First Nations Social Justice and Indigenous Human RIghts

The Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Overview
Despite some progress over the last decade, indigenous peoples around the world continue to live in hardship and danger due to the failure of states to uphold their fundamental human rights.

Indigenous peoples are being uprooted from their lands and communities as a consequence of discriminatory government policies, the impact of armed conflicts, and the actions of private economic interests.

Cut off from resources and traditions vital to their welfare and survival, many indigenous peoples are unable to fully enjoy such human rights as the right to food, the right to health, the right to housing, or cultural rights. Instead they face marginalisation, poverty, disease and violence – in some instances extinction as a people.

With the disruption of traditional ways of life, indigenous women may face particular challenges, losing status in their own society or finding that frustration and strife in the community is mirrored by violence in the household. For the growing numbers of indigenous women who have migrated to urban settings or who live on land with a heavy military presence, racial and sexual discrimination in the larger society may lead to a heightened risk of violence and unequal access to the protection of the justice system.

Promoting Global standards
Amnesty works with Indigenous peoples around the globe to advance urgently needed laws and standards to protect their cultures, livelihoods and territories. The most significant of these is the draft United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [see right sidebar for link].

Denouncing abuses
Social marginalization and legal discrimination place Indigenous peoples at risk of a wide range of human rights violations directed against community leaders, individuals and Indigenous societies as a whole. Amnesty International takes action by exposing abuses in reports and the press, and by mobilizing public pressure through tools like our Urgent Action Network.

Holding Canadian officials responsible
The Canadian government has told the United Nations that the situation of Indigenous peoples is “the most pressing human rights issue facing Canadians.” Yet the Canadian government has repeatedly failed to implement UN the recommendations of UN human rights bodies concerning the protection of Indigenous peoples’ rights in Canada . Amnesty International’s work in Canada has included the land rights of the Lubicon Cree, the police shooting of Dudley George, and violence against Indigenous women.
(http://www.amnesty.ca/themes/indigenous_overview.php)

Aboriginal people have a long and proud history that includes rich cultural and spiritual traditions. Many of these traditions, however, were altered or even taken away upon the arrival of European settlers. The forced introduction of European culture and values to Aboriginal societies, the dispossession of Aboriginal lands, and the imposition of alien modes of governance began a cycle of social, physical and spiritual destruction. You can see the effects of this today. Some effects include: Oppression, Racism, Discrimination, Prejudice, Poverty, Poor Health (Mental, Physical, Spiritual, Emotional) and addictions.
Underlying these problems is a loss of identity and a learned helplessness from having their values oppressed and their rights ignored.
Despite the systemic nature of the countless oppressive forces that continue to burden many Aboriginal people, Aboriginal communities are making strides along their healing path.
There are now many Aboriginal scholars, artists, activists and leaders that are working to challenge the status quo for Aboriginal peoples and create a fairer world that offers meaningful and fulfilling opportunities.
(http://www.socialjustice.org/index.php?page=aboriginal-issues)

FOCUS: Social Justice, Indigenous Human Rights,Decolonization (Healing), Self Determination, Sovereignty, Land, and Environment.