Aboriginal Canadians comprise First Nations, Inuit, and Metis. Meanwhile, Aboriginals define the Aboriginal Canadians who are unique with distinct histories and practices (Rudin, 2019) . Based on the 2016 census, 1.67 million in Canada identify themselves as aboriginals. However, 44 percent of the population is young people under 20 years (Graph 1). Additionally 977, 230 are representatives of the first nation's youths under the age of 14. An explanation of the paper's purpose would involve analyzing the relationship between the history and cultural structures and racism and marginalization practices. Structural racism revolves around policies related to politics that have reinforced discrimination against the First nation’s people in Canada. The Indian Act was purposed to guarantee aboriginal people of their rights through legal and ethical recognition. Discrimination against the First nations is based on the racial classification in which one categorizes the other as inferior. It has, however, existed in institutions and practices that have differentiated treatment based on social categorization. It is the desire of the aboriginal people to be accepted as equals in a job competition, stabilization of economic existence, and avoidance of discrimination. Historically for the First Nations in Canada, the interaction with the non-aboriginals is negative. For instance, the residential school system has instituted the outlaw of aboriginal spiritual ceremonies ( Sawchuk, 2021) . Canadian policies agree with the belief of aboriginal culture inferiority to western cultures; therefore, a sense of civilization has always emerged in this case. Thus coming from residential schools limits the aboriginals to gain access to skills and knowledge to integrate into the Canadian society, making them marginalized.
Moreover, the assault on the aboriginal culture has resulted in high incarceration rates, poverty, low educational attainment, and suicides. Aboriginal people are regarded as traditional ecologists. However, the non-aboriginals as viewed as victims based on unfair government treatment. Early research on the aboriginal people relating with the non-aboriginals report discrimination as a significant issue. For instance, in Ontario, the aboriginal people are restricted from patronizing startup businesses. However, n on-aboriginals believe the uniqueness of Canada is associated with the aboriginal people and their culture. Even though the response is among the least prevalent hence cannot define the country's characteristics.
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Nonetheless, Canada's uniqueness arises from the multiculturalism and diversity that amasses up to 43 percent of the responses of the Canadian people ( Boyer, 2014). Discrimination against the aboriginal people in Canada is of importance. It evaluates the cultural biases and prejudice that non-aboriginal communities have against aboriginal groups which are known to impact negatively on their cultural identity and practices. Many studies, however, focus on the nature of discrimination and its impact on aboriginal people. Therefore, the paper will examine the discrimination of the aboriginal people in addressing the research question on the state of public prejudice against the aboriginal people.
Historical and Systematic Discrimination of the Canadians Aboriginals
Non- Aboriginal Canadians accentuate the healthcare system, land, geography, and multiculturalism as a building block of the country's uniqueness. The aboriginal people experience extreme disparities as compared to the other citizens especially in the health, labor and educational spheres. Many Europeans considered the first settlers to be inferior, which is what has contributed to the disparity. Public opinions conducted by the media fraternity indicate that the Canadian people are hardening to the First Nations people. Based on the Environics Institute for Survey Research, it instituted both the aboriginal and the non-aboriginal people to understand the culture in Canada.
Socio-Economic Factors
The rate of employment for the aboriginals in Canada by 2019 was 58 percent which was lower than the non -aboriginal people with 62 percent. The incomes of the Aboriginals tend to be below the Canadian average. Furthermore, 70 percent of the non-aboriginals have either a college degree, certificate or diploma, meaning that they have better chances of improved livelihoods. In retrospect, the aboriginals live in overcrowded housing, an aspect that is known to shorten their life expectancy by up to 15 years. According to Boyer (2014), First Nation’s people have a high mortality rate which is exacerbated further by extremely high suicide rates among this population. The same case applies to their food security with Boyer (2014) indicating that in 2019, 48 percent of the Canadian aboriginals did not have food security neither adequate income to cater for food-related expenses. Children are more affected by these challenges considering that they continually witness the frustrations that their parents experience as they struggle to feed, shelter and clothe them. Research studies blame poor implementation of educational related policies on the part of the government, as it fails to invest in residential schools. As a result, aboriginals are facing an imminent cultural genocide which will ultimately erode their language, knowledge, and traditional practices as espoused by the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Aboriginal households have unique features which must be addressed as a way of establishing their impacts on their social outcomes. Statistics indicate that 61 percent of the aboriginal children live in a two-parent household while 30 percent live in a one-parent home while 86 percent of the non-aboriginal people live in a two-parent family. Meanwhile, many aboriginal children have been growing up is social agencies since 1960s with a 2016 survey indicating that 50 percent of all aboriginal children are hosted in foster homes.
Education
Racism in the Canadian community arises majorly from the eminence of the residential school system that assimilates aboriginal children. Agreements that were signed by the national leaders and government of Canada paved the way for laws and policies aimed at integrating a rich culture that would promote their educational outcomes. Consequentially, rather than supporting the education systems towards equity, the government further advanced in establishing boarding school system to disfavor aboriginal children. The establishment of residential schools started in the 1880s. History dictates the discriminatory services of the government that have widened the gap between the aboriginals and non-aboriginals. Until 1950 many aboriginal children between 5 to 16 years were forced into these schools away from their families and cultural traditions.
