The Effects Of Colonization On Aboriginal People

Since the colonization of Canada First Nations people have been discriminated against and assimilated into the new culture of Canada through policies created by the government. Policies created had the intentions of improving the Aboriginal people’s standard of living and increasing their opportunities. Mainly in the past hundred years in Canadian Society, policies and government implemented actions such as; Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reserve systems have resulted in extinguishing native culture, teachings, and pride. Policies towards the treatment of Aboriginal Canadians has decreased their opportunities and standard of living because of policies specified previously (Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reservation systems).

Some people disagree with the idea that the Native Americans are not solely to blame for their addiction to alcohol. When considering how a person feels about this topic, they must take into consideration the fact that it was not an issue for the Native Americans before the white settlers arrived. Their lives were much simpler, and they did not have to face this problem. Instead, they fell into deep poverty due to their inability to avoid drinking in excess. They could not keep jobs, and put an emphasis on buying liquor, rather than food. Also, the treatment that the white people reserved for the Native

A history of struggle and isolation from the rest of society has led to the deterioration of Native American cultures and customs and to their rising levels of unemployment, poverty, and crime on reservations. The United States government has had a major role in the coming about of the struggles that persist for Native Americans to this day. As crime and poverty grip the Sioux tribe, they will continue to lose their traditional culture and move farther from who they once were as a people. I will first review how European explorers introduced alcohol to Native American tribes and how this lead to a strong prevalence of alcoholism in the Sioux tribe. Next I will discuss the U.S. government’s use of forced assimilation and boarding schools led to the loss of Native American culture and customs. This led to more anger of the Sioux tribe towards the U.S. government and to outer society as a whole. Third I will analyze the living conditions and complacency felt by the Sioux tribe as seen through the photographs and interviews conducted by journalist Aaron Huey. Lastly, I will assess the efforts taken by the elders and leaders of the Sioux tribe to combat the prevalence of crime on their reservation. The people of the United States and their government have caused many struggles for the Sioux tribe since their existence in America. For these problems to be resolved, the United States needs to take an active role in acknknwoldeging the problem and allocating the necessary resources

The deposition of their land, involvement in violent conflict and exposure to new diseases, resulted in the death of a vast number of Indigenous people. For the small population that did survive through this period of time, their lives were irreversibly changed, forever

38). Thus, in addition to the pain of indigenous dispossession from their land and family, the felt stigma from racism further catalyses emotional disorders in the Indigenous population. As historically alcohol and tobacco were exchange currency for sex and labour, its frequent consumption and soothing effect became a cure for Indigenous pain resulting in 52% Indigenous population smoking tobacco and consuming alcohol that is harmful to their health at twice the percentage of the non-Indigenous population (AIHW, 2007, p. 3). Since tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption are major risk factors to infant mortality, the pertinent negative effects of marginalisation as a product of colonialism is highlighted.

However, in order to understand the culture of the Native Americans, it is important to study each group distinctly from the other. While the history of the Native Americans is beyond the scope of this paper, it suffices to note that the enduring cultural practices of the Native Americans have had an impact on the abuse of substances such as Alcohol (Moore Gay, 2010). The prevalence of alcohol among this cultural group has been influenced in two ways: by a misperception, social rules, norms and customs, and traditions that have normalized drinking among certain tribes.

Human rights are the rights of humans, regardless of nationality, gender, race, or religion. We should all have this in common as we are all part of humanity. However, Indigenous people did not always have these rights (Ag.gov.au, 2015). Aside from basic human rights, Indigenous people also have their own rights specific to their culture. Before 1967, Indigenous people had different rights in different states and the Australian federal government did not have any jurisdiction over Aboriginal affairs until Australia’s constitution was amended for this purpose in 1967 (Moadoph.gov.au, 2015). Between 1900 and the present time, there have been significant changes to the rights of Indigenous Australians. The effects of the European Settlement on the Indigenous people of Australia have been devastating. When white people began arriving in Australia, the Aboriginal people believed them to be ghosts of ancestor spirits. However, once they realised the settlers were invading their land, the Aborigines became, understandably, hostile (Slater & Parish, 1999, pp.8-11). In 1788, the total Indigenous population was believed to be between 750,000 and one million. By 1888, the Indigenous population was reduced to around 80,000 Australia wide (Korff, 2014). The three main reasons for this dramatic decline were the introduction of new diseases, violent conflicts with the colonisers, and settlers acquiring Indigenous land (Digital, 2015). In 1848, the Board of National Education stated that it

The impact of colonization on First Nations peoples in Canada is unsurpassable, regarding every aspect of Aboriginal life and well-being. Throughout Canadian history, the government has been aiming to assimilate and annihilate Aboriginal people by way of racist policies, ethnocentric institutions, discriminatory laws and destructive capitalist behaviours. Because of this, Aboriginal people have suffered many losses, both physically and culturally. One of the main perpetrators of enacting this loss is the education system. The education system in Canada has and continues to threaten the relationship First Nations peoples have with the land. The connection First Nations peoples have with the land is crucial to their cultures, traditions, ceremonies and beliefs. Colonization and colonialism jeopardize this relationship and that is what this essay will address.

