Addressing Sexual Abuse in Canada's Indigenous Communities

‘Confront scourge of sexual abuse, stand up for children, Inuit leaders demand ‘, is an article written by Kristy Kirkup, who reports the impact on indigenous people of Canada due to the disregard and lack of respect from the government for years. Indian residential school systems are disastrous mistakes that wreaked havoc on Canada’s Aboriginal groups. It later, lead to the tragedy that many aboriginal parents do not know how to treat their children in a good way. Abuse, including physical, sexual, emotional, is one of most serious and common issues that still affects several aboriginal communities. Indigenous leaders and victims told The Canadian Press the level of abuse in some communities is shockingly high, although there is limited data that indicate exactly how pervasive the problem is across the country. Sexual abuse had gone through residential schools over several generations. The cycle abuse is continuing to infect subsequent generations in recent years. Prominent Inuit politicians are urging Canada’s leaders who recognize the importance of the

indigenous people and their culture. He states that no child deserves to have their innocence stolen and live in fear. It is everyone’s duty to protect children from the scourge of sexual abuse and suicide running through indigenous communities. ‘There is no way to talk about this issue without it being difficult’ says ITK president Natan Obed. He convinces people should focus on the human rights and freedom more often and prevent any violence before it occurs. He also strongly supports that children deserve the right to live a happy and healthy childhood and build up their potential to do what they desire while not worrying about the adult’s behavior.
The connection between the novel and the article is that aboriginal communities suffer from substance abuse.

This applies to the character Niska, in the novel Three Day Road, who is one of the alternative narrators. She rescues Xavier and Elijah from a Catholic residential school, and raises them in traditional Cree hunter-gatherer roles. Similarly to the other characters, she also has experienced pain and darkness in the residential school. She describes how the nuns abuse the aboriginal girls until they adopt the western culture and abandon their own traditions. For example: Once she was caught speaking her mother tongue, so the nuns poured lye soap into her mouth and deprived her of food for several days as a punishment. The abuse problem that Niksa had gone through in her childhood, is quite similar to the abuse that many children are facing from their own families and communities in recent

years.
The lesson from both the article and novel conveys an important message about how abuse is a huge issue that might not affect only the victims but others. This article reflects how and why abuse resembles a never ending cycle. Their parents grew up in an environment with no love and care, but instead only with coldness and abuse. However, since they had a terrible role model, once they will have their own family, they will have no idea as to how to treat their kids. In contrast, both Xavier and Elijah are lucky to have Niska to support him, but Elijah chooses to ignore her lessons and abandon his morality through the time.