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Aboriginal Ethnocide In Canada


Ethnocide is widely associated with genocide nevertheless the definitions are unacquainted. In this view, genocide is the extermination of a specific ethic group or race through homicide, however ethnocide is the death of culture and language with the use of assimilation, oppression or integration. Ethnocide apart from assimilation and integration is a product of prejudice and discrimination.

Ethnocide focuses primarily on ethnicity rather than race, whereas the problem of cultural predisposition arises from social distinctions between individuals. As a result,ethnocide amongst aboriginal people was essentially coined by ethnocentrism, where as non-aboriginal Canadians, primary white Canadians, viewed the aboriginal form of living as animalistic and rugged compared to their own way of life.

The Indian Act
The ethnocentricity of Canada towards indigenous people is a product of the Indian Act that dates from 1876 to 1996. The Indian Act is a parliament legislation that is recognised under subsection 91(24) of the Constitution Act. The Act’s legislation gave the federal government the authority over "Indians and lands reserved for Indians". This gave the administration the power to control all significant aspects of Indian lives, including the settlements in which they reside, as well as the education that they receive. The Indian act was a oppressive legislation that gave the government jurisdiction over Aboriginal Canadian’s day to day lives that controlled the rights of Indians to practice their culture, language and tradition.

Residential Schools


In the 19th century the Canadian government used aggressive assimilation on Aboriginal (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) children from the ages of 4-16 through the use of residential schools. Residential schools were in place to expunge the culture, heritage and language of aboriginal people, more specifically "to kill the Indian in the child". Residential schools was seen as an efficient approach to educate indigenous children on Canadian customs, the English language as well as to adopt the Christian faith. . The Canadian government committed ethnocide to integrate aboriginal kids into the Canadian society through the compulsory attendance of residential schools. Attendance to residential schools for aboriginal children was mandatory and failure to attend would result in the imprisonment or punishment of parents. .

In addition to aboriginals having their freedom of choice taken away from them, children were abused and brainwashed at these schools through the perception of what an "ideal Canadian" is and how they should be. Students who attended residential schools were not called by their birth names but rather by numbers or names appointed to them by the institution, due to the fact that most aboriginal names had cultural significance and did not fit into the Canadian norms. Students were forbidden to speak their native language or practice their religion. Residential schools played a discriminatory role, that only provided aboriginal students with inferior education, often up to the fifth grade that focused on manual labor, agriculture woodwork and domestic work.

Language Death
There are 11 languages amongst Aboriginals in Canada with over 65 distinct languages and dialects and of these languages only Cree Inuktitut and Ojibway has large enough populations that can be sustained. The language death is a significant result of cultural ethnocide with the extinction of the aboriginal Native language. Many aboriginals choose not to pass on their language to their children due to their belief that not utilizing their language would spear their children the torment and trauma in which they have experienced in residential schools and by the community because of their cultural identity. The Culturally dominant language of English is where the Canadian community discourages the use of the aboriginal language and speakers of that their mother tongue failed to utilize their language because it is not of use in their society.

Crime
Aboriginal Communities are desperately in need of healing with high rates of substance abuse,violent crimes, incarceration rates, child apprehension, poverty and suicide. The impacts of ethnocide amongst aboriginals is apparent through the structure of the Canadian society where in 2013 Aboriginals made up 4% of the Canadian community and approximately 71% of that 4% was incarcerated.

718.2(e) of the Criminal Code
A court that imposes a sentence shall also take into consideration the following principles: with particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders
 * (e) all available sanctions or options other than imprisonment that are reasonable in the circumstances should be considered for all offenders,