The case of highway of tears, which has been ongoing for as long as 40 years, in which a total of 18 to 40 indigenous women have gone missing or been murdered along this highway. Despite these high numbers, authorities have been showing a lack of attention towards the concerns and protests of indigenous communities. A similar case that gained Nationwide attention happened in 2002 when a non-indigenous girl went missing along the tragic highway. This case points out the key problems of systemic issues, which include violence, neglect, as well as discrimination that indigenous girls and women face. In analysing the Highway of Tears case, I will make use of the following concepts in order to illustrate the relationship: colonialism, indigenous …show more content…
Kitossa further explores the subject of intersectionality by illustrating how different social identities cross to create the oppression faced by indigenous women along the highway of tears. This case provides a concrete example of the hurdles that originate from colonialism and systemic injustices, as well as the issues that put indigenous women safety and well-being at risk. Through this we will address the concerns of Monchalin and Kitrossa and go beyond the narrow interests that colonial problems are just indigenous people's problems. We will recognize its far reaching consequences and the need for systemic change in addressing the intersecting forms of oppression in achieving justice for indigenous people. Theoretical Discussion In looking at this case through a theoretical lens, there are many concepts that allow us to understand the complex relationship between colonialism, systemic injustice and the vulnerabilities of indigenous women. Indigenous people have seen first-hand the harm of the original theory of colonization, which states how new societies displace and dispose of indigenous groups along with the territories and cultures of these …show more content…
These unfortunate homicides on the highway of tears highlight the ongoing injustices that Indigenous people are faced with and the pressing requirement for actions to fix the systemic problems contributing to their still having to bear the vulnerability. There is more room to work but I think at this point we are going in the right direction and therefore we should continue the efforts, said NDP MP Leah Gazan, after the progress made on the issue. Gazan's feeling denotes the need for additional effort being made to eradicate the root cause of the problems, making the Indigenous individuals within the highway more
Eden Robinson’s short story “Terminal Avenue” presents readers with the dystopian near-future of Canada where Indigenous people are subjugated and placed under heavy surveillance. The story’s narrator, Wil, is a young Aboriginal man who struggles with his own inner-turmoil after the suicide of his father and his brother’s subsequent decision to join the ranks of the Peace Officers responsible for “adjusting” the First Nations people. Though “Terminal Avenue” takes place in Vancouver there are clear parallels drawn between the Peace Officers of Robinson’s imagination and the Canadian military sent to enforce the peace during the stand-off at Oka, Quebec in 1990. In writing “Terminal Avenue” Robinson addresses the armed conflict and proposes
Her book focuses on the myriads of issues and struggles that Indigenous men and women have faced and will continue to face because of colonialism. During her speech, Palmater addressed the grave effects of the cultural assimilation that permeated in Indigenous communities, particularly the Indian Residential School System and the Indian Act, which has been extensively discussed in both lectures and readings. Such policies were created by European settlers to institutionalize colonialism and maintain the social and cultural hierarchy that established Aboriginals as the inferior group. Palmater also discussed that according to news reports, an Aboriginal baby from Manitoba is taken away every single day by the government and is put in social care (CTVNews.ca Staff, 2015). This echoes Andrea Smith’s argument in “Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy: Rethinking Women of Color Organizing” that colonialism continues to affect Aboriginals through genocide (2006, p. 68). Although such actions by the government are not physical acts of genocide, where 90% of Aboriginal population was annihilated, it is this modern day cultural assimilation that succeeded the Indigenous Residential School System and the Indian Act embodies colonialism and genocide (Larkin, November 4,
A non-guilty verdict in the murder trial of Bradley Barton accused of killing Cree mother of three Cindy Gladue who bled to death from an eleven centimetre internal laceration argues that the wound was the result of rough sex. Gladue known in Edmonton as a sex worker spent two night with Barton in an Edmonton hotel room in June 2011. This essay will argue the appeal that was warranted through looking firstly at feminist analyses of sexual assault and legal consent, secondly, the contexts of intersectional power relations/ interlocking oppressions such as Gladue being a women from a Cree nationality who works as a sex worker, thirdly the problematic notion of Gladue being the bearer
In the film Unseen Tears, Native American families express the impact they still feel from their elders being forced into the Southern Ontario’s Mohawk Institute and the New York’s Thomas Indian School. Survivors of the boarding schools speak of their traumatic experiences of being removed from their families, being abused, and experiencing constant attack on their language and culture.
The Highway of Tears is a stretch of pavement that runs through central British Columbia. This road has caused many devastating moments in the 19-20th century. There has been many first nation and metis women murdered or gone missing along this highway. this essay will be explaining why this highway is so devastating to first nations and metis.
In a forthright manner, Yasmin Jiwani and Mary Lyn Young examine the "discursive practices used by the news media" (897) in relationship to the missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) in Canada. Opening their argument, the authors outline their mode of discussion by stating that their paper will look through a feminist lens at the radicalized and sexualized violence that has become nothing short of an epidemic. By specifically focusing their attention towards to MMIW, Jiwani and Young structure their investigation in a documentary-style discussion, which reveals the ideological and systemic racism and sexualisation embedded within North American culture and media towards Aboriginal women. Their mode of appeal explicitly lays out, in a
The topic for our research paper is oppression against women in the Indian Act. Discrimination against Aboriginal people has been a key issue for many years; however society generally skims the surface of this act and tends to give lip service to it without acknowledging the deeper issue of how these oppressions come with it. In the beginning of our research we quickly made a parallel between the oppression of Aboriginal women and the injustices they face and the breakdown in Aboriginal families and communities. As future social workers working from an anti-oppressive practice perspective the proposed research will help acquire the knowledge in building transformative politicized social work. Our team feels that by focusing on the female gender and how these women throughout history have been oppressed we will be able to perform our roles as social workers from a truly empathetic position; thus our future work with all aboriginal people will be more effective.
Feminism and Indigenous women activism is two separate topics although they sound very similar. In indigenous women’s eyes feminism is bashing men, although Indigenous women respect their men and do not want to be a part of a women’s culture who bring their men down. Feminism is defined as “The advocacy of women 's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.” In theory feminism sounds delightful despite the approaches most feminists use such as wrong-full speaking of the opposite gender. Supposedly, feminism is not needed as a result of Indigenous women being treated with respect prior to colonization. Thus, any Native woman who calls herself a feminist is often condemned as being “white”. This essay argues that Indigenous women may
Despite the decreasing inequalities between men and women in both private and public spheres, aboriginal women continue to be oppressed and discriminated against in both. Aboriginal people in Canada are the indigenous group of people that were residing in Canada prior to the European colonization. The term First Nations, Indian and indigenous are used interchangeably when referring to aboriginal people. Prior to the colonization, aboriginal communities used to be matrilineal and the power between men and women were equally balanced. When the European came in contact with the aboriginal, there came a shift in gender role and power control leading towards discrimination against the women. As a consequence of the colonization, the aboriginal women are a dominant group that are constantly subordinated and ignored by the government system of Canada. Thus today, aboriginal women experiences double jeopardy as they belong to more than one disadvantaged group i.e. being women and belonging to aboriginal group. In contemporary world, there are not much of a difference between Aboriginal people and the other minority groups as they face the similar challenges such as gender discrimination, victimization, and experiences injustice towards them. Although aboriginal people are not considered as visible minorities, this population continues to struggle for their existence like any other visible minorities group. Although both aboriginal men and women are being discriminated in our society, the women tends to experience more discrimination in public and private sphere and are constantly the targeted for violence, abuse and are victimized. In addition, many of the problems and violence faced by aborigin...
...tely acknowledging missing/murdered Aboriginal women. For example, the infamous Pickton murders emphasize the extremity taken by local police forces to mask the violence and exclusion that Aboriginal women have faced. In this case, the perpetrator was the notorious Robert Pickton who became a global figure in mass media as the most atrocious serial killer in Canadian history. Jiwani and Young (2006) identify that when the bodies were discovered on the Pickton farm, many of Aboriginal descent, newspapers and journals were empathetic and seized the chance to illustrate the atrocity and horror of the crime. Yet, altogether the media failed to take advantage of any “opportunities for re-inscribing Aboriginality and relating these women’s experiences of alienation and abuse to systemic issues such as intergenerational trauma and residential schools” (Jiwani & Young 910).
Thesis Statement: Given the struggles aboriginals have had to face in Canada, the Canadian government should take action to solve the hundreds of cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women, as it will strengthen the relations between aboriginals and Canadians.
According to Smith, sexual violence “is not simply a tool of patriarchy, but also a tool of colonialism and racism” (Smith 2005, 8). As a result, women are being forced to suffer abuse, which damages their identity. Because of colonialism, Native women often find themselves forced into silence around sexual and domestic violence in their communities. By staying silent about sexual and domestic violence, Native communities are “able to maintain a united front against racism” (Smith 2005, 1). Accordingly, Native women are constantly being marginalized in patriarchal discourses regarding racism, colonialism, and white supremacy discourses. Historically, it is mentioned that sexism is the inability of both patriarchy and white supremacy discourses,
Similar to other marginalized groups affected by colonialism due to the government in power, the Indigenous peoples of Canada have struggled as a nation due to the unequal treatment they have encountered in the past. The governing bodies that control these Indigenous communities have continued to have colonialistic tendencies that attempt to put the ‘white man’s’ needs before the Indigenous peoples.
As a result, individuals like Jonny often face a struggle between enduring the consequences of colonial oppression while attempting to assert and express their authentic selves within their communities. In summary, colonial violence imposed heteronormative standards on Indigenous communities, erasing diverse gender identities and sexual
In Canada there are certain regions that are populated with Aboriginal people. Within those communities there is a consistent problem that has become a concern that needs to be handled. Missing and murdered Aboriginal women is continually seen in the news and talked about in politics. The issue is trying to be dealt with along with many options on how to reduce murders of Aboriginal women. Recently the case of Karina Wolfe has resurfaced 5 years later due to the fact a man has been named the killer and charged for her murder.