MMIW final report raises concerns about Gladue principle intended to support Indigenous offenders - "The Gladue principle features in the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls... Commissioner Qajaq Robinson on Monday said that in some instances, the Gladue principle is “resulting in violence against Indigenous women” by affording lighter sentences to those who hurt them. The report calls on governments to assess the impacts of the Gladue principle on “sentencing equity” in such cases. The recommendation is one of several that seem to call for harsher punishments for those who commit violence against Indigenous women, despite the report itself providing little context to support them. By way of explanation, one line in a summary of findings says there is a “commonly held belief that Indigenous offenders receive more lenient sentences” because of the Gladue principle. “I use the language families use,” Robinson said on Monday. “You get out of jail free. You get a slap on the wrist. The severity of the violence, the reality and the experiences of the Indigenous women in these cases of violence isn’t part of the equation.”"
This is brilliant. They then blame racism for indigenous women dying and get even more free stuff and preferential treatment
The Gladue principle literally calls for more lenient sentences (by aiming to combat indigenous overrepresentation), so calling this a "belief" is interesting
The Impact of Indigenous Status on Adult Sentencing: A Review of the Statistical Research Literature From the United States, Canada, and Australia - "The gross overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in prison populations suggests that sentencing may be a discriminatory process. Using findings from recent (1991–2011) multivariate statistical sentencing analyses from the United States, Canada, and Australia, we review the 3 key hypotheses advanced as plausible explanations for baseline sentencing discrepancies between Indigenous and non-Indigenous adult criminal defendants: (a) differential involvement, (b) negative discrimination, and (c) positive discrimination. Overall, the prior research shows strong support for the differential involvement thesis and some support for the discrimination theses (positive and negative). We argue that where discrimination is found, it may be explained by the lack of a more complete set of control variables in researchers’ multivariate models and/or differing political and social contexts."
Are Conditional Sentence Orders Used Differently for Indigenous Offenders? A Comparison of Sentences and Outcomes in Canada - "Conditional sentence orders (CSOs) were introduced in Canada in 1996, largely as a mechanism to address the overreliance on incarceration. This sentencing option is particularly relevant for Indigenous individuals who have been vastly overrepresented in custodial settings. Despite being in place for over twenty years, little is known about the use and effectiveness of CSOs. The current study examined the use and outcomes of CSOs for Indigenous (n = 749) and non-Indigenous offenders (n = 1,625) in one Canadian province. Specifically, the length of CSO, frequency and type of optional conditions, number of breaches, and rates of reoffending were compared between the two groups. Results from a logistic regression, controlling for risk relevant co-variates, indicated that Indigenous individuals tended to receive shorter CSOs compared to Caucasian individuals. However, Indigenous individuals were 35% more likely than Caucasian individuals to be convicted of a breach and more likely to incur multiple breaches while on a CSO. Despite the differences in the rates of breaches, the likelihood of reoffending over a two-year period was equivalent across the two groups. Although the reasons for breach were not available for the current study, future research should investigate this further to determine whether increased breach rates for Indigenous individuals are the result of more rule-violating behaviour, an inequity in the fairness of the conditions applied to Indigenous versus Caucasian individuals, or whether it is possible that breaches are over-detected and convicted at a higher rate for Indigenous individuals. Greater awareness of the underlying mechanisms related to increased breach rates affords the opportunity to ensure that CSOs are consistently implemented, something which will contribute to achieving the objective of successful diversion from imprisonment."
