Indigenous people often face poor living conditions. They lack security in basic physical essentials such as food, shelter and medical care. They face discrimination over generations - police harassment, being singled out for violent crimes, sexual assault, medical discrimination, and the list goes on. Having faced long-term food and shelter insecurity along with “milder” versions of societal and medical discrimination as an autism spectrum person while raising small children on almost nothing, I have to say, these things have the power to destroy you until there is nothing left. Constant insecurity about essential human basics such as health care, food, shelter and personal safety wears people down and send them into depression, or worse.
Keeping in mind all that has been taken from them, Indigenous people more than deserve the right to make a living. The federal government needs to step up and clarify Indigenous rights as well as the reasons behind them so that settler fishermen can at least understand that this isn’t special treatment, but just the minimum decency of being given a chance to earn a fair living. A secure, self-earned income is one of the first steps towards essentials such as developing a strong sense of self and maintaining their culture. That’s impossible to achieve when basic physical requirements are not met and people are socially marginalized at the same time, causing constant anxiety and fear.
A decent living is a fundamental cornerstone of healthy lives. It won’t magically fix past injustices. All it does is give Indigenous people something to work with. As such, the right to a livelihood needs to be defined and set out in law clearly and distinctly, and given correspondingly strong police protection. Otherwise, discrimination and potentially violent harassment seems almost inevitable.
Indigenous people often face poor living conditions. They lack security in basic physical essentials such as food, shelter and medical care. They face discrimination over generations - police harassment, being singled out for violent crimes, sexual assault, medical discrimination, and the list goes on. Having faced long-term food and shelter insecurity along with “milder” versions of societal and medical discrimination as an autism spectrum person while raising small children on almost nothing, I have to say, these things have the power to destroy you until there is nothing left. Constant insecurity about essential human basics such as health care, food, shelter and personal safety wears people down and send them into depression, or worse.
Keeping in mind all that has been taken from them, Indigenous people more than deserve the right to make a living. The federal government needs to step up and clarify Indigenous rights as well as the reasons behind them so that settler fishermen can at least understand that this isn’t special treatment, but just the minimum decency of being given a chance to earn a fair living. A secure, self-earned income is one of the first steps towards essentials such as developing a strong sense of self and maintaining their culture. That’s impossible to achieve when basic physical requirements are not met and people are socially marginalized at the same time, causing constant anxiety and fear.
A decent living is a fundamental cornerstone of healthy lives. It won’t magically fix past injustices. All it does is give Indigenous people something to work with. As such, the right to a livelihood needs to be defined and set out in law clearly and distinctly, and given correspondingly strong police protection. Otherwise, discrimination and potentially violent harassment seems almost inevitable.