust to new communities and schools and to rebuild social support systems.
(2) This “rebuilding” often includes an imposed reorganization of peer networks and adult social support networks.

Question 28

Fitzgerald and Peter Carrington conducted a neighbourhood level ecological analysis of crime affecting urban Indigenous peoples

(2)

Answer 28

(1) They concluded that the high rates of Indigenous representation in the criminal justice system are due to the structural characteristics of the neighbourhoods in which Indigenous peoples live.
(2) Specifically, large numbers of those who are involved in the criminal justice system also suffer from a high degree of socioeconomic disparity and more residential mobility.

Question 29

For federally incarcerated Indigenous women:

Answer 29

Represent a staggering 35% of women who are federally incarcerated

Question 30

described by sociologist Colin Samson as having one of the highest rates of suicide in the world, when its 2000 rate soared to 470 deaths per 100,000 people

Answer 30

the community of Pikangikum

Question 31

Suicide rates in First Nations communities have been recorded at:

Answer 31

twice the general Canadian rates. Among Inuit, the rate is even higher, being 6 to 11 times greater than that of the general population.

Question 32

Psychology professor Michael J. Kral contends that suicide:

Answer 32

is a learned behaviour, finding that it is common for Inuit youth to talk about and copy other suicides

Question 33

Education and Academic Advancement

Answer 33

Research shows that those who advance educationally and occupationally are much less likely to be engaged in crime and much less likely to be arrested as compared to those who do not.

Question 34

Employment and Income

Answer 34

Research shows that unemployment is associated with physical and mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, and increased suicide rates

Question 35

Family Environment and Child Welfare

Answer 35

Indigenous children are also less likely than non-Indigenous children to live with both parents.

Question 36

Following this change, provinces began to take Indigenous children from their homes in abominable numbers—by applying provincial child welfare laws in First Nation communities.

(3)

Answer 36

In 1951, a new section was added to the Indian Act entitled “General provincial laws applicable to Indians.”
(2) That section (s. 88) states that “all laws of general application from time to time in force in any province are applicable to and in respect of Indians in the province, except to the extent that those laws are inconsistent with this Act” or with other similar legislation.
(3) This new section cleared the way for provincial laws to apply to Indigenous peoples living in First Nation communities.

Question 37

sixties scoop

(2)

Answer 37

(1) From the 1960s through to the mid-1980s, thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their families and put into the child welfare system.
(2) Many were either put into foster care or put up for adoption

Question 38

The Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada outline a cycle of abuse—in other words, a cycle of crime against children—and explain that, in the Inuit context, the cycle can be traced back to two root causes

Answer 38

(1) a loss of culture and tradition
(2) loss of control over individual and collective destiny

Question 39

The Cycle of Crime Affecting Aboriginal Peoples

Answer 39

Question 40

what has research shown in regards to exposure to traumatic factors and their impacts?

Answer 40

Research has shown that exposure to traumatic factors such as violence and abuse will carry on within families and communities, causing the next generation to suffer the same or similar effects or to resort to dangerous coping mechanisms

Question 41

Return of the Michif Boy: Confronting Métis trauma

How does Jesse explain the working of traumatic memories?

Answer 41

They evolve from different generations. It is like looking in a kaleidoscope.

Question 42

Return of the Michif Boy: Confronting Métis trauma

In the segment, it was noted how peoples were hiding their Métis identity. Why did people hide their identity and how did this impact peoples?

Answer 42

(1) So they were not affiliated in any way with Louis Riel and could avoid hanging.
(2) People were afraid; especially of strangers.
(3) Intergenerational trauma

Question 43

Return of the Michif Boy: Confronting Métis trauma

What were the divisions that existed, and how did these divisions’ impact people’s lives?

Answer 43

(1) Michif, white, indian/half breed
(2) Did not have friends

Question 44

Structural violence

(3)

Answer 44

(1) way of describing social arrangements that put individuals and populations in harm’s way.
(2) The arrangements are structural because they are embedded in the political and economic organization of our social world;
(3) they are violent because they cause injury to people (typically, not those responsible for perpetuating such inequalities)

Question 45

structural analysis

Answer 45

Rather than solely focusing on individual factors such as addictions or unemployment provides a historical and organizational analysis of why those factors exist in the first place. It takes the analysis a step beyond, from a micro to macro analysis.

Question 46

Structural racism

(2)

Answer 46

(1) a system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity.
(2) It identifies dimensions of our history and culture that have allowed privileges associated with “whiteness” and disadvantages associated with “color” to endure and adapt over time

Question 47

Roadside allowance story

Answer 47

It is a geographical (physical) marker of the dispossession n that occurred

Question 48

What does Cindy Blackstock mean by the concept “incremental equality”?

Answer 48

The government may give the Indigenous a little more money but, it still falls short of what other Canadians get.

Question 49

Who are the defenders of incremental equality?

Answer 49

Predominantly those who are already being treated equally.

Question 50

What did the case filed with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal by Cindy Blackstock (First Nations Child and Family Caring Society) and the Assembly of First Nations, against the federal government, allege?

Answer 50

Racially discriminating by providing flawed and inequitable child welfare services.

Question 51

What were the federal government’s arguments against this case?

(3)

Answer 51

(1) It is unfair to compare the level of services we provide to first nations to the level of service the provinces provide to everybody else
(2) It’s the first nation people discriminating not the federal government.
(3) First Nation people cannot manage their money.

Question 52

What does Cindy suggest that the federal government needs to change?

Answer 52

Make a commitment to end racial discrimination across all programs so it falls in line with what every other Canadian gets.

Question 53

What were the findings of the Human Rights Tribunal?

Answer 53

A developed country was found to have racially discriminated against 163,000 children and were ordered to immediately stop.

Question 54

What does Cindy want to see for this country?

Answer 54

Where first nations children no longer have to spend their time fighting for equity and the country recognizes it is wrong to give a child less because of who they are,

Question 55

How does Cindy explain the way to make reconciliation real?

Answer 55

Not saying sorry twice.