Diane Francis: The federal government has abrogated its responsibility to hold First Nations accountable - "On Feb. 4, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed yet another clutch of frivolous claims to try and halt the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, after Indigenous claimants tried to make the case that the years of government consultations over the project weren’t sufficient. Ironically, the leaders of the country’s 632 First Nations aren’t required to, and often do not, consult with their own band members. This is because Canada has gradually ceded its oversight powers to band chiefs and councils, without checks and balances, or any semblance of accountability — a devolution of power that has worsened since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took power in 2015, according to Indigenous lawyer and activist Catherine Twinn. In 2015, for instance, Trudeau decided that the federal government would not enforce the First Nations Financial Transparency Act (FNFTA). The law requires Indigenous leaders, often inherited chiefs, to be accountable and transparent by forcing them to publish audits of band expenses, including their compensation. “Canada found a cunning way to abrogate its fiduciary duty, adopting the inherent right of self-government (rationale). It is politically popular with chiefs and the Indian industry. And it conveniently abrogates Canada’s oversight duty to ensure compliance with the law,” Twinn said in an interview with the Financial Post. (She has practised law for years in Edmonton and served as assistant deputy minister of Alberta’s Ministry of Human Services. She recently worked on behalf of band members who had been denied access to financial information or membership in bands. She is the widow of Sen. Walter Twinn, the highly respected chief of the Sawridge First Nation.) Before Trudeau, Canada enforced the FNFTA and initiated action against a handful of non-compliant First Nations. Now, “The compliancy burden (has) shifted to those least able — band members,” said Twinn. “Few can afford to hire lawyers, go up against the resources in the command of chief and council and risk their necessities, such as housing, program supports and jobs, often controlled by the elected leadership.”... band members can no longer count on the federal government to support their democratic or other rights. This applies not only to financial matters, but to problems in many parts of the country involving election fraud, unfair reserve regulations and enforcement, nepotism, favouritism and cases where band councils have banned certain individuals, or denied them membership. The issue of membership must be protected by the federal government, stated Twinn. “While the equality rights in Sec. 15 of the charter do apply to First Nations, membership rules or codes in various First Nations are anything but equal and fair. In North America, a disenrollment epidemic is underway, typically by wealthier tribes, but also by communities wishing to maintain political or other control,” she said. “Some (membership) applications sit for decades without decision. Other applications, like the children of an incumbent chief, are processed quickly and secretly.… It is very lonely and challenging for individual members, or those entitled to be members, to hold a rogue exercise of power accountable. Canada created this condition and its abdication consummates an unholy political union with self-government sovereignty assertions.” Across the country at any given time, there are dozens of First Nations governance battles involving secrecy, election results, lack of consultation, allegations of financial fraud or appeals against arbitrary discipline. Ottawa remains on the sidelines, claiming it respects the inherent right of self-government. But, as Twinn maintains, First Nations people are also Canadian citizens and should be protected by the Constitution. Yet Ottawa has abandoned these citizens by ceding its oversight powers to band councils that answer to no one."
Democracy and accountability are only for white people
Clearly even more money is needed
CANADA: Men Fired for Saying 'Eskimo' in Private Conversation - "Two drunk men on a flight from Labrador to Newfoundland last Monday caused an outrage, leading to their sacking, after it emerged that one of them at said “Eskimo,” which is now a politically incorrect term. The two men, Dave Beck and Thomas Scott are both from St. John’s, Newfoundland, worked primarily as plasterers and painters... In spite of several years on the job, and being the only two Kankote employees at the remote Churchill falls, both men were fired and had their names dragged through mud–reducing future job prospects."
