Should aboriginals be treated differently under the law?
Aboriginals should not be subjected to laws that they do not hold in their culture.
Aboriginals have a right to their culture and lifestyle that should not be impacted or affected by the laws of the groups that colonized the aboriginal land. Therefore, an aboriginal has the right to follow the laws of their tribe or culture only and should not be subjected to the authority of any other group that the aboriginals have not consented to be a part of.
Posted by: Wynn354We owe it to the Aboriginals
From the late 18th century, European Canadians encouraged First Nations to assimilate into their own culture, referred to as "Canadian culture". The assumption was that it was the correct culture because European Canadians saw themselves as technologically, politically and culturally more advanced.
Founded in the 19th century, the Canadian Indian residential school system was intended to force the assimilation of Aboriginal and First Nations people into European-Canadian society. The attempt to force assimilation involved punishing children for speaking their own languages or practicing their own faiths and a lot of physical abuse. These children were taken away from their families and brought into these schools where harm was conducted upon them. The children were deprived of their languages and faith, and were prone to all sorts of physical abuse from the teachers and other students. The purpose of residential schools was “killing the Indian in the child”.
The effects of residential schools on First Nation people are many. The schools had a negative impact on aboriginal culture and have led to the partial loss of aboriginal languages because of cultural genocide. As children who escaped the residential schools, post-traumatic stress disorder, drug abuse and alcoholism, violence and domestic abuse, self-abuse, suicide, and incarceration are much more common in Aboriginals than in other cultures within Canada. Also, because in the residential schools siblings were forbidden from seeing each other, this broke family ties and generations of children have grown without a family life; many of them lack proper parenting skills and, having only experienced abuse, in turn abuse their children and family members.
Overall, we owe it to the Aboriginals for all the hardships and troubles we caused them. After all, European Canadians aren't the real "Canadians". Aboriginal and the First Nations people were here far long before us.Posted by: MercyI think aboriginals should be treated differently under the law because, currently, they are not given the same basic needs or access to their land right now.
Aboriginals should have a separate status under the law, but not because they are a lower class citizen than the rest. Because they are different and hold values that are separate from ours, they should be able to practice their beliefs on the land that was rightfully theirs, and should have a different status under the law.
Posted by: CompleteJerrodI do not believe aboriginals should be treated differently under law.
I don't believe anyone should get any special treatment, or rights. I understand the history and background, but people today are not dealing with those inequalities. I don't think its right to give aboriginals special treatment.
Posted by: LorenaHAboriginals should be allowed to observe their own law as opposed a country's national law when appropriate.
Canada, the United States, and Australia allow for indigenous law to rule in certain cases due to the fact each nation must allow for land rights and traditional practices. It is solely due to these treaties that aboriginals should be treated differently, and not due to circumstances beyond this realm.
Posted by: NoIanMu5icAboriginals who are treated differently under the law tend to suffer for it whether they are intended to benefit or intended to be harmed.
Some Native American tribes are recognized by the United States government but some have never been, like our local Abenaki people. You can see people all over who are Italian hue but don't have Italian names. My wife is one of them, though she's Gypsy/Mongolian (honestly, I can see how people could assume that). The local community accepts her and her children as one of theirs and she moves freely among them and with Gypsy people in the United States. You've probably met them and thought they were Mexican, Italian, or just working people living out their lives like anyone else. It's a very different situation to be what she is back in Hungary, where she comes from. Many of the rules intended to help Gypsy people end up separating them from mainstream life and depriving them. Even when preferential treatment is meant well, it tends to hurt the people singled out.
Posted by: groovyboxYes, because the historical treatment of aboriginals demands different treatment today
While the notion of treating everybody the same under the law is tremendously appealing, to do so rigorously is to pretend that history doesn't exist. In most countries, aboriginal groups frequently have been slaughtered with weapons, devastated by imported diseases, uprooted from ancestral lands, and relocated (sometimes multiple times) to lands considered almost worthless for settlers and immigrants. Cultures that had developed over thousands of years to adapt well to life in certain lands were relocated to very different lands that were poor in the resources needed for survival. Aboriginals faced the choice of staying with their kinsmen and surviving on handouts, or abandoning their people and trying to survive in an alien culture that typically viewed aboriginals almost as animals. We know longer can justify extermination of peoples and their cultures, whether quickly through theft, violence, and disease, or slowly by impoverishment and hostility to their attempts to maintain a distinct culture. It is not too much to ask to give them the resources and the legal space in which to find their own path to adapt to the world they now live in.
Posted by: LuciaLThey deserved it
Everyone in Australia already knows that Aboriginals have it harsher than any other groups. Their history has big impact on their current situation and the government (along with everyone else) did not give them much consideration. This land was originally theirs and they deserve the same chance that others had.
Posted by: AnonymousI support laws that recognize cultural differences.