In as much as education was to be provided in the reserves, the parents disapproved assimilation policies as they would dilute their cultural heritage. Statistics indicate that the aboriginal children who are in custody report a high prevalence of limited education due to school attachment issues. A further ten percent of aboriginal youth drop out of school making it the highest rate meaning that only 41 percent of all children in foster care graduate (Public Safety Canada , 2012, p.4). The institution used variables that were collected from non-aboriginal youth, meaning the conclusions may not be applied to aboriginals as they are not exhaustive. The practices that were adopted in the residential schooling system depicted racist ideologies, considering that the students were neither allowed to converse in their native language nor use their names. This stance meant that first nation’s children would be stripped off their cultural heritage by being forced to adhere to the majority race’s practices, thus paving the way for neglect. Similarly these children faced a myriad of challenges ranging from sexual and psychological abuse, exposure to diseases and poor dietary intake. Consequently, these children developed poor copings strategies that are evidenced by substance abuse, violence, depression, and parenting problems. These experiences in the residential schools set into motion vicious cycles that have been passed down for many generations.
Delinquent Behavior
Substance abuse is the highly prevalent factor that has amasses the young generation leading to arrests. By 2011 those arrests comprising drugs and alcohol accounted for up to 10 percent of the juvenile arrests (Public Safety Canada, 2012, p.2) . Setting up organizations such as War on Drugs has instituted harsh punishments for the Aboriginal people of Canada to help minimize youthful crimes. For instance, stereotyping First nation people on substance abuse makes them vulnerable to more punitive responses by law enforcement officers. Hoge alludes that Aboriginal youth are more likely to get long prison sentences as compared to other groups for similar offenses (2021, p.60) . This difference is an essential factor that could be used to understand the Canadian penal process which is characterized by biases during the sentencing process. While these disparities are crucial in understanding the challenges that aboriginal youth experience, they offer no explanation why they have higher incarceration rates. Cesaroni et al. (2018), note that the available data depicts that these youths are more likely to engage in high level criminal offenses as compared to non-Aboriginal youth .
The data that was used to highlight the existing disparities in the Canadian penal system was based on self-reports. Consequently, there is a possibility that the reports may present bias, thus should not be viewed as credible or official sources. The cases that has been presented to the Canadian Supreme Court and the entire criminal justice system has indicated a deeply entrenched systemic racism. According to Rudin (2019) there are numerous research gaps that are yet to be addressed to establish factors that push aboriginal youths to experience high incarceration rates.
Public Safety Canada f ound that youth in disadvantaged communities have a higher likelihood of facing harsh treatments in the juvenile justice systems (2012, p.3). Research indicates that since the Aboriginals belong to poor communities, they have higher confinement rates since they belong to the marginal group. According to Public Safety Canada (2012) , up to 20 percent of Canadian youths who come from economically impoverished communities are affected by mental illnesses . The report attributes these statistics to the adolescent stage where individuals begin differentiating between right and wrong. Aboriginal people constitute 17 percent of those arrested in the federal institution but only make up a total of 2.7 percent of Canada’s population. The results from Public Safety Canada affirm that Aboriginal youth are more likely to end up in jail as compared to their counterparts considering that they are familiar with crime ( 2012, p.1) . The data revealed that this group of people commit their first punishable offense at the age of 12 to 14 years (Graph 2) which means that they are more likely to have criminal records and in turn longer Spartan sentences.
Victimization
Stigmatization and inequality among the people of Canada are among the significant challenges faced by the aboriginals. Meanwhile, the non-aboriginal relates the social and economic difficulties of the aboriginal people to school droppings (8 percent) and poverty (5 percent). The aboriginal people's perception of discrimination from black Americans hopped ten percent since 2010( Ancil, 2018) . In retrospect 62% of Canadians harbor the notion that Aboriginal people receive better healthcare services with a further 63% thinking that they are treated well at their places of work. Despite these statistics, there is a widely accepted notion that indicates that more often than not aboriginal people will be treated badly due to their racial and cultural affiliation. Hoge asserts that aboriginal youths’ background determines the length of their prison sentences but does necessary mean that a higher percentage would end up in jails (2021, p.60). The author notes that various non-jurisdictional factors have the potential of ensuring that this group is overrepresented in Canadian prisons. Cesaroni et al. (2018) establish that there is no connection between sentencing and over-incarceration of adults. In retrospect, prosecutors and law enforcement officers have been conditioned to believe that Aboriginal people are prone to committing crime. The reason why aboriginal youth are more likely to end in prison is parental absence which reduces the likelihood for posting bail. A history of colonialism is also to be blamed as it created the notion on minority and backward communities which has contributed to intergenerational trauma. The Canadian government is committed to dealing with racism through education as a way of creating cross-cultural awareness. It is for this reason that the government has designed practical curricula and at the same time get rid of retrogressive cultural thoughts.