So much for inclusive language being good
Feature: Name game - 'Inuit' or 'Eskimo'? - "a Web site of the University of Wisconsin School of Education advises teachers, "There are no 'Eskimo' people." That would come as a surprise, however, to thousands of Yup'ik-speaking Eskimos in Western Alaska who much prefer to be called "Eskimo" instead of "Inuit." Why? They aren't Inuit. Steven A. Jacobson, a professor at the Alaska Native Language Center (of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks), told United Press International, "Yup'ik speakers say, 'We're Yup'ik Eskimos; our relatives in northern Alaska, Canada and Greenland are Inuit Eskimos; they aren't Yup'ik, and we aren't Inuit, but we're all Eskimos.' Yup'ik speakers prefer to be called 'Yup'iks' ... and -- in contrast to Inuit in Canada -- don't mind the word 'Eskimo,' but they do not like to be called 'Inuit.'" "Eskimo" remains the only word that describes all the physically and culturally quite homogenous groups that extend from the Siberian side of the Bering Strait to Greenland. The American Heritage Dictionary sums up, "While use of these terms ('Inuit' and 'Yup'ik') is often preferable when speaking of the appropriate linguistic group, none of them can be used of the Eskimoan peoples as a whole; the only inclusive term remains Eskimo." In the 1970s, activists in Canada's Far North announced that "Eskimo" was insulting. They claimed it was originally an Algonquin Indian word for "eaters of raw meat." Many linguists dispute this, arguing that early European explorers actually got "Eskimo" from a Micmac Indian word having to do with snowshoes. And even if the Algonquin theory is correct, the traditional Eskimo diet did indeed include a lot of raw meat. It's an excellent way to get enough vitamin C to avoid scurvy in the Arctic, where fruits and vegetables were almost completely unavailable... "Orientals" became "Asians" (even though there are hundreds of millions of people native to Asia -- such as Armenians and Arabs -- who are not included in the grouping for "Asians")... In attempts to create a new name unburdened by old prejudices, the name game can end up dissipating the goodwill built up toward the old one. Much of what little the 6 billion non-Eskimos know about Eskimos is what they learned in grade school: By being brave, hardy and clever, Eskimos could survive in a world of ice and snow. That's not much, but it's not bad, either... Beyond the pronunciation difficulties, outsiders' names are actually often more useful than insiders' names for themselves. Outsiders can enjoy a broader perspective that lets them see the similarities among ethnic subdivisions. In contrast, insiders can be so obsessed with small differences between themselves and their kin that they can't see the forest for the trees. That's why insiders' names -- like "Inuit" -- sometimes discriminate against smaller groups, such as the Yup'ik Eskimos... the word "Eskimo" is less ethnocentric than is "Inuit," which implicitly draws a distinction between "the people" (the Inuit) and all those non-Inuit. Ironically, the movement to change ethnic names to those used by the groups themselves frequently restores these kind of self-glorifying terms. For example, Comanche Indians are now supposed to called the "Numunuu," which means "the people." The fashion of renaming the Bushmen of Southwestern Africa as the "San" exemplifies many of the problems with the name game. University of Utah anthropologist Henry Harpending, who has lived with the famous tongue-clicking hunter-gatherers said, "In the 1970s the name 'San' spread in Europe and America because it seemed to be politically correct, while 'Bushmen' sounded derogatory and sexist." Unfortunately, the hunter-gatherers never actually had a collective name for themselves in any of their own languages. "San" was actually the insulting word that the herding Khoi people called the Bushmen. ("Khoi" is the term used by those who were labeled "Hottentots" by the Dutch. As you can probably guess by now, "Khoi" means "the real people.") Harpending noted, "The problem was that in the Kalahari, 'San' has all the baggage that the 'N-word' has in America. Bushmen kids are graduating from school, reading the academic literature, and are outraged that we call them 'San.'" "I knew very well," he said, "That one did not call someone a San to his face. I continued to use Bushman, and I was publicly corrected several times by the righteous. It quickly became a badge among Western academics: If you say 'San' and I say 'San,' then we signal each other that we are on the fashionable side, politically. It had nothing to do with respect. I think most politically correct talk follows these dynamics.""
