Reading Reflection #1

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University of Toronto *

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101

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Anthropology

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Feb 20, 2024

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501182112 Amna Ahmed Reading Reflection #1 Wednesday, January 31st, 2024 The readings for week two are primarily centered around Indigenous people's injustices and the possible strategies to accommodate and decolonize their land and culture. However, both readings take a different stance in approaching Indigenous colonization. Specifically, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples offers a framework for harmony, cooperative relationships, healing, and reconciliation. These principles are founded on justice, democracy, respect for human rights, non-discrimination, and good faith. The articles in the text emphasize that all human rights must and should be applied to Indigenous people. The reading serves as a call to action and recognition of Indigenous individuals' hardships and the hardships they continue to face. Furthermore, the articles highlight the importance of Indigenous people being treated as equals and having reparations made for their history of colonization. Additionally, Indigenous people must have the absolute freedom to practice, maintain and pass on their culture and traditions. The article "Indigenous peoples have the right not to be subjected to forced assimilation" is critical because it links back to the second reading on Decolonization and Law. The second reading on Decolonization and Law begins by acknowledging and discussing the ways Indigenous people have been and continue to be systematically oppressed by the State and its laws. The reading also examines various case studies to exemplify that Indigenous laws rely upon a connection to the land and natural resources. Indigenous systems of law and governance are starkly different from Western ideas of law and governance. The conflict of the views

between indigenous and Western legal systems resulted in Indigenous people being compared to savages by colonizers. Settlers unable to comprehend Indigenous decentralized ways of governance proclaimed that European ways of governance were superior. Following the label of savage and uncivilized, Colonizers imposed their practices and cultures onto Indigenous people by systematically and legally erasing their culture. Settlers believed that humans were above nature and land, so they continuously sought to take ownership of Indigenous land. The anthropocentrism approach that settlers abided by was utterly foreign to Indigenous communities. Indigenous communities believed that respecting land was central and acknowledging a deep human connection to the land, spirit world, and waters maintained a healthy symbiotic relationship. The colonization of Indigenous people and land is intrinsically tied to the field of criminology, as it has resulted in the criminalization and oppression of Indigenous populations. The imposition of Western legal standards and systems on Indigenous people has resulted in the criminalization of their traditional practices and ways of life, leading to a pipeline of a disproportionate number of Indigenous people being incarcerated. Additionally, the legacy of colonialism has resulted in persistent systemic issues of stripping Indigenous people of their land and culture. Criminology can aid by playing a role in addressing these issues by recognizing the role of colonialism in contributing to the current criminal justice system and advocating for decolonization by using methods like legal pluralism and the implementation of Indigenous-led justice initiatives. Overall, the readings conclude that it is evident by examining the historical power relations in a post-colonial framework that colonialism still imposes limitations on the application of Indigenous laws and culture. Despite the UNDRIP creating resolutions to promote equality and proper treatment and reparations for the indigenous community, there is still a long

way to go in dismantling systematic legal issues. Methods such as legal pluralism and decolonial practices narrow their focus on decolonizing the legal system. By combining the study of crime and decolonial practices, substantial progress can be made in giving Indigenous people the right to their land.

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Reading Reflection #1

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