On Violence and Healing: Aboriginal Experiences, 1960-1993 (From Violence in Canada: Sociopolitical Perspectives, P 40-77, 1995, Jeffrey Ian Ross, ed. -- See NCJ-171562)

• NCJ Number: 171564
• Author(s): D A Long
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 38 pages
• Sale Source: Oxford University Press
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

This chapter reviews the extent of criminal and political violence by and against Natives in Canada over the past three decades (1960-1993).

Abstract

The author takes a structural perspective and addresses such issues as the principles of adaptation-level and relative deprivation. These factors lead to a discussion of mediating influences, such as de-individuating conditions, relative payoffs, and the level and type of communication and power of the actors involved in conflict situations. The chapter focuses on three types of violence: homicide, family violence, and suicide. It concludes with an examination of "healing initiatives" that native communities have turned to in recent years. The author concludes that the revitalization of native spirituality and the rediscovery of some almost forgotten cultural traditions have contributed to the strengthening of native identities, the integrity of native efforts for social and political change, and the belief that healing is possible. At the community level, renewal is evident in the increasing call upon native elders and traditional speakers to conduct sweetgrass ceremonies, speak at conferences, and lead aboriginal and nonaboriginal people in sweat-lodge ceremonies and spiritual workshops. 14 notes and 114 references