'We have far more pressing issues,' says Inuk who backs Edmonton Eskimos name - "If you think all Inuit are insulted by the Edmonton Eskimos name, think again. Since the latest push by the mayor of Winnipeg to get the CFL team to change the name to something "more inclusive," many Inuit have spoken out on social media, and reached out to CBC North, to voice their support for the moniker. Kenneth Ruben, in Paulatuk, N.W.T., posted a message to politicians on Facebook, saying "We as 'the real Eskimos,' want the name to remain!!" His post has since been shared nearly 600 times... Ruben can rhyme off stats on the rate of suicide in both territories, as well as the number of houses needed in Inuit regions and the cost. "I really think that these politicians should put their efforts elsewhere and concentrate on things that affect our people more than a name, a moniker on a sports franchise that has nothing to do with insulting our people," Ruben said. Dominic Angutimarik called CBC's talkback line from Igloolik, Nunavut, to say he also supports the name. "I wouldn't want them to change their name simply because it's just a title and, in fact, I feel honoured as an Inuk person to see the name Eskimos as they probably had thought that Inuit were capable people with integrity," he said in Inuktitut. Jenna Palituq, from Clyde River, Nunavut, said Eskimo is a generational word that's fine by her. "They're known all over the world as Edmonton Eskimos and they are representing and making a name for the Eskimos," Palituq said. Erin Pameolik, from Coral Harbour, Nunavut, said she'd be disappointed if the football team changed its name. "I would be, because I'm known as an Eskimo and they're good representation for us Inuit.""
Understanding change in counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: Census, 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics - "812,728 people identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in the 2021 Census – up 25.2% (163,557 people) from 2016.
76.2% of the increase was in the 0-19 year age cohort.
43.5% of the increase was due to demographic factors – births, deaths and migration."
Clearly nothing to do with affirmative action
David J. Ley PhD on Twitter - "Hadn’t thought of this complexity with land acknowledgements: do they just acknowledge the last landholders before the USA or Europeans took it over, or do they acknowledge that multiple tribes often fought over the land for generations?"
Environment Minister Kevin Klein's claim to be Métis denounced by brother, Manitoba Métis Federation - "The Manitoba government's website continues to identify Environment Minister Kevin Klein as Métis, even though the president of the Manitoba Métis Federation, a prominent Métis lawyer and Klein's own brother all dispute the claim. "The basis for stating Mr. Klein as Indigenous is because he has publicly identified himself as a Canadian Métis"... Genealogical research done by CBC News — some going back five generations — did not find any evidence Klein's mother has a Métis or other Indigenous ancestor... Premier Stefanson said Klein is one of two Indigenous MLAs in the Progressive Conservative caucus in an interview in January. She also stressed the importance of having Indigenous representation in her party to more accurately reflect the population of the province... "As we have worked hard to become Manitoba's most diverse party, we are proud to have the first ever Muslim minister of the Crown, first Black minister and first woman premier in our caucus. Minister Klein is on the record stating clearly he is on a personal journey, and his ancestry is not for political gain," the spokesperson wrote."
Yet another white person ignorant of white privilege. If only we lived in a race-blind world where there were no privileges from pretending to be another race
Environment Minister Kevin Klein's claim to be Métis denounced by brother, Manitoba Métis Federation | CBC News : canada - "Personally find it hilarious the level of genealogy tracing the CBC conducted to look for "native" blood on this guy. Surprised they didn't bring out a classic anthropologist to look at his facial bone structure. This is pretty much like the whole "one drop" rule the US south had in determining if someone was white, black, or mulatto. The gate keeping done by these chiefs in determining indigenous status is also quite something. Purely self-interest in keeping membership numbers from going too high lest they have to divide their government benefits and perks more than they have to. Reminds me of another case in the US where once the native group was in line for reparations they began reducing membership by not recognizing the black black slave descendents from the tribe. Can also look at African immigrants piggy backing on affirmative action policies. Anyway, once you start handing out benefits and perks for race status these type of developments are to be expected."
Sarnia man gets three years for manslaughter in downtown shopkeeper’s death - "“He is a youthful Indigenous first(-time) offender before the court for one of the most serious offences in the Criminal Code,” Justice Mark Hornblower said as he settled on nearly three years behind bars... Henry pleaded guilty to the charge in July 2022, but his sentencing was adjourned to get two pre-sentence reports, including a specialized one for Indigenous offenders. The case was adjourned again multiple times last fall, including one time when Hornblower warned Henry, now 23, he was sending the wrong message by missing meetings with the people tasked with writing those reports... Henry was also sentenced earlier this month to 60 days in jail for breaching his bail after being caught on Jan. 19 in Sarnia without a surety mere minutes after a city police officer checked on him at home. Hornblower called what Henry did an extremely flagrant breach."