Due to colonisation the Aboriginal languages declined, from over 250 different languages spoken, today around 6Loss of land and culture affected Aboriginal people physically, mentally and spiritually. Losing the connection to their land also meant the loss of their hunter-gatherer lifestyle making traditional ceremonies meaningless. When tribes split up people began to lose their purpose and identity (Promote Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait islander cultural safety, 0 remain. Without language the connection to ancestors is also lost, impacting on the health and well-being of Aboriginal people

Immigration settlement and spatial assimilation lead to a diversity of segregation patterns among many groups throughout U.S. history. Dating back to the 1900’s as much as 90% of Blacks lived in southern states. Douglas Massey stated in his Residential Segregation essay that these southern states contained only 25% of whites, most Blacks lived in rural counties that yielded a large portion of segregated and racially isolated minorities. Shifting ahead to today, racially segregated neighborhoods share a common theme, many Blacks cluster into neighborhoods that are in and around urban areas that seem to be close to the city center. Massey explains that the concentration of space that Black people occupy in these areas is increasingly becoming confined into smaller, compacted areas. I feel Massey is explaining that Blacks living in these “areas” are essentially getting pushed out in an effort to re-build or “cleanup” the areas. Robert Bullard explained in the section Zoning and Land Use, which Blacks are frequently the victims of unregulated growth, and land use decisions are powered by dominant society regardless of the circumstances on these neighborhoods. These neighborhoods that are occupied by minorities are commonly known as Ghetto’s. In order to get a better understanding of this term, I researched it online. The definition of ghetto on Dictionary.com is a “section of a city, especially a thickly populated slum area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or

After the strangling claws of the Indian Act were felt, the Canadian government began to issue more laws that intruded with the aboriginals lives and took away their rights. The first of these was the “Potlatch Law” (Hanson, n.p.). It banned potlatches and other ceremonies of the aboriginals, all for the purpose of forcing the

Colonialism has contributed to multiple issues in the lives of Aboriginal people including inadequate housing and clean resources on Aboriginal reserves. One significant outcome is health problems reserve residents face, including a lower life expectancy and higher mortality rate. “For Aboriginal men on reserve, life expectancy is 67.1 years, while off reserve it’s 72. 1, compared to 76 years for the general population of Canada. For Aboriginal women, it is 73.1, 77.7, and 81.5 respectively” (Frohlich et al. 134). Additionally, more than 50% of off reserve Aboriginal people have at least one chronic condition (Frohlich et al.). Reserves stem from the colonial era, where Aboriginal people were displaced by the government and are a continuous symbol of oppression.

Throughout history, colonization has affected many societies. European colonization and colonialism greatly impacted the Canadian First Nations’ style of living. Alfred (2009) described European colonization as “the invasion and eventual domination of North America by European empires” (p. 45). However, colonialism is more complex. Alfred (2009) inferred that European colonialism was “the development of institutions and policies by European imperial and Euroamerican settler governments towards Indigenous peoples” (p. 45). This term describes the imbalanced relationship between the Europeans and the Indigenous. This relationship created long-lasting impacts for the Indigenous and created implications for social workers who help Indigenous peoples today. European contact and colonialism created both immediate and long-term impacts on Canadian First Nation peoples. The Europeans introduced commercial trade, creating capitalism and transforming the Indigenous political economy. The European imposition of capitalism forced Indigenous peoples to shift away from their traditional subsistence economy, creating four immediate effects: first, a disruption of their traditional pattern of economic life and a creation of economic dependency; second, a loss of their self-sufficient lifestyle; third, damage to the natural environment and animals; and fourth, poverty. European colonization impacted and continues to affect many aspects of Indigenous life.

Throughout history, women have been the victims of oppression in society. In specific, Aboriginal women have suffered through racism, sexism, domestic violence, and over-representation. Through the implementation of the Indian Act, Aboriginal women have been forced to abandon their culture in order to assimilate into Canadian society. The effects of colonization has changed the way Aboriginal women are treated; emotionally and physically, and therefore are the source of oppression today.

The word "aboriginal" means "the first" or "earliest known". The word was first used in Italy and Greece to describe the people who lived there, natives or the old inhabitants.