Indians

Essay text:

? A second force contributing to the modern Aboriginal women's judiciary has been the increasing sensitivity shown by the Canadian judiciary ? Especially evident in the Northwest Territories in the 80s ? During this time customary law was considered in the sentencing of some Aboriginal offenders ? The Aboriginal women were concerned that Aboriginal offenders (many male) had been treated unequally by the Canadian justice system ? The result of this had often been injustice for Aboriginal women ? One specific case highlights these concerns: ? A one week sentence was handed down by a judge for three Inuit men accused of raping a thirteen year old girl ? The trial judge reasoned that cultural factors should be taken into consideration?noting that Inuit people do not regard having sex with a girl under fourteen as a crime ? In his statement he stated: "?when a girl begins to menstruate, she is considered ready to engage in sexual relations?[this] is the way life was and continues to be in the smaller communities" (Jackson 6) ? Later in the case the judge described the three accused as a credit to the community and to their country ? Although the judge attempted to incorporate Aboriginal standards for acceptable behaviour into his decision, his efforts to be sensitive to the local culture were rejected on appeal ? When viewed by the Court of Appeal they asserted that the courts are responsible for maintaining the law established by the Parliament of Canada and not for upholding community standards of behaviour ? The sentence was lengthened to four months ? This court decision implied that Aboriginal custom did not carry the same weight as Canadian Law and, by extension, that Aboriginal Peoples were not equal to non-Aboriginal peoples ? Aboriginal women are predominately concerned with these types of decisions ? They fear that the attendance to cultural context does not necessarily serve the interests of Aboriginal women and children ? In this regard, family violence and child abuse are frequently cited ? Aboriginal women argue that these kinds of crimes have no place in customary or in traditional law ? Another problem viewed by Aboriginal women is the holistic approach, either legally or politically, applied to the role of customary law in Canada ? Some argue that little or no customary law has been received into Canadian law, while others have suggested that it has been deformed when introduced into the non-Aboriginal court system ? Richstone points out that once a non-Aboriginal standard is adopted to determine the validity of Aboriginal customary law, the essence of the customary law may be lost ? For example: A judge may employ classifications of thought that are alien to the original structure of the Aboriginal ? Many Aboriginal people have expressed the concern that customary law can (and has) become distorted in the white man's courts ? Therefore, they feel it must be applied in its traditional form and setting ? They view this as one of the important goal of self-government