Just as American Indians had to be protected by law to preserve their culture, aboriginals deserve similar consideration. With the progression of the world into an industrial and technological base, those who wish to honor the past need to be protected, so that their land and heritage are not disturbed by our progress.
Posted by: DebonairJeramy28People have problems with their English spelling mistakes.
One of the English spellings I find disrespectful or ignorant is when "aboriginal" is typed with a little "a" instead of "Aboriginal," and when someone uses the word "culture" instead of "cultures" because there are many different Aboriginal countries in North America with many different experiences in different part of the world, where they have a deep attachment to the land in spiritual beliefs and their cultures is the senses of belonging to that land with their beliefs.
Posted by: AnonymousIn some cases, indigenous peoples have their own land or territory and their own laws apply there.
Aboriginal people shouldn't be treated differently under the law in most cases. But there are some exceptions when they live in a self-governing territory or reservation where there are different laws about some things. An example would be casinos on reservations, when casinos are illegal in other parts of the state, or different hunting and fishing regulations. These are minor differences, and the state or federal law should allow indigenous peoples a certain degree of self-governance on their own tribal lands.
Posted by: N Schroeder 60
The Aboriginals already get so much
The government already supports people of Aboriginal descent by giving them plenty of money every year. The reason why the Aboriginals say they are not doing well is because they do not put the money to good use at all. Instead of putting it towards helping themselves, they end up using it against the government to try getting more money. They are milking the pity that the English have towards them at this point. The English feel bad for taking over Canada, because they are way to nice. The Aboriginal people feel that they should try to get everything they can now (Self-government) while there is still pity in the situation. As soon as a PM of different descent comes into play things are seriously going to change. The Aboriginals are lucky they get what they get and they are lucky that they weren't gotten rid of back in the day like America got rid of them. If we take over land, there is no reason for the group that was there before to get more, because it is simply ours now. That is the way it works everywhere except Canada, and seeing that the Aboriginals are complaining (even when they are lucky to be still here) is completely foolish.
Posted by: AnonymousIt was plain unfair!!
I understand us whiteys (Europeans) have taken alot from the Indigenous in the past, we have had 'Sorry days', they have got given other payments, but to receive an ongoing payment, every week of their life, and discounts on specific things, it ridiculous. And what makes me angry is they don't even need to be Half aboriginal for it! I know of people that are 1/16th bloody aboriginal and have whiter skin than me and have red hair and freckles! Its a sacm and theyre taking advantage of it!
Posted by: AnonymousNo, why should they be treated differently?
I think normal citizens should have exactly the same right as aboriginals. Why can a particular group have special rights just because they owned the land first. Since when in history have humans make tolerance just because a group lived on a land first? Citizens of the SAME country should be treated with the SAME rules.
Posted by: AnonymousAboriginals should not be treated differently, for they are all Canadians.
As Canadian citizens, no matter they are aboriginals or white people, they should be treated the same. They should obtain the same right. They do not need to have any specialisation, nor prejudice. Everyone is the same!
Posted by: AnonymousI feel all people who are on this land should be treated as equals under our law.
I feel that no matter who you are, or where you come from, you should be treated as any other person. No race or group should ever be treated any differently. This type of thinking only breeds hate between groups of people. If we show that we treat people equally, then I feel that we are taking a step towards eliminating hate and prejudice.
Posted by: CleanJoeyNo way
Why should they be treated any differently. Most work hard and should pay the same taxes and pay the same services everyone else. They already get many handouts already and still complain. Many aboriginals think they are special and we owe them because this is their land, I dont think so.
Posted by: AnonymousBig big banana
The big banana is very big and it has a friend larry the octpus. Larry the octopus had just broken up with his girl friend. "she said i just get distracted and dont listen" larry said to banana. "well"said banana " maybe you need to get to know eachother more". "find something she likes , go to the movies and have a romantic dinner and do that every week. And after a couple of weeks you two will be good as knew". Said big banana. Then larry said " do you have a big banana".
Posted by: yyyyyyyAll people are equal.
Since when did owning the land first even matter. IN history many different groups of people owned various acres of land. It didn't matter then, why now? I live in Canada and the way they are treated is ridiculous. The government always wants us to feel guilty for not being Aboriginal. The Canadian Charter of rights and freedoms emphasizes equality for all man.
Posted by: AnonymousThere is no reason Aboriginals should be treated differently.
The UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) article 1 states that all people are equal in dignity and rights. It applies to this situation as well. Yes the aboriginal people were severely miss-treated by the government throughout the 1800's, but 100-200 years later I would think in a great democracy like Canada, there would be a significant adaptation to the law.
Posted by: AnonymousAll Aussies are equal
Its foolish if Aussies and aboriginals are treated differently when they share the same rights and land with social rights warranted, separation is evil and should not continue, either European or not, all are Aussies and need to have equal rights.
This land is to be shared by all its people.Posted by: AnonymousAboriginals should be treated exactly the same under the law as any other citizen.