Indigenous group calls for RCMP to investigate sign as hate crime - The Globe and Mail - "RCMP are investigating after someone put up a sign with offensive comments on First Nations land in Saskatchewan. The sign was put up this week on a bridge at the Muskoday First Nation, about 30 kilometres southeast of Prince Albert, Sask., with part of it saying “White Lives Matter Too.”"
Ironic, given that the slogan used for Residential Schools is "Every Child Matters". Presumably white children don't matter. Or maybe it's just white adults who don't
Oil-producing Native American tribe seeks exemption from Biden drilling pause - "An oil-producing Native American tribe on Friday asked the U.S. Interior Department for an exemption from the recent temporary suspension of oil and gas leasing and permitting on federal and tribal lands, saying the move would hit its economy and sovereignty. The pushback from the Ute Indian Tribe reflects the financial strain some communities will face from a freeze of the government’s fossil fuel leasing program"
Trudeau's acknowledgment of Indigenous genocide could have legal impacts: Experts - "Guelph University political science professor David MacDonald said Germany has long been an exception in acknowledging its historical genocides, as governments rarely recognize their own countries have committed mass murder. However, the Kaiser political regime committed the genocide in Namibia and the Nazi regime committed the Holocaust, which makes it easier for the current democratic regime in Germany to acknowledge these crimes, MacDonald said. If Canada admits to genocide, it’s not just admitting that some earlier and completely different government committed genocide, he pointed out. “Here you’ve got a Liberal government and a Conservative opposition. And the whole time of the residential schools, you had Liberal governments and Conservative oppositions or Conservative governments and Liberal oppositions,” he said. The Canadian government would be admitting that the genocide occurred by the hands of institutions that still function more or less now as they did before, MacDonald said."
Virtue signalling has real costs
N.B. government tells staff to stop making Indigenous land acknowledgments - "“As you may be aware, the Government of New Brunswick (GNB) is currently involved in a number of legal actions which have been initiated by certain First Nations against the province, including a claim to ownership and title to over 60% of the Province,” Justice Minister Hugh Flemming said in a memo... It is common across Canada for politicians and others to begin events by stating that they are standing on unceded territories of Indigenous Peoples."
Land Acknowledgments Meant to Honor Indigenous People Too Often Do the Opposite - "the historical and anthropological facts demonstrate that many contemporary land acknowledgments unintentionally communicate false ideas about the history of dispossession and the current realities of American Indians and Alaska Natives. And those ideas can have detrimental consequences for Indigenous peoples and nations. This is why, in a move that surprised many non-Indigenous anthropologists to whom land acknowledgments seemed a public good, the Association of Indigenous Anthropologists requested that the American Anthropological Association officially pause land acknowledgments and the related practice of the welcoming ritual, in which Indigenous persons open conferences with prayers or blessings... No data exists to demonstrate that land acknowledgments lead to measurable, concrete change. Instead, they often serve as little more than feel-good public gestures signaling ideological conformity to what historians Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Aaron Snyder have called – in the context of higher education’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts – “a naïve, left-wing, paint-by-numbers approach” to social justice... land acknowledgments done wrong are heard by Indigenous peoples as the final blow: a definitive apocalyptic vision of a world in which Indigenous sovereignty and land rights will not be recognized and will be claimed never to have really existed."
Isn't it a violation of the separation of church and state to open with a prayer?
