Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law is based on tradition, ritual and socially acceptable conduct. This is known as customary law. In 1999 Indigenous sentencing courts were introduced, they do not apply customary law but they do enable representatives of the Indigenous community to have a say in the ruling. In some courts, traditional customs have a more dramatic impact on sentencing, particularly in the Northern Territory. In the case of R v Wunungmurra the defendant was convicted of assault against his wife.…
RESEARCH QUESTION Consider how Canadian colonial policy has affected Aboriginal sovereignty in the post-confederation Canada and modern day Canada; examine factors that influenced the right to exercise these sovereignty claims through a Foucauldian lens considering race and racialization. METHODOLOGY I will be evaluating my question as a within-case comparison, looking that the differences over time, in this instance post-confederation Canada (1867) and modern day Canada (1980’s-2016). I will utilize Foucault’s theory of disciplinary power to analyse tactics of colonial oppression over Aboriginal sovereignty. My comparison will identify factors such as colonialism, The Indian Act and residential school assimilation policies…
Northern Territory’s Police Administration Amendment Act 2014 has sparked controversy among members of public and a variety of organizations including Amnesty International and North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency. It amends the Police Administration Act by giving Northern Territory police new powers to detain someone for four hours (or longer if they are intoxicated) if they reasonably believe the person has committed, or is about to commit, an ‘infringement notice offence’ . The new notion of, infringement notice offences, refers to specific offences under the summary offences Act, the Liquor Act, and the Misuse of Drugs Act. The offences that can be dealt with range from, offensive conduct and public disorderly and drunken behavior,…
Over half the tribal courts in Alaska have a tribal court system. The type of cases they can address are child related like, juvenile delinquency, juvenile status offences, adoption, child support enforcement, custody and protection. The courts also handle domestic violence, probate, and alcohol violations. Tribal counts cover environmental regulation, cultural protection, internal governmental disputes, property damage, property disputes, trespass, and misdemeanor offences. Lastly they have a say in animal control, and fish and game/marine mammal protection.…
The circle justice is a native American thing. They use it to help people. To help people become a better person, not only for that person but for their families and friends. the circle of justice is like a punishment to the people that did wrong and don’t want to get sent off to prison so they choose the circle of justice. People do the circle of justice in some parts of the united states.…
Intro The emergence of indigenous courts captures the general public’s attention. Not only deploying innovative practices of justice, it acknowledges the devastating and enduring effects that indigenous people suffer since the period of colonization. Indigenous people continue to be disproportionately disadvantaged in the society. Since the early 90s, nations such as Australia and Canada begin to be more aware of the difficulties that indigenous people have confronted such as the effects of colonization, racism and overrepresentation in the Criminal Justice System.…
The final research priority concerns interventions with Indigenous perpetrators. It is important to determine best practice principles for program delivery for Indigenous perpetrators, by drawing on what is already known from extensive consultation with Indigenous leaders, researchers, service providers and community members. In conducting this research, it should be acknowledged that the needs of Indigenous perpetrators may intersect with issues linked to the effects of colonisation, such as health, economic and housing…
Imagine, being treated differently and given unfair punishments based on your race or background. Imagine being defined by something you cannot control. The problem of indigenous incarceration emanates from the marginalisation which aboriginals receive as they often have no chance of breaking out of the crime circle as they are…
Congress has made it difficult for tribal authorities to prosecute perpetrators as they have “prohibited tribal courts from trying non-Indian suspects and limiting the custodial sentences which tribal courts can impose for any one offense to 1 year” (Amnesty, 8). One year pales in comparison to the 8-12 years in U.S. state or federal courts. If the consequences do not deter criminal action, violence against indigenous women will continue - fostering itself into a vicious cycle of abuse against women, while perpetrators run free. Furthermore, jurisdictional issues complicate the process of investigating and prosecuting these crimes. The current system involves varying authorities between tribal, state, and federal governments.…
Aboriginal’s crime rates are high; they account a large portion of Canada’s inmates. Problems persist on how correctional facilities deal with the needs of the Aboriginal people, the complexity of their cultures makes it hard for corrections to treat them like any other inmate. For this reason the aboriginals go through different cultural interventions that help rehabilitate within the corrections or through their communities. While Canadians correctional institutions are setting in Policies such as to further meet the needs of the aboriginal people, they are not succeeding with rehabilitating aboriginals during their stay in and out the Correctional system because of statistics, self-conflict, stereotypes, and lack of support…
A “State of Crisis” was found and it concluded that conflict exists between the CJS and traditional Aboriginal approaches (Griffiths, 2011). The plight of Aboriginal women being discriminated against is rising as the numbers of missing and murdered Aboriginal women drastically increases. According to Human Rights Watch (2011), “the failure of law enforcement authorities to deal effectively with the problem of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Canada is just one element of the dysfunctional relationship between the Canadian police and Indigenous people” (p.140). The amount of discredited women in the files of the RCMP displays their absence in the cases of the missing Aboriginal women and girls. “The Native Women’s Association of Canada estimates that there were 582 cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal Women and girls – while RCMP places the number at less than 100” (Griffiths, 2011).…
The overrepresentation of indigenous people is a substantial issue in our country that requires attention in order to maintain a positive relationship with the Aboriginals and remove any negative stigmatization against the indigenous culture (Welsh & Ogloff, 2008, pp. 492-494). This remains an issue in our society because there are increasing numbers of indigenous people in prison throughout the provinces due to systemic racism within the legal system, crimes committed due to socioeconomic challenges and cultural or language barriers (Fitzgerald & Carrington, 2008, pp. 524-525). Moreover, alternative courses of action should be addressed in order to decrease the overrepresentation of indigenous people in the criminal justice system.…
In February 2002, Nowra in New South Wales was to trial circle sentencing for Indigenous offenders. In the first 12 months of the trial’s operation, it is revealed that circle sentencing in Nowra proved successful in a plethora of manners. Circle sentencing had a lot to offer, it has led to improvements to the level of support towards the Indigenous offenders and victims were receiving, as well as enabling the offenders a greater understanding and responsibility towards their behaviour. It empowered the Indigenous community through the involvement of the Indigenous Elders in the…
Next, the prevalence of aboriginal women are doubly victimized according to their histories of child sexual abuses and assaults. Numerous indigenous women who have exposed to child sexual violation are repeatedly continue to endure other fashions of sexual and aggressive victimization in the future (Fagan, 2001). Considering a research of the sexual health and conduct of 199 female indigenous inmates in New South Wales, over half (59%) of interviewees had exposed to several kinds of sexual force and/or brutality (Stathopoulos & Quadara, 2012). The research shows the re-victimization is typical when one-third of aboriginal females had suffered child sexual forces approximate three to nine times, also a more 13% indicated it had happened indeed…
However due to deep seeded discrimination no marginalization the issues surrounding Aboriginal women and violence aren 't addressed to the extent where these differences between the gap of Aboriginal women and non-aboriginal women regarding violence is closed. Social constructural flaws have regulated and cemented the systemic Ideas around aboriginals; racial and gender discrimination…