Indigenous and non-Indigenous people turn the tide
A series of three fact what are cannabis laws sheets focuses on racism faced by aboriginal peoples in Canada-how to perceive it in a historical sense, how it impacts individuals and societies, and what services, policies and strategies exist to address it.
Writer Charlotte Reading explains the historical construction of race as a term used to define distinction and establish social hierarchies in the first fact sheet of the show, Understanding Racism, Racism 's philosophy originated from assumptions about social discrimination, rationalising unequal treatment and declining opportunities for other communities – most commonly non-white and indigenous people. Reading often examines different types of racism, including epistemic racism, which represents the supremacy of knowledge; relational racism, which relates to the meaning of daily human relationships; institutional racism, which sometimes takes the form of social exclusion; symbolic racism, which operates at a subtle and difficult to distinguish level; embodied racism, in which disparities are experienced;
The second fact sheet, Aboriginal views of racism and its consequences, examines the role of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities in Canada's lived and systemic manifestations of racism. As the authors point out, many aboriginal people in Canada encounter prejudice profoundly, [infecting] the lives of individuals and organisations – often subtly, often covertly ... but often unjustly. The fact sheet offers an description of prejudice concepts including racialized stereotypes and stigma, aggressive prejudice, and racism in structure. Structural racism dialogue discusses how paternalistic and disempowering federal policies and systems are perpetuating and worsening discrimination against Aboriginal communities. Other destructive processes and structures include the Federal Indian Act laws, the horrific violations endured by the residential school system, and continued race-based discrimination and inequality faced by aboriginal people participating in the justice and health care systems. Indigenous criminals are more likely to be sentenced to gaol if convicted of a felony, and are actually the most over-represented category in the criminal justice system in Canada. Indigenous patients also face longer waiting times in the healthcare system, fewer appointments and insensitive treatment. Across centuries of Aboriginal people, these historical and current manifestations of oppression have been felt, causing chronic and systemic wounds that are not easily healed.
Reading delves into the dynamic attempts to address racism in Canada in the third and final fact sheet of this series, Strategies, initiatives, and approaches to address anti-Indigenous racism: A Canadian viewpoint. She outlines many anti-racism initiatives, including those based on the media, in anti-oppressive education and cultural skills, in the health care system, and through anti-discrimination laws in federal politics. As Reading concludes, "Indigenous people alone can do little to combat racism, especially when it is so pervasively and deeply embedded in Canada's ideological, political , economic and social structures, but as allies, Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples are turning the tide together."
