Annotated Bibliography on the Lessons Learnt from Sovereignty of Indigenous Community in Canada and the United States
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Annotated Bibliography on the Lessons Learnt from Sovereignty of Indigenous Community in Canada and the United States
Buric, S. (2023). Achieving Reconciliation: An Analysis on Policies Affecting the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Scholarship at UWindsor. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1284&context=major-papers
Buric (2018) wrote a scholarly paper on achieving reconciliation, analyzing indigenous communities in Canada and the United States. The paper delves into the critical issue of reconciliation between the Canadian government and the indigenous people, considering their dark history. It provides a critical examination of the policies implemented by the Canadian government, assessing their effectiveness in fostering meaningful change within Indigenous communities. The analysis is grounded in a comprehensive review of historical and contemporary statistics that shed light on the lived realities of Indigenous populations. For example, the author talks about the statistics released by Canada in 2019 that revealed that 33% of indigenous people experienced discrimination compared to the 16% of non-indigenous people who did not face discrimination. The author further identifies a persistent lack of political will, the exclusion of Indigenous methodologies in policy formulation, and a deficit in policy transparency as significant barriers to achieving reconciliation. Buric argues that for policies to be effective, they must acknowledge and integrate Indigenous knowledge systems alongside Western frameworks. This integration would ensure that policies are respectful of Indigenous cultures and co-created in partnership with Indigenous communities.
Furthermore, Buric emphasizes the need for transparent policy planning and execution to build trust and ensure accountability. The paper concludes with a call to prioritize Indigenous perspectives in policy-making as a crucial step towards genuine reconciliation. This paper is relevant to my topic as one lesson we learn from this analysis is the importance of involving indigenous people and methodologies in the formulation of policies as a step towards achieving reconciliation.
Indigenous Peoples and Communities. (2022, August 30). Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100013785/1529102490303
Indigenous Peoples and Communities (2022) is an official document from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) that outlines the Canadian government’s ongoing efforts to renew relationships with Indians who are also known as First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples that have unique historical and cultural practices. The document was published on August 30, 2022, emphasizing the government’s resolution to foster reconciliation and endorse Indigenous self-determination. The document delineates various initiatives, such as the promotion of self-governance agreements, the enactment of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and the support extended to Indigenous communities in the wake of the Papal visit and subsequent apology to residential school survivors. It also addresses the challenges and advancements in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Indigenous communities. The document is a testament to the government’s commitment to rectifying past wrongs and advancing Indigenous rights through recognition, respect, cooperation, and partnership. The paper is relevant to the topic as one of the lessons that we learn in this context is that the efforts of the government are important as they serve as an essential resource for understanding the current landscape of Crown-Indigenous relations in Canada and the progressive steps being taken towards a more equitable and respectful partnership.
Smye, V., Browne, A. J., & Josewski, V. (2023, February). Social suffering: Indigenous Peoples’ experiences of accessing mental health and substance use services. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9958899/
Syme et al. (2023) present findings from a qualitative study that investigated the experiences of Indigenous peoples with mental health and substance use services in an urban area of Western Canada. The study used an ethnographic approach, engaging 39 participants accessing five community-based mental healthcare agencies. The researcher conducted 18 in-depth interviews, four focus group discussions, and 24 healthcare providers were interviewed. The authors identified four key themes: the normalization of social suffering, the re-creation of trauma, the challenges of reconciling constrained lives with harm reduction, and the mitigation of suffering through relational practice. The paper highlights the complex realities faced by Indigenous people, who are often marginalized by poverty and social inequity, and emphasizes the potential harms that can arise when service delivery fails to consider the broader social context of Indigenous people’s lives. The authors recommend a service delivery model that is not only aware of but responsive to the impacts of structural violence and social suffering on the lived experiences of Indigenous people. They advocate for a relational policy approach that can alleviate social suffering and prevent the unintentional harms that occur when such suffering is normalized within care systems. The paper is relevant because it emphasizes the need to understand the structural barriers to accessing care for indigenous people and the importance of culturally informed and responsive service delivery. It is essential for policymakers, health care providers, and anyone interested in improving mental health and substance use services for Indigenous communities.
Wilkins, D. E. (2024). Introduction to Indigenous governance. Indigenous Governance, 2(45), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190095994.003.0001
Wilkins’s (2024) paper titled The Introduction to Indigenous Governance opens a comprehensive examination of Indigenous governance systems. It begins with a discussion of the devastating impact of COVID-19 on Native nations, highlighting the conflict over financial relief eligibility between Tribal nations in the lower 48 states and Alaskan Natives. In addition, it sets out to answer critical questions regarding the roles Native governments play in the lives of their citizens, the reasons behind the adoption of formal constitutions by the majority of Native nations, and the nature of engagement between Native governments, states, and the federal government. Wilkins critiques previous works on Native governments, paying special attention to the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development and the Native Nations Institute. The chapter briefly overviews the book’s subsequent chapters, promising a deep dive into indigenous governance systems’ diversity, colonization, adaptation, and resurgence. This work is relevant to the topic, especially in understanding the intersection of Indigenous governance and the myriad challenges faced by Native nations, including public health crises, economic depressions, and systemic inequities.