Too bad this article just furthers grievance-mongering, instead if taking a nuanced and reflexive look at the idea of indigenous land ownership
Canadians appreciate Indigenous land acknowledgements, but don't think it applies to them: poll - "Despite the support for having politicians say it, when asked if they personally are living on unceded Indigenous territory, only 25 per cent of people agreed"
The Very First Americans May Have Had European Roots
White people can be "indigenous" after all
The Meme Policeman - Posts | Facebook - "South Dakota Senate member Red Dawn Foster in her traditional regalia firing back at republican Governor Kristi Noem's plan to omit Native history from school curriculums"
"There is no plan to eliminate Native history from SD schools, that’s totally false. What happened is the proposed new social studies standards didn’t include as much content on Native Americans as a group of educators, who compiled a recommendation to the SD Education Board, wanted... Keep in mind, the social studies curriculum still has to fit in the rest of American and world history, civics, geography and economics! Given that reality, it certainly doesn’t seem to ignore Native history or people. But if a local district still thinks it does, they aren’t bound by these recommendations anyway."
No jail for B.C. man with gun after Indigenous heritage not considered | Vancouver Sun - "The failure of a judge to consider the Indigenous background of a man convicted of firearm and drug offences has resulted in the offender getting no jail time following his appeal of the sentence. On Oct. 8, 2018, Robert Michael Mero, who has Métis heritage, was convicted of possession of a loaded, restricted firearm and possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking"
It is racist to send indigenous people to prison
Stars call for Royal Bank to pull support for Coastal GasLink pipeline | Vancouver Sun - "Actor Mark Ruffalo is leading a constellation of Hollywood stars calling for the Royal Bank of Canada to divest from the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline through northern B.C... they say infringes on the rights of the Wet’suwet’en people. “The Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs never consented to this pipeline construction through their territories, which would risk the sacred headwaters of the Wedzin Kwa,” said Ruffalo in a video to launch the No More Dirty Banks campaign. The Wedzin Kwa is also known as the Morice River. He said the hereditary chiefs have been ignored, while corporations deal exclusively with elected Wet’suwet’en leaders “put in place by the colonial government, and not the rightful titleholders.”... Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham) — a spokesperson for the pipeline protesters who has been arrested at the Indigenous-led blockades — says Coastal GasLink “is racing to complete drilling to micro-tunnel under the Wedzin Kwa without the consent of the hereditary chiefs.”... She equated Royal Bank’s support of the project to “funding genocide.”... Among the No More Dirty Banks signatories are Scarlett Johansson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Jane Fonda, Taika Waititi and Mariska Hargitay"
Liberal logic: democracy is bad because it's colonial and we should listen to those with hereditary privilege. Maybe they oppose this because then indigenous peoples can get some money from it - as opposed to depending on the government for money
Meme - Europeans: "Why are you so poor and primitive?"
Natives: "It's going to be your fault"
Indigenous author slams Ontario school board's 'outrageous' decision to pull his book from libraries - "An award-winning Indigenous author has decried an Ontario school district’s “outrageous” decision to remove his book from library shelves as part of a review process, saying he still has no idea why it happened, and condemned a recent board meeting as a “farce rife with platitudes and political non-answers”... one book by David A. Robertson, a two-time winner of the Governor-General’s Literary Award, was up for review by the school board and had been removed from school shelves. Robertson, a member of the Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba, has said that the district should have at least left his book on the shelves while they conducted their review. Pulling it amounted to “censorship.”... "We still don’t know why The Great Bear was pulled or what in it could possibly harm Indigenous students"... Robertson has called the claim that his book does harm to Indigenous students “outrageous,” saying all of his books were “written to empower Indigenous students.”... Norah Marsh, the district’s director of education, said that the school board has adopted a policy that takes “anti-colonial approaches and actions and to actively identify, prevent and eliminate anti-Indigenous racism.” The complaint, she said, came from Indigenous families who wanted to hold the district “accountable to the policy in terms of ensuring that we don’t impact their children negatively and cause harm.” As a result, the district is doing a review of The Great Bear... the DDSB said teachers and librarians “regularly review” library content “for books that are no longer current, or which may contain content that perpetuates harmful narratives, racial slurs and discriminatory biases, assumptions, and stereotypes.” Waubgeshig Rice, an author and journalist from Wasauksing First Nation, said in an interview that taking books by Indigenous authors from shelves risks being “regressive.”"
"Book banning" is only bad when it's books that liberals love
Apparently all books by indigenous authors are good
