""Na wi aki" (Middle Ground)
TOGETHER
Education
"Gaa nah wayn ji gay win" (History)
Today Indigenous Communities face inequality, ignorance and insensitivities in our society. From the occupation to today there are still issues facing the indigenous communities. Racism is prevalent in our society not only to people of African descent but also to our indigenous landlords. We need to stand with our indigenous peoples so that all citizens can thrive.
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Racism
In todays world the indigenous peoples face racism from our medical system, banking system as well as in everyday life. They are judged without merit and made to appear less than extraordinary.
They are paid less, respected less and supported less. This must change.
"sohkâpiskâw" (Strong in cree)
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Inequality
Long ago after the occupation, indigenous peoples were rounded up and sent to segregated locations. There they received less support, funding and concern. This has led to great suffering in some places as they struggle to build lives in our society. The time has come to right this wrong.
"Í:kete" (Mowhawk for I'm Standing)
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Underrepresentation
Indigenous people are underrepresented in Government, media and in everyday life. Their lives and struggles are relatively unknown to the public at large. Failure to understand their stories and struggles only compounds the issues faced by our communities. Its time to act.
"ÅšELEJ" (Salish word for world)
RACISM
A history of prejudice
Healthcare -
Eighty-four per cent of Indigenous people who participated in a news study reported experiencing some form of discrimination in health care. More than half of the Indigenous health-care workers who participated said they had personally experienced racism at work.
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Education -
Students who experience racism are less likely to attend and skip classes to protect themselves from the diatribes of other students. This overall, will mean a inferior education and less opportunities available to them as they age.
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Media -
In the media today, many people of color are underrepresented when it comes to employment opportunities as well as coverage when they go missing. A study showed that in general, the medias coverage of white missing persons is far more expansive than people of color.
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Policing -
In 2020, Winnipeg police killed three Indigenous people in a 10-day period. One of them was 16-year-old Eishia Hudson. As with other people of color each time they face an officer there is a possibility that they might die at the hand of an officer. In an effort to combat this issue some reserves have decided to create their own police forces to ensure their rights are upheld.
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Employment -
Due to a number of factors including lack of education options and opportunities there are barrier for indigenous finding employment. These factors including, housing, transportation, literacy, childcare and racism endured while working. This all curtails the options available for First Nations Peoples and limits their futures by proxy.
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Housing -
Women in general face issues with finding affordable housing and indigenous women face further issues in finding and maintaining a safe space to live. The intersectionality of their existence means they are not only subject to sexism, violence but also racism. All these factors contribute to bleak conditions for indigenous peoples.
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Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final report.
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Inequality is defined as "difference in size, degree, circumstances, etc.; lack of equality". equality is the state of being equal to others. The western world was founded on the principle that "All people are created equal and deserve equal protections under the law".
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This fundamental tenant of our society is sadly not shared by all people and therefore our society and citizenship suffer for it. Its time to ensure that equality is prevalent for all peoples under our flags to ensure that we live and breath the teachings of our ancestors.
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Healthcare -
Many indigenous face health inequalities that not only shorten their life expectancy but also affect their daily quality of life. Each time an inequality or injustice presents itself in the medical profession we degrade that profession for all people including the members of that profession. The segregation of indigenous peoples into reserves has directly affected the health of the indigenous nations and contributed overall to the problems faced by indigenous peoples. Indigenous females appear to experience the worst health outcomes as opposed to their male counterparts. Not only do the indigenous women face racism and inequality they also face sexism which compounds the problems faced by indigenous women.
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Key Health Inequalities in Canada: A National Portrait – Executive Summary (Click to read)
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Education -
Education inequality is a problem for indigenous peoples as First Nations people have a 14.3% lower employment ratio than the rest of the population. This overall will lead to inequality of opportunity and affect their lives and that of their decedents. Food inequality is also directly linked to learning and students that go to school hungry are less likely to succeed. When tackling education inequality we must also look at food scarcity.
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What matters in Indigenous education: Implementing a Vision Committed to Holism, Diversity and Engagement.
