Racial Discrimination against Indigenous People Essay Example

Introduction. 

From the Lokato tribe in America to the Maori peoples of New Zealand, all the way to the Torres Strait Islanders of Australia, Indigenous people are known to be the longest-lasting race on earth, occupying continents for more than 75,000 years. According to the OHCHR, Aboriginal people account for 370 million people worldwide. With great ranges of tribal cultures and traditions, it is no doubt that indigenous groups have a lot to offer when it comes to diversification. 

Unfortunately, although accounting for only 5% of the population, Indigenous groups are known for encountering great amounts of racial inequity. Aboriginal groups have struggled limitations and inequalities since the European settlements in 1788, and since then, the circumstances have not been looking vivacious for the Indigenous youth. Hence, this report will accommodate the purpose of looking deeper into the discriminations First Nation Natives have struggled through. From Governmental prejudice to Incarceration, poverty, harassment, homicide, and blatant racial fueled violence.  

Governmental Relations and discrimination 

In any utopian country, the government should be the citizen’s right hand. Governments shall be there to make sure that all citizens are protected and equal under a fair set of laws. Yet, that utopian government does not exist, especially in the eyes of Indigenous groups. According to the UN, “Generational effects of colonization, social-economic issues, poverty, stigma, and the justice system has great effects on Native people.” Without a doubt, the Indigenous community faces many challenges when it comes to relations with government and authority, and as the OHCHR claimed, “Indigenous peoples face many challenges and their human rights are frequently violated: they are denied control over their own development based on their own values, needs, and priorities; they are politically underrepresented and lack access to social and other services. They are often marginalized when it comes to projects affecting their lands and have been the victims of forced displacement as a result of ventures such as the exploitation of natural resources.” As previously stated, Aboriginal communities have had a strong history and lack of government representation since the European settlements. With a clear lack of communication and political representation, Indigenous communities had to fight in complete silence for decades. Clear examples of such misery can be examined in the recent events of the oil pump line building incident in  Canada, where several Canadian officials agreed to build oil-pump lines on native lands despite the clear disapproval from indigenous communities. This indicates the clear lack of communication between government officials and Indigenous groups. 

Without a doubt, Indigenous people are one of the most targeted minorities by the federal government, the same governments that are living and profiting off of indigenous lands. In other words, as Mclvor said in the Guardian when talking about native communities, “We’re the only group in Canada that has got legislated discrimination still active, alive, and well.” 

Consequently, due to the lack of cooperation and trust, indigenous individuals have also reported that their issues and struggles are not taken seriously by the general public. As Shelagh Day said in the Guardian, “we are getting words-nice words, but no action”. Hence, it is undeniable and extremely frustrating that those issues are not taken seriously. To support this, the native women wilderness group (an indigenous group founded to call awareness to the missing and murdered women) has claimed, “The US department of justice only reported 116 cases out of 5,712” they also claimed that only 166 of those women received justice. In addition, the press progress institute also supports such claims by stating, “very few cases of these crimes get reported to the Canadian police department, and they’re not taken seriously.” It is absolutely heartbreaking to see Indigenous families and individuals suffer at such great costs without being heard, and instead just silenced or brushed under the rug. Not just that, but it is also much more heartbreaking to understand that such experiences and incidents have been happening for decades.  

As it has been noted, The indigenous community, to this day, is still affected by the post-colonial era, they are still affected by the laws we haven’t regulated nor have we abolished, they are still affected by their colonizers, they are still a huge target to the government’s eyes. Not only are those discriminatory laws and governments harming indigenous youth, but those governments have also put an oath to protect and serve their citizens despite race or culture.  

Incarceration and Police relations

Not only do Indigenous communities have a difficult time with their government officials, but indigenous youth suffer tremendously more challenges when it comes to police relations. As briefly stated before, many indigenous individuals complain about how their struggles are not taken seriously by police authorities. As Bernadett, the official leader and creator of the “drag the red” group claimed when talking about the police's response to her sisters missing case “They didn't take it seriously, they didn't investigate her case for 10 days” proving what many indigenous people feel when contacting the police or authority. Multiple statistics have also shown the clear abandonment portrayed by police departments when it comes to aboriginal cases. Not only such, but multiple claims have been made by indigenous individuals reporting police brutality and over-policing within their neighborhoods, and as predicted, those claims are not taken earnestly either. 

Speaking of police relations, a great struggle many native families go through is incarceration. According to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, “aboriginals make up about 19 percent of federal prisoners, while their number among the general population is only about 3 percent.” they then followed by including the following statistic, “ the rate of natives in Canadian prisons climbed up 22% between 1996 and 2004. While the general prison population dropped by 12%.”  Furthermore, such statistics can be often misleading, many claiming that indigenous youth are more prone to crime and drugs, yet as the UN claimed, “Higher crime rates attributed to particular groups, especially petty street crimes and offenses related to drugs and prostitution, were often a sign of social exclusion and poverty” In addition, many indigenous youths lose father/mother figures due to incarceration. The UN has put claims stating that “Indigenous women made up 30 percent of female incarcerated prisoners”. Think about all the indigenous kids who lost their families due to such confinement. Hence, incarcerated family members often lead their families to a cycle of extreme cases of poverty which leads indigenous youth to drugs and street crimes. Following that up, the UN also mentioned, that “Unintentional racial profiling causes accusations of crime in indigenous communities.” supporting that claim, The UN also issues a statistic claiming, “ Between 1997 and 2000, they were 10 times more likely to be accused of homicide than non-Aboriginal people.” 

To conclude, Incarceration of Indigenous individuals is not directly related to crime and drugs but is often a result of social exclusion, poverty, lack of resources, over-policing, and racial profiling. This leads indigenous youth to develop such untrustworthy bonds with local policing systems, which often leads to terror and a lack of security in indigenous neighborhoods. It’s an overwhelming cycle, yet it is treatable. Till then, indigenous youth will continue to live in a cycle of fright, and a challenging relationship with the policing officials. 

Poverty 

As mentioned before, one of the reasons for over-incarceration within indigenous communities is poverty. With a clear lack of social security, resources, and opportunities, many indigenous families are often led to extreme poverty cases. As the OHCHR claims, “Although representing 5% of the world’s population, Indigenous people account for 15% of the world’s poorest people”.  The Australian Parliament also gave out statistics showing that “About 30 percent of Indigenous households are in income poverty, which indicates that over 120,000 Indigenous people are living below the poverty line.”  Consequentially, poverty has led indigenous communities to moribund. As the OACAS puts in clear words, “Barriers to educational achievements, such as lower-quality teaching, lack of culturally relevant curriculum, and geographical and financial obstacles to attending school also negatively impact employment outcomes. Stereotypes, bias, and discrimination also present barriers and can prevent Indigenous people from excelling at school, being hired or promoted, and finding housing.” these are all examples of outcomes of poverty within indigenous societies. It is absolutely unbearable to watch aboriginals struggle in their own lands, and have their own resources utilized by their colonizers, the same colonizers who pass laws that push back indigenous communities. As the OACAS also states, “The Indian Act which reinforced economic dependency by making it difficult for Indigenous people to participate in the non-Indigenous economy or profit off of activities such as farming”. 

Surprisingly, after all the welfare and promised benefits given by the government, Natives still experience a strong and indisputable lack of social services. This goes on to show the distinct abandonment and lack of custody presented by governments towards their Indigenous population.