Impoverished Aboriginal women in Canada
Social welfare, being an organized function, is a body of activities that enable families, individuals, families and groups to cope with the changing conditions and social problems. In a larger sense, it plays a basic role in deployment and mobilization of material and human resources of the country effectively meet social requirements of change .In this essay, the term impoverished Aboriginal women refers to the early cultural women or entities that originate from the first women of North America.
North American women constitute all the poor Aboriginal women in Canada, including both the non-status and status Indians and Inuit (Turner and Francis, 2009). The social welfare of impoverished Aboriginal women in Canada is in a context of a social service that encompasses medical and health, income maintenance, education, medical and health as well as personal welfare. For a long time, the values and practices of the poor Aboriginal women of Canada have been misinterpreted. Just like any community members, poor Aboriginal women in Canada as well need integrated systems that ensure mental, emotional, and physical and the spiritual well-being (Turner and Francis, 2009).
Poverty
Majority of Aboriginal people in Canada live in poverty. For example, majority of Inuit people of Canada live in isolated arctic communities that make it impossible for them to access consumer goods and medical services. Paucity has made the aboriginal people in Canada fall victims of housing crisis. The problematic housing condition leaves urban aboriginal with quite insecure situations of living. People who have knowledge on Aboriginal politics and disagree with recognition, the poverty politics may appear unusual or even odd. In the author’s opinion, they cast a revealing light on the politics of Aboriginal quality of life in Canada. The big question is whether Canadians do away with the social welfare inequality between poor Aboriginal people in Canada and first nation families This study gives answers on the measures that can to improve the social welfare of the poor Aboriginal women of Canada. In particular, it suggests the functioning of social systems like family, kinship systems, neighbourhoods, religious institutions, educational systems and the political systems.
There is an increase in the recognition of health service delivery mainstream models not being sufficient in giving services to the poor Aboriginal women (Adel son, 2009). There is a continuation of research showing that discriminatory practices, tacit and policies marginalize most of the poor Aboriginal women in the mainstream health care system. There is limited access for poor Aboriginal women to culturally and spiritually service that are relevant especially those living in urban centres.
Researchers concluded in 2009 that many impoverished Aboriginal women in the urban centres separate themselves from extended family and culture support. A Canadian researcher mentioned that poor Aboriginal women in an urban mainstream identified a need for developing their knowledge on their ancestry and Aboriginal practices in her study. The impoverished aboriginal women have lived in the urban either all their lives and to most, all their lifetime. Responding to questions in relation to access in urban setting culturally relevant services and support, there has been a move to create alternate concepts of primary health care delivery in some provinces. These services are for the needs of Aboriginal women who do not get good services and whose needs do not get better services from the mainstream sector (statistics Canada, 2009).
In the year 2000, Hardy described, “The approaches are congruent with local Aboriginal values, beliefs and cultural norms”. There are examples given by the researchers like Hardy among others of how spiritual and cultural practices complement western practices that exist as a way of improving physical, spiritual, emotional and mental health. When it comes to Impoverished Aboriginal women and homelessness, many talking of Homelessness in the past focused on men (Fitz & Maurice, 2009).
The mentality of men thinking that homelessness associated mostly with men changed in the 1980’s when homelessness discussions became more inclusive and acknowledged that men, children, women, youth and more specifically poor Aboriginal women also live in homeless or near homeless situations. Research shows that a large portion of Aboriginal women’s poverty, housing affordability and homelessness problems focus on their experiences not in Northern geographical settings but on Canada’s largest urban centres. For impoverished aboriginal women, homelessness stems from intersecting barriers they face when seeking employment as well as rental housing (statistics Canada, 2009), (Fitz & Maurice, 2009).
The barriers that intersect between them and getting good employment as well as getting good rental house are a result of systematic stereotypes and racism. Impoverished Aboriginal women experience housing affordability stress, poverty and homelessness due to high unemployment levels in Canada and as well as their prevalence as having many children and being heads of one parent families. Such circumstances echo with the native women living in the northern Ontario. Over 40% of the native women in Canada live in poverty (Abbott, 2009).
