Inequality
Before the Indian Act came into place, Aboriginal men and women lived in equality while still having their own roles in the society. When the law was established, women were degraded in the society and could only be called ‘Indian’ is through a direct male relationship (father or husband) as they were the only ones to be referred to as Indian. If a status Indian woman married a non-Aboriginal man, she and their children would not/no longer be able to:
- be called ‘Indian’
- live on a reserve
- be buried with her family on a reserve
- run for band chief
- be a part of a band council
- vote in band elections
Being a Single Mother
Families that run by a single mother is common in the Aboriginal community, and rates have been rising. The rates in the Aboriginal families are higher than the ones in other Canadian families. The most common single mother families have children from 0-15 years of age. There are more single mothers in urban areas than in other locations. Employment is hard to find as it is, but being a single parent and having to deal with health, bills and lack of support is nothing less but challenging.
Education
All children who lived in reserves from ages 4-16 had to attend a residential school. The reason behind this was to assimilate the youth of the Aboriginal community into Canadian culture and society, otherwise known as “killing the Indian child”. The schools would operate with Anglican, Catholic and other churches. Life for the Aboriginal children that were attending these schools was not all pleasant. They were:
*The last residential school was closed in 1996
- forced to speak English/French
- prohibited from speaking Aboriginal language(s)
- forced to pray (depending on school)
- eat spoiled food in very small quantities
- lack of nutrition
- separated by gender, even if they had siblings
- assaulted
- force-fed (which is extremely painful, they feed you through a tube down your nose)
- not medically treated when needed
- labour work
- exposed to racist language
- no contact to family
- abused for speaking native language
- hit with leather strap in various areas
- punched
- abused until unconscious
- starved
- public shaming
- public strip search
- isolation in cages, closets etc
- other types of assault
*The last residential school was closed in 1996
Suicide
The suicide rate for status Indians was almost three times the nationwide average. They are committed most by Aboriginals 15-29 years of age. That is responsible for one third of Aboriginal deaths. Young women are more likely to commit suicide and young males have a higher risk. The cause for suicide in most cases is depression.