The reality of living in a colonized nation
Canadian society has been founded on the violent colonialism of European settlers.
Settler colonialism, founded in racism and prejudice has since become a keystone in all aspects of Canadian society.
There is no ‘postcolonial Canada’ because of the maintained colonial relationship that Canada has with Indigenous people.
Indigenous peoples are grossly overrepresented in the Canadian judicial system as both victims and offenders of violent crimes.
The ongoing abuse of indigenous people has fostered a culture of mistrust of police and authority.
Restorative actions must be taken to attempt to decolonize the damaged Indigenous communities of Canada.
“Policing of reservations was meant to subject [Indigenous] people to surveillance in their daily lives and to thereby judiciously discipline them into civilized habits of mind and action” ( Biolsi, 2019).
The splintering of families through residential schools, the criminalization of Indigenous culture and language, physical and emotional trauma associated with colonialism and the prison industrial system has caused a lack of unity within Indigenous families and communities.
The process of criminalization in Canada has long served to create a system of ‘otherness’ particularly for Indigenous people. Many indigenous people feel disconnected from both their culture and from Westernized society .
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