Government and the impoverished aboriginal women
In Canada, the majority of aboriginal women receive government transfer payments such as social welfare and Canada child tax benefits as a way of supporting themselves. In the year 2001, government transfer payments made 21% of total income for the poor Aboriginal women compared to a mere 13% for non-Aboriginal women. Again, majority of the Aboriginal or native women reported that government transfers was their major source of income summing up to a 42.2% as compared to a 20.8% of the non native women. More over to this, majority of Aboriginal women have no jobs and those who have jobs get low pay therefore low incomes. This is the largest contribution to homelessness (Fitz & Maurice, 2009).
In 2000, 36% of aboriginal women from the age below the age of thirty and above 15 worked from where they earned below the Low Income Cut Off abbreviated as LICO compared to Native men and non-native women in the same age bracket but in the ration of 37 percent to 17 percent. Seventy three percent of Aboriginal women in the same year live below Low Income Cut Off. In Northern Ontario, there are complexities in solving homeless situations for women and incidences of abuse and poverty (Statistics Canada, 2010).
For Social service providers, they find it difficult to deliver services in the northern regions. Slack suggested in two thousand and three that it the typical responsibility of service providers to deliver services to a large population over a geographically dispersed region. Service providers and outreach are not able to reach homeless individuals especially those living outside a core area of the community. It may be difficult for organizations and agencies to enumerate the homeless population. It is also difficult for them to advertise and provide services to the needy populations (Fitz & Maurice, 2009).
Impoverished Aboriginal Women and violence
Canadian poor Native women’s association listed violence against poor Aboriginal women as a social determinant of health because it has continued to create impact on families including children. Family violence is the most important issue facing Aboriginal women in Canada (urban ski, 2011). If Aboriginal women lived without violence, there would be a better living condition and women in Canada would have a better life unlike now that every person knows that a woman has no right to own property after divorce. In the social welfare, this contributes to poverty and poor health (Urban ski, 2011).
Impoverished aboriginal women and Racism as well as sexism
Half of the Aboriginal women population stated that they got bad comments at work and school in regards to their race. Seven in every ten in Sudbury witnessed racism in stores and restaurants. Racism is the biggest cause of discrimination in Canada for Aboriginal women and if not well taken care of, it could be the primary cause of many single parented families. Poor Aboriginal women suffer from sexism and racism not because they deserve it but because people look down upon them. It is difficult to get an Aboriginal woman in a company that is well paying and ranked (Miller, 2009), (Churchryk, 2008).
In Canada, there have been more than 500 cases of missing or dead aboriginal women because of violence. Police forces do not give the required protection to them because they also have the perception towards them. Some of the root causes of all this include colonization which brought other people to Canada and after coming, they thought the present Aboriginal women were useless and looked down upon them. A good number of Aboriginal people in Canada live in poverty. For instance, majority of Inuit people of Canada live in isolated arctic communities that make it impossible for them to access consumer goods and medical services. Poverty has made the aboriginal people in Canada fall victims of housing crisis. In fact, the problematic housing condition leaves urban aboriginal with quite insecure situations of living.
In 2010, Amnesty International professed that discrimination and racism were significant factors in many murders of native or Aboriginal women. They went on and stated that “The racism and misogyny of individual perpetrators, the role of others in assisting or helping cover up the crime. The reluctance of some police forces to investigate suspected abductions of Indigenous women, and the failure of these crimes to provoke outrage in the general population. All illustrate the need to understand violence against Indigenous women in a larger social and historical context” (Turner& Francis, 2009)
Aboriginal women have memories of what they went through racism after they got out of residential schools. Six out of ten Canadians believe that racism is the cause of separation between Aboriginal women and the society. This makes a whole 61% and another 59% believe that Canadians discriminate Aboriginal women and their families. This results to poverty and homelessness and contributes negatively to the social welfare (Armstrong, 2009).