Aboriginals should be treated exactly the same under the law as any other citizen because allowing aboriginals to be treated differently is actually discriminating against the rest of the population. If a law is unfair to aboriginals, it is unfair to all people. Justice is treating all people equally, without discrimination and without preference.
Posted by: JamieMRacism
Treating people differently based on their heritage is definitely racism. In this case, the government taxes non-natives and simply donates the money to natives. The people alive today have nothing to do with what happened in the past and everyone should be on equal ground. What have the individuals being taxed done to the individuals receiving the benefit?
Posted by: AnonymousAboriginals should be treated the same as any other citizen.
Aboriginals should be treated the same under the law as any other citizen of any ethnic group, without preferential treatment of any kind. To give aboriginals elevated status under the law is to suppress the right of every other citizen in the nation, and to create an injustice while attempting to right a wrong that occurred long ago in the past. Aboriginals should be treated equally, but not better than anyone else.
Posted by: ThegaXenNo, aboriginals should NOT be treated differently!!
Aboriginals should NOT be treated differently because they are the same as everyone else. It doesn't matter what your skin colour is, we're all born the same way, and we all die. They all love music, like other people. They have a love of dancing like everyone else. They should NOT be treated differently under the law. It's just wrong.
Posted by: AnonymousThe law serves to set rules equally.
Aboriginals are human beings, just like everyone else. With that in mind, laws should hold the same amount of merit for them as they do with someone who is not an aboriginal.
Posted by: NumberlessClemente63ITS TWO WAY STREET
If you want equality that means everyone is held under the same standard. Bottom line. In this case anything else is slight supremacy as a result of white guilt. We ALL should pay taxes, this includes all religious institutions, races and minorities. NO EXCEPTIONS WHATSOEVER. This is whats necessary in any country that calls itself a democracy. Why don't natives or half natives or quarter or eighth or sixteenth natives need an FAC or PAL to own and obtain a firearm? Europeans brought guns over to this country. Is that fair? Is that equality?
Posted by: AnonymousIt was the past.
Why should the government be paying for all the aboriginals expenses? They live in poverty for all their lives, and are only waiting to die. If they were to live normally and off the reserves they could lead a much happier life and fuller life than as they would have on the reservation. Why should we be paying for them? It was not us who discriminated 9r did this awful things to them. It had to do with their ancestors and our ancestors. We did not personally harm the aboriginals so why should we be paying for the mistakes the government in the past made Sorry to say it, but we shouldn't be dwelling on the past, rather looking to the future.
Posted by: AnonymousNo, aboriginals should be treated equally, just as anyone else.
Most aboriginal tribes co-exist where established democratic governments have also existed for at least 50 years. Under the laws of the democratic government, the aboriginals may participate in the democratic government. However, if the aboriginal breaks a law of the democratic government, they are punished by the laws of that government. If the aboriginals choose not to participate in a government that they have a right to participate in, that is their choice.
Posted by: VoicelessEmil67They get more stuff.
I have researched this topic and found that they have more houses and welfare than all of us. They not only get free houses but they get at least 100 grand a year! I know that we have treated them wrong but that was fifty years ago. Some of the people who where taken off the parents are still alive today, But a couple of years ago the prime minister said sorry. But on T.V you always see the young people protesting! Like all of us they figured they can get free stuff by protesting so that's why they always do it. So why cant we all came together as one Aussie nation.
Posted by: AnonymousJust Use Logic?
Treating Aboriginal people by different standards than the rest of Australia's inhabitants simply provides a band-aid solution to the symptoms of this problem but does it not at the same time continue to contribute to the cause? I see no reason why anyone should get special treatment or for that matter, get less privileges due to race.
For example.
I believe an Aboriginal man on a $20,000 a year salary should not be able to get any more money from the government than a White Australian on a $20,000 a year salary.
Does this not just seem logical??Posted by: AnonymousI don't agree to aboriginals being treated differently under the law, they should have the same rights and benefits under the law.
Aboriginals have a long history and while they are not yet completely accepted they should be respected. All people in a land should follow the rules and practices of the land. Having protection and rights under the law is very important. If a group of people are seen as substandard they have some greater likely hood of bring taken advantage of by local and foreign powers.
Posted by: C0ImEIiteEvery person must be treated equally under the law.
Aboriginals, or any other group, cannot be exempt form the law. The laws are the rules by which society exists. If a person elects to live outside of the law, they are choosing to live outside of society. Prison is about as far outside of society than you can get.
Posted by: jackprague94Aboriginals should have the same human and civil rights as any other member of society. They should not be treated any better or any worse.
Aboriginals should be shown the same courtesy as any other member of human society. No better and no worse. If some injustices have been done to aboriginals in the past, then they have the right to take it to court and it will be decided by a judge. And aboriginals should not get special favors either. They should be held to the same laws as others are.
Posted by: JeffP4ri5