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  • Essay / Treatment of Indigenous Youth in Canada and Australia

    Living in Canada, we Canadians are proud of our culture, kindness, hospitality and sports. Everyone around the world considers Canada and Australia to be kind, multicultural, caring countries that accept refugees from war-torn countries. Although Canada and Australia are considered peacekeeping countries, the governments of both countries have passed a number of laws in the past that have had a major impact on Indigenous youth. I believe that the same territory on which we founded our country is the same territory built on blood, mistreatment and oppression. To discover information about the treatment of indigenous youth by the governments of Canada and Australia, as well as the similarities and differences in treatment, it is necessary to take a closer look at the history of the two countries as well as the period where the Juvenile Delinquency Act was enacted. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Early in Canadian history, the government enrolled indigenous youth in residential schools. The goal of a residential school was to erase the indigenous culture of their youth and implement Canadian ideologies. While indigenous youth were struggling in Canada, in Australia a similar process was occurring. If we take a look at the film titled (Noyce, Winter & Olsen, 2002) “Rabbit Proof Fence”, we will see that many mixed race indigenous children were taken from their parents by the government and forced to change their skin color . The main characters of the film Molly Craig, her younger sister and her cousin At these times in history, if young Aboriginal people were not like the rest of Canadians and Australians, it was believed that they were against them. The Juvenile Delinquents Act of 1908 In Canada, there have been many positive changes in the justice system. However, according to a Maple Leaf Web article (Makarenko, 2007) “The discretion granted to judges has led to significant variations in sentencing for similar offenses. A provision allowing provinces to set the maximum legal age to define a young person has led to variations in sentencing” (para 6). The film “Rabbit Roof Fence” shows us that we still have much to learn about Indigenous people. Right now, some will say that we live in the “21st” century and that history will not repeat itself. As we enter the 21st century, many Indigenous people living in poverty and homelessness can view a different perspective, as they can see reality from the experience of intergenerational trauma. Even though we live in the 21st century, Indigenous people still face challenges, both those who have assimilated into societal norms and those who have remained true to their cultural traditions. I believe the consequences of society's treatment of Aboriginal people are simply known as racism. Although racism is one word to describe treatment, there are many other issues within society that Aboriginal people face including: poverty, drug addiction. There are a number of similarities when it comes to Indigenous youth incarceration rates in Canada and Australia. According to a Guardian article (Wahlquist, 2016), “59% of all children detained in Australia are Indigenous, compared to 40% of children in youth prisons in Canada” (paragraph 4). As we can see, there are not many?