(Click to read report)
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Media -
Underrepresentation and inequality in the media prevents indigenous peoples from achieving equality. Representation matter, it matters especially for those people of color often underrepresented in media. Things like indigenous stories, writers, books and commercials help to edify the populace on indigenous issues and struggles. Without proper representation racism and inequality will always return to our society. Once we know their stories and challenges we will finally be able to not just look at them but see them.
"Ánííníshní" (I have regard for you in Navajo)
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Policing -
As we know inequality for people of color exists in our judicial system. Indigenous peoples are often overrepresented in the criminal justice system alongside other people of color. They are more likely to be victims of crime and interact with police. They are also oftentimes victims of discrimination in relation to the judicial system and this must change.
Access to justice in the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples (Click to read)
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Employment -
Given the lack of the equality in the above systems employment inequality has a direct correlation to employment. Lack of education and representation affects their future prospects. They also face discrimination at work which compounds the other factors faced by indigenous peoples such as food insecurity and health related concerns.
EMPLOYMENT AS A SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF FIRST NATIONS, INUIT AND MÉTIS HEALTH (Click to read)
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Housing -
Housing and lack of affordable places to live can have a spiraling effect on the equality experienced by indigenous peoples. Without access to affordable and safe housing indigenous peoples will face greater food insecurity, medical inequalities as well as social discrimination.
Report on Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing (Click to read)
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INEQUALITY
Under-representation
Representation Matters. Being able to recognize similar stories as your own can help expand what we thought possible both about ourselves and our future in our collective society. Without representation, inequality and ignorance runs rampant. Its time to ensure we are counted as equals in healthcare, policing, education and media to ensure everyone is heard.
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Healthcare -
Less than 1% of doctors identify as Aboriginal is Canada. Without aboriginal doctors, nurses and orderlies we cannot hope to have proper representation in the medical industry as patient or doctor. We need to ensure that these fields represent the diversity of our society so that more people can dream of being a doctor or nurse. It is also important for Aboriginal peoples to identify with a fellow Aboriginal doctor as they would be able to better emphasize with Aboriginal peoples.
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Education -
According to the 2016 census, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People were represented in teaching with the following statistics: 2.36% of all preschool teachers, 2.13% of all primary school teachers, 1.75% of all secondary teachers and 1.32% of all special school teachers. It is important for workplace and educational representation to ensure that aboriginal stories are told and that the contributions of indigenous peoples are understood so that we can craft empathy and understanding in the next generation of our peoples.
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Media -
For years the Indigenous peoples have been misrepresented in the media. Often portrayed as inferior to other peoples in Tv, film, radio and in print. These stereotypes are not only hurtful, they perpetuate the inequalities that are faced by aboriginal peoples as they struggle to build lives. Each time misinformation is viewed it casts a ripple affect for generations as people succumb to these prejudices born from media misrepresentation. Furthermore, a lack of true indigenous stories by indigenous writers, actors, directors and media people often create ignorance in relation to the reality of the indigenous struggle. It is important that the Indigenous peoples get fair and equal representation in the media or these issues will continue.
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Policing -
For years, indigenous peoples were overrepresented in the judicial system while underrepresented as officers of the law. In response to this inequality and underrepresentation, indigenous police forces were established in an effort to ensure adequate protection and self determination of indigenous peoples. Today, there are a number of indigenous police forces in service today. However, there still appears to be a disparity in relation to indigenous police officers off the reserves.
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Employment -
The 2011 National Household Survey shows an employment rate of 62.5 % among Aboriginal people of core working age (aged 25 to 64). The comparable rate for non-Aboriginal people is 75.8 %. This is a stark underrepresentation in the working world which leads to greater inequality including food insecurity, health insecurity and housing insecurity for Indigenous peoples.
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Housing -
There are many specific considerations affecting Indigenous housing including access to elder networks for support and guidance, places that allow smudging, proximity to other indigenous as well as adequate employment opportunities. These factors as well as the other inequalities indigenous peoples face lead to underrepresentation in adequate, safe and affordable housing. We need to ensure affordable housing for all peoples but must ensure that those underrepresented are considered as well.