First peoples, second class treatment

The discriminatory treatment of Indigenous peoples within these systems is evidenced on one hand in the egregious overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in the care of child welfare agencies and Indigenous youth and adults in the custody of detention centres and federal prisons1, and on the other hand, in the lack of political and societal response to the ever growing number of missin [...] It provides an overview of the historical and contemporary contexts of racism which have and continue to negatively shape the life choices and chances of Indigenous peoples in this country, and then examines the ways in which racism fundamentally contributes to the alarming disparities in health between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. [...] It is important to consider the ways in which experiences of racism, marginalization, and exclusion are shared and unique amongst and between Indigenous peoples and peoples of colour, in order to build solidarity and expand the collective knowledge and skills available to advocate for and enact anti-racist and decolonizing perspectives and practices in health programming, policies and services. [...] In the context of Indigenous health, the imposition of western knowledge systems and particularly the use of western “science” to demonstrate the supposed inferiority of Indigenous peoples and Indigenous ways of knowing constitute acts of epistemic racism (Reading, 2013). [...] The Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869, served agendas of assimilation and control of “Indians,” and the erosion of Indigenous land rights.