The adolescence stage characterized by autonomy and independence from caregivers as individuals realize that they are capable of being responsible. This stage however, is associated with higher levels of delinquency thus the need i to study the risk factors that lead these indigenous minorities to commit crimes (Rudin, 2019) . Temporarily, the traditional patterns that guided transitions in school and work are being challenged. Contrariwise, restructuring the labor market, the gap in maturity, and the limited opportunities have influenced the rate of crimes in youths. According to police data on crimes, more than 80 percent of violence is never reported by victims (Allen, 2021) . However, those likely on the receiving end of violence age between 16 and 19. As Public Safety Canada asserts, men are likely to be victimized than women, with up to 91 out of 1000( 2012, p.3) . The Canada Supreme Court terms it as a crisis. In its articles, the Canada Judicial Systems is noted to fail thee, aboriginal families. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report has recounted the rise in incarceration rates for aboriginal youths as compared to adults.
Justice and Health Systems
Criminal justice and healthcare systems have their fair share of structural racism, meaning there is a possibility of denying aboriginals the services that they need. This reality means that First nation’s people are more prone to longer prison sentences once they are convicted of criminal offenses. However, it is why the aboriginals make a large proportion of offenders in the justice system ( Ancil, 2018) . Meanwhile, discrimination is the main factor linked to the unfair treatment of the aboriginal people. Nevertheless, the prejudice against aboriginals is known to be the basis for doubting whether they belong to Canada which in turn makes them prone to intimidation. Like many other issues facing the aboriginal people, colonization and non-aboriginal racism implicate the criminalization of the aboriginal people. Authorities such as courts, prisons, and the police have been evidenced to engage in racial profiling of the aboriginal people. However, systematic racism and over-policing has impacted negatively on aboriginals’ relationship with the criminal justice system players. Aboriginal people have negative experiences with the health care settings—for instance, longer waits, referrals, and disrespectful treatment of the first nations. However, the demeaning actions by service providers disempower the cultural identity and become a culturally risky practice. The consequences of racism are emotional and social harm to the aboriginal people.
There have been efforts to eradicate systemic racism that has continued to plague Canada for the last few centuries. Allen (2021) conducted a research using Aboriginal methods as way of highlighting some of the approaches that would be adopted to rebalance power and at the same time decolonize people’s minds. The author concluded that aboriginal heritage goes beyond their ceremonies and stories since it is a comprehensive knowledge system that epistemologies, languages and logical validity. Restoule et al. (2018) affirms that researchers who are keen on this heritage should be more focused on empirical data as opposed to relying on aboriginals literary narratives. There is a need to incorporate subjective experience and self-knowledge in the research to come up with a conclusive description of their unique experiences.
The Youth Justice initiative has made significant strides by funding programs that are aimed at eliminating systemic racism that disproportionately target aboriginal youth. The initiative with has an annual budget of over $ 4 million which it uses to support projects that reduce incarceration rates among First Nations Youth (Hoge, 2021) . The paper, therefore, evaluates the extent of Aboriginal youth-related crimes in Canada through a historical overview and scholarly statistics. Additionally, it also recommends the solutions that have been applied in resolving the crisis in Canada and personal opinions on the solutions related to the increased Aboriginals Youth delinquency and youth crime (Restoule et al., 2018)
Conclusion
The aboriginal people in Canada make a significant proportion of criminal offenders not because they are more prone to committing crime. Instead, this disproportionate sentencing and higher incarceration rates are due a history of inequality and discrimination set in motion by colonial masters. The systemic racism in Canada has had negative impacts on aboriginals which is evidenced by poverty and low health and educational outcomes. Essentially aboriginals are treated as outsiders in their country, thus paving the way for them to be relegated to the background. Imperialism helped in the creation of suburban schools which are associated with lower incomes, and educational outcomes as well as higher mortality, incarceration, substance abuse and suicide rates among aboriginals. Research indicates that past studies have ignored their plight by focusing on biased narratives as opposed to working with them to establish their perspectives. In the past, research institutions failed to adhere to ethical, and legal guidelines and protocols, meaning that they viewed aboriginals as mere objects. Similarly thus academic exploration failed to adopt moral engagements with the members of this group, thus coming with objective and biased conclusions. Looking to the history of aboriginals, it is evident that racial discrimination is a significant factor as it affects the aboriginal people’s overall wellbeing. The document provides historical overviews of discrimination overview on the first nation’s people in Canada. However, it highlights in-depth that structural racism impacts society heavily for an extended period. Entire generations of the aboriginals have been subjected to the negative impacts of structural racism that has defined Canada for several centuries. ( Ancil, 2018) . Criminal justice and healthcare systems have been fueling this racism, but they are still in a position to address it through embracing cultural awareness and the unique needs of aboriginals.
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