If Aboriginal women had equal rights like the rest of the Canadians, Canada would never have cases of racism and sexism. The fact that Canada has no jurisdiction for marital divorce and property has given men the power to mistreat their women because they know women have no rights to property after divorce. They know that Aboriginal women trade between remaining with the violence or leaving the community and going away with nothing to depend on (statistics Canada, 2005).
Media houses are the most influential groups and therefore should not have even the smallest number of cases reported about ratio prejudice and racism. Another place is the school and vacancies should be open to all regardless of color and cultural background. If educated on negative implications of racism and racial discrimination while still young, children can greatly help with fighting ratio prejudice and discrimination. Let us all join hands and fight this disease called racial prejudice and racism.
There is a long history of looking at the poor Aboriginal women as lazy, sexually available and lazy in the media and literature. “Native princesses have been overly sexualized in a way that young White girls generally are not victims of sexism” (Turner& Francis, 2009). According to Mosher in 2004, a drunken Aboriginal woman is a men’s fair game for violence and is very unworthy of help. Such women get diverse priorities and opportunities making them miss school and work. In Canada, Aboriginal women suffer a lot because of sexism and receive many sexual assaults in the Canadian cities (statistics Canada, 2005).
Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Homelessness in relation to housing
Many poor Aboriginal women live under stress because of them moving away from their community due to sexism and racism. In implications terms, Aboriginal women experience temporary crisis and become emotionally paralyzed therefore having negative implications on the social welfare (Urban ski, 2011). Women who get abuse from their partners admit to a variety of psychological responses to the same including psychological numbing, depression, denial, suicidal ideation and fear. They also admit to attempted murder and substance abuse such as cocaine, cannabis and alcohol (Urban ski, 2011).
The Canadian statistics show that Aboriginal women see the impacts of economic insecurity in poor housing conditions. Aboriginal women have a higher likelihood of living in crowded dwelling areas as compared to Non-aboriginal women. They also have a higher likelihood of living in homes in need of major repairs. The poor conditions that Aboriginal women experience are common in reserve areas where people live in houses requiring major repairs. These are first nation people who make a 44% of the overall population (Statistics Canada, 2009).
Between 2002 and 2003, regional health survey reported on First Nations Housing and determined that “there appears to be a link between crowding and lower socio-economic status” statistics Canada, 2009). In most reserves, crowding is a common challenge and it causes stress in families, something that in the past has caused family violence. It is National Aboriginal Circle against Family Violence that made this survey possible in the year 2006. If a woman gets violation on the reserve and needs to look for comfort elsewhere, the Canadian act contains no laws that serve to matrimonial property on reserve land (Abbott, 2009).
In the event of marriage dissolution or divorce, the Canadian court has no jurisdiction to award an interest in family home and it is a possession of the husband. In Canada, Aboriginal women who get to a similar situation choose between leaving the community and remaining in a violent home (Abbott, 2009).
Conclusion
Colonialism had negative effect on Aboriginal or native women and their communities in Canada. It affected their relations with men and pushed them to the margins of the Canadian society and their own cultures as well. Have aboriginal women not only left their homes in search of good living conditions but also lost jobs and careers. Going as per the literature, marginalization of aboriginal women is normal and obvious. Many Aboriginal women in Canada deal with their own problems and poverty as well as homelessness, poor health status and violence.
Vacancies in schools should be open to all ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Every school should pay attention and respect all holidays related to certain ethnic and cultural groups. Diversity task force and clubs should be present in all schools. These clubs should once in while sponsor talks, forums, discussions, awareness and cultural activities to prevent racism. Classes and hostels should bear names of minority group so that the students can learn more about their history, ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
This information greatly helps them from making prejudiced decisions and utterances. It in addition trims down misinformed and mistaken discernments. From individual levels racial discrimination and racism starts from within hence very easy to manage. One does not have to always speak in the native language or mother tongue whenever addressing people. Canadians should learn to respect and honour Aboriginal women because they have equal rights as well. Canadians should therefore not do away with the social welfare inequalities between the first nation people and the rest.
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