Tkomarniski

Ongoing effects of Colonialism in Canada

Colonialism in Current times

Colonialism is defined by its practice of domination which includes the subjugation of one people, the colonizers over another, the colonized. The distinction of settler colonialism is its goal of replacing the people already living there. Through colonization Canada's Indigenous people have been subject to the destruction against their culture and traditions through assimilation and force. It can be argued that Colonialism and its effects are still ongoing when looking at past events.

Long-term effects of Residential Schools

With the last Residential School closing in 1996 it is a recent event for many in the Indigenous community who were either directly or indirectly affected by it. The attendance of those at Residential schools proved to have a significant impact on the health of the indigenous population with long lasting effects including intergenerational trauma. The state of both mental and physical wellbeing of the Indigenous people in Canada are frequently identified to be negatively impacted due to the experience of residential schools. For First Nations as well as metis and Inuit there were direct links to physical outcomes being poorer, with increased rates of disease, effects on emotional and mental health. These effects leading to things such as depression, suicidal behaviors, addiction, and substance misuse.

Residential Schools in Canada fall under the category of a historical trauma event as defined by three distinguishing characteristics:

1. The event was widespread among a specific group or population, with many group members being affected
2. The event was perpetrated by outgroup members with purposeful and often destructive intent;
3. The event generated high levels of collective distress in the victimized group.

For the Indigenous population in Canada, a significant health determinant is an attendance at a Residential school. This direct effect remains significant even when considering the effects of other factors such as adversities in community, demographic characteristics, and socioeconomic status. Several generations of Indigenous people were subject to residential schools. When examining the effects if an individual had more than one generation in their family who had attended residential school the poorer the psychological health of the next generation.

Forced Sterilization of Indigenous people

Forced sterilization is defined as the removal of a person's reproductive organs either through force or coercion and is a human rights violation. Canada has had a history of sterilization which has disproportionately affected Indigenous women. The interference in Indigenous peoples reproductive lives were justified using the ideology of Eugenics. The sterilization act in Canada was repealed in 1972 but since then sterilizations of Indigenous people have continued.

In 2017, Saskatchewan had a case in which 60 Indigenous women sued the provincial government reporting that they had been forced to agree to sterilization before being allowed to see their newborn babies. Reports are still incoming of other Indigenous women coming forward about forced sterilization leading to a proposed class-action lawsuit headed by Saskatchewan-based lawyer Alisa Lombard who is a partner of Semaganis Worme Lombard.

As of now the total numbers of those affected by sterilization are unknown due to both a lack of data available publicly as well as a lack of investigation into it. Previous inquiries into this have been conducted by the government but have been criticised for its failure to go into depth on each person's specific experiences leaving many to not be counted.

UNDRIP

In 2007 the United Nations passed a non-legally binding resolution of The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people. Though originally Canada had voted against this they removed their status as objector in May 2016, nearly a decade after UNDRIP had been passed. In 2019, British Columbia was the first Province to implement UNDRIP into its legislation through its BC Declaration on Rights of Indigenous peoples act.

Social Movements

Throughout the history of colonialism of Indigenous people, they have continued to show resilience through grassroot movements. The most well known being Idle No More which was founded in December 2019 in reaction to the Harper government's alleged Indigenous treaty right abuses. An ongoing movement in direct relation to MMIWG is Walking with Our Sisters. It is a commemorative art installation using vamps, the tops of Moccasins, as a way to represent the unfinished lives of the Indigenous women who are murdered or missing.

Mi'kmaq fishing rights

As legal documents treaties outline the rights of the Indigenous groups that they apply to. Events such as the Mi'kmaq fisheries being under attack demonstrate that these rights are still contested. Regarding this event it had already been established that the Halifax treaty outlines that the right to fish is protected for the Mi'kmaq. During the case of R v Marshall and its two resulting decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada. The first decision came that the treaties covered the right to fish and sell without regulation being imposed. After backlash from non-Indigenous people however, the second decision elaborated that regulation could be enforced in certain circumstances. Due to the language of this ruling being open to interpretation it can be considered that this is a conflict that has been brewing since the signing of the treaty.

Ongoing violence against Indigenous people

In January 2017, 34-year-old Barbara Kenter, an Indigenous woman, was struck by a trailer hitch resulting in her death five months after the incident. Brayden Bushby, aged 21, who has admitted to throwing the trailer hitch is currently on trial which began on November, 2, 2020. Bushby was originally charged with second-degree murder but that was changed to manslaughter and aggravated assault. Outrage from the change in charges has sparked onto twitter under the hashtag of #justiceforbarbarakentner Many view these events as an ongoing failure of the justice system towards Indigenous people especially after events such as the Shooting of Colten Boushie.