‘It’s one thing to be an Indian, but it’s another to be an Indian woman’ (Brunen 2000)
INTRODUCTION
Aboriginal women in Canada are considered to be the most victimized group within the nation’s society. The effects of this marginalization and victimization can be seen through low numbers of Aboriginal women attending post-secondary institutions, through the high unemployment rate of Aboriginal women and ultimately in the incredibly high percentage of Aboriginal women in the prison system within Canada. The high occurrence of Aboriginal women in prison has been investigated by numerous sources and several of those shall be examined in the following.
DISCUSSION
Just as ethnic differences have long been a popular reason for discrimination, so too has gender. Causes of marginalization faced by Aboriginal people in general are multiplied by the issues that are distinct for Aboriginal women (Brunen 2000). Cassidy, Lord, & Mandell, (1995) contend that “Aboriginal women must deal with discrimination based on gender, class, and race”. This is unlike women of the dominant white culture who may face gender and class issues, but rarely must challenge racial discrimination (Cassidy et. al 1995).
Statistics show that Aboriginal people and especially Aboriginal women are heavily over-represented in jails and prisons across the country (LaPrairie 1987). For a number of years it has been apparent that “the Canadian criminal justice system has failed Aboriginal people and, more specifically, Aboriginal women”(Sparling 1999). Should the concept of women’s history within the judicial system be one of disregard and negligence, “it should come as no surprise that the history of Aboriginal women’s imprisonment is an exaggeration of the same” (Sparling 1999).
Compared to other offenders, Aboriginal women are charged more frequently for certain types of crimes. Statistics show that Aboriginal women are being incarcerated for more violent crimes than are non-Aboriginal women (LaPrairie 1987).
CANADIAN HISTORY HELD ACCOUNTABLE
The many problems that face the Canadian Aboriginal woman of today can be attributed to many different factors, some of which include instances of emotional, sexual, and physical abuse beginning at a very early age at the hand of their “fathers, foster and adoptive parents, husbands, teachers, priests, social workers, and police” (EFS 1992). The following will demonstrate how the inequitable treatment of Aboriginal women has led to a number of ill-fated trends and tendencies, through a close look at several articles which delve into the cause and effect of countless years of persecution and maltreatment at the hand of a white, male-dominated society.
“Aboriginal women constitute a disadvantaged minority within the general Canadian population. Relative to non-aboriginal women and even aboriginal men, aboriginal women are marginalized members of society. They suffer from a variety of disadvantaged conditions and life experiences, including poverty, unemployment, abusive family situations, poor education, criminal victimization, and prejudice” (Johnson 1987).
An in-depth look into the history of Aboriginal people can help to explain and shed some light upon the previously-mentioned incidences. Looking back into our nation’s history, we can easily pin-point the initial cause of strife within the very livelihoods of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples – colonization by the Europeans.
“Through the well-documented processes of Christianization, subjugation, segregation, and in some cases, extermination, European colonists denied Canada’s Aboriginal peoples their history, language, culture, land, livelihood, and dignity” (Henry et. al 1995).
During the settling of Canada, many Aboriginal communities were moved off highly productive land onto marginally productive land which ultimately led to detrimental effect on the economy of countless Aboriginal communities (LaPrairie 1987). At the familial level, it is important to consider the breakdown of traditional Aboriginal roles and values, and the loss of power and the personal status experienced by Aboriginal people, especially Aboriginal men (LaPrairie 1987). Within the traditional economy, the household was the basic unit of production and consumption, where men and women maintained fairly distinct roles and skills (Usher 1980). Aboriginal people were encouraged to abandon their distinctive traditional economic activities such as hunting, in favour of trapping and barter – in order to meet the needs of the fur-trading companies (Valentine 1980). With the demise of traditional economies came profound changes in family roles, leading to inevitable conflict between Aboriginal men and women (LaPrairie 1987).
The residential school system, which took Aboriginal children out of their home community, only added to the aforementioned breakdown in traditional roles and values. “Parental values were denigrated, parental options were discounted, and children lost parental role models by being removed from their parents at a young age” (LaPrairie 1987).
Another component with contributed to the ever-mounting antagonism between Aboriginal men and women was due to the continued dependence upon the welfare system which resulted in a shift in the “provider”-status (LaPrairie 1987). Under the welfare system, women allocated a larger sum of money due to their unique relationship with children, and this factor led to a deepening sense of frustration among Aboriginal men (LaPrairie 1987). This frustration is thought to be at the root of the occurrences of aggressive behaviour of Aboriginal men towards Aboriginal women, which takes the form of rape, child sexual abuse, and wife battering.
SOCIETAL DISADVANTAGES
It is recognized that the conflict of some Aboriginal women with the law may be linked in a variety of ways to the role strain experienced by Aboriginal men (LaPraire 1987). Several ways in which this abusive environment could result in a run-in with the law include the possible retaliation of Aboriginal women against their aggressor, or perhaps the Aboriginal women may flee the abusive situation at home and migrate to an urban area where discrimination by the larger society, combined with a usually low level of skills and education, may relegate them to the ranks of the unemployed or unemployable (LaPrairie 1987).
The following three factors of education, employment and economic/income are depicted to further demonstrate the numerous disadvantages and obstacles faced by the Aboriginal woman that may, at some point, result in contact with the criminal justice system.
Education
Inadequate education reduces employment opportunities and may result in economic privation, often the precursor to conflict with the law. Research reveals that aboriginal women are “particularly disadvantaged in terms of their educational backgrounds” (Shaw et al. 1989). In their report of a survey of federally sentenced women, Shaw et al. (1989) asserted that many of the problems which bring aboriginal women into contact with the criminal justice system could have been prevented if these women had obtained higher levels of education.
Employment
Aboriginal women are noticeably disadvantaged with respect to employment. In comparison to non-aboriginal men and women, aboriginal women earn considerably less, and have much higher rates of unemployment (LaPrairie 1987). The limited employment opportunities available to aboriginal women living on reserves often result in their migration to urban cities (LaPrairie 1987). The lack of experience in an urban environment, however, coupled with poor or nonexistent support systems, often increases the aboriginal woman’s likelihood of becoming involved with alcohol/drugs and/or prostitution which may in turn lead to contact with the criminal justice system (LaPrairie 1984).
Economic/Income
There are several ways in which the disadvantaged economic status of aboriginal women results in involvement with the criminal justice system. Those who do not have money, cannot pay fines. “Native women are more likely than non-Native women to be arrested and serve time for default on payment of fines.” (LaPraire 1987).
ABORIGINAL WOMEN IN PRISON
A high occurrence of Aboriginal female suicides in custody have been documented in the past two decades, leading academics to question why this particular group displays a higher risk than other non-Aboriginal inmates. Grossman (1992) called upon several incidences in the early 1990’s, when six Aboriginal women committed suicide at Canada’s only federal Prison for Women in Kingston, Ontario. This number is considered alarmingly high when considering that the prison holds approximately 113 inmates, with one quarter of this number represented by Aboriginals (Grossman 1992).
Grossman’s (1992) article explores two perspectives on custodial suicide, which include the “deprivation theory” and the “importation theory”. The former perspective locates the cause of the suicide within the environment, and the latter is further concerned with the individual in particular.
Importation Theory
This theory suggests that certain inmates come to prison with pre-determined coping mechanisms, the very coping mechanisms in which the suicidal inmate is deficient (Grossman 1992). This theory is upheld by the simple reality that there is the existence of female inmates within the prison system who experience comparable custodial conditions to those individuals who commit suicide, yet do not do so themselves (Grossman 1992). The background experiences that are brought with the Aboriginal woman to custody must be measured, by looking past the actual criminal act and consider the socio-cultural elements of the hostile, violent, and abusive environments which surround many of these women for a good part of their lives (Grossman 1992).
Understanding their abusive backgrounds can help to put into context their histories of offending as well as their coping mechanisms in prison. In addition, their marginalized status increases the likelihood that they will come to the attention of, and be processed by, the criminal justice system (Grossmann 1992). Their socio-economic marginalization and histories of victimization contribute substantially to the difficulties encountered by aboriginal women within the carceral environment, often placing them at risk of committing suicide. This suggests that ameliorating conditions within the institution addresses only part of the problem.
Deprivation Theory
This theory advocates that institutionalization is in itself to blame for self-destructive behaviour on the inmates behalf (Grossman 1992). The argument for this perspective lies in the mindset that the inmate is “deprived” of her accustomed surroundings (Grossman 1992)
Sparling (1999) stresses how important it is to be aware of the degree with which the lives of federally sentenced women are affected by previous experiences, facilities and programming. This statement acknowledges the existence and magnitude of both of the perspectives emphasized in Grossman’s (1992) article. One inmate interviewed in Sparling’s (1999) article states,
“It’s no wonder that so many of us cut our throats, lacerate our bodies, hangout ourselves. It is no wonder that we need to identify our pain onto our physical bodies, because our whole lives have been filled with incredible pain and traumatizing experiences – psychic pain, physical pain,k spiritual pain.” (Sugar & Fox 1990)
From a variety of perspectives, the aboriginal female offender is a high risk in terms of self-injury and suicide. Numerous factors, which have been identified as contributing to self-destructive behaviour among aboriginal people in general, are clearly present in a majority of aboriginal people in general, are clearly present in a majority of aboriginal female inmates (Grossmann 1992).
Alternatives?
Sparling’s (1999) article suggests that a distinction must be made between the needs of Aboriginal women and those needs of non-Aboriginal women – “Aboriginal women have their own method of healing.” The majority of healing experiences felt by Aboriginal women have been found outside the conventional prison order, in the form of bonds formed with other women in prison, and through support networks consisting of individuals outside the prison system (Sugar & Fox 1990).
The Task Force on Federally Sentenced Women was established in 1989 to research and investigate the prison-environment in Canada, in the effort to change the circumstances of federally sentenced women. The Task Force recommended the establishment of five regional facilities, an Aboriginal healing lodge, and additional community release programs. The healing lodge would look to the knowledge of Aboriginal women for structure and programming
CONSLUSION
Statistics show that the incidence of Aboriginal women in Canada’s judicial system is staggeringly high relative to non-Aboriginal women. In consideration of Aboriginal peoples’ oppressed and demoralized past there is no doubt that there will be consequences and after-effects. This is especially the case for Aboriginal women, as they have been further victimized, resulting in the documented extreme numbers of said women coming into contact with the judicial system. The prison system has been another unsettling situation for Aboriginal women to face, as is shown through the high suicide rate in custody.
LITERATURE CITED
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Brunen, Lynda. 2000. Aboriginal Women With Addictions: A Discussion Paper on Triple Marginalization in the Health Care System. http://www.unbc.ca/northernfire/Addictions.PDF. May 27th, 2003.
Cassidy, Barbara., Lord, Robina. & Mandell, Nancy. 1995. Silenced and
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Sugar, F. and L. Fox. 1990. Nitsum peyako seht waw in Iskewewak: breaking chains. Can.j.Wom.&Law. 3:465-482 in: Sparling, L. 1999. A suitable place: positive change for federally sentenced Aboriginal women in Canada. Can.WomStud